A Lancaster County killer who pleaded guilty to the cold-case murder of Christy Mirack in 2019, 27 years after the crime, has had his Post-Conviction DNA-Testing (PCRA) petition denied.

Raymond Rowe, also known as DJ Freez, pleaded guilty to criminal homicide, three counts of rape by forcible compulsion, and two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse on January 8, 2019, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 60 to 120 years.

Rowe and his attorney filed a PCRA seeking post-conviction DNA Testing on November 21, 2020 and hearings on the petition were held in Lancaster County Court on August 26, September 2, and September 8 of 2021.

Rowe requested post-conviction DNA testing of five additional items from the crime scene, with the hope of using the results within a PCRA petition to establish new fact of the case and prove his innocence. These items were:

-A cutting board found near the victim’s head

-A toaster that is known to have been on top of the cutting board

-A pair of pants found next to the victim

-The victim’s sweater

-The victim’s undershirt

Lancaster County Judge Dennis E. Reinaker presided over the hearings and denied the petition through an opinion that stated Rowe failed to meet the first requirement of the Post-Conviction DNA Testing statute which requires that the testing requested was not performed because (a) the technology was not available or (b) counsel requested funds for testing and that request was denied.  Judge Reinaker further found that Rowe failed to demonstrate a reasonable possibility that favorable results of the requested DNA testing would establish his innocence.

Judge Reinaker’s opinion states that the items that are now sought to be tested could have been tested prior to Rowe’s guilty plea in 2019 but were not. Testimony from DNA experts was clear that the touch DNA testing requested by Rowe was available and could have been performed prior to his guilty plea, and that the relatively new next-generation DNA sequencing procedure is only scarcely used and would not have been utilized in this case.

As to Rowe’s claim of actual innocence, Judge Reinaker’s opinion mentions the crime scene, the condition of Ms. Mirack’s body and her townhome, Rowe’s changing version of events, including his statement during an interview with defense investigators following his arrest in 2018  that he “snapped”, and his statements during the guilty plea as some of the factors supporting his determination that Rowe has not established actual innocence.

“In sum, the evidence presented by the Commonwealth, the Petitioner’s own words of placing himself with Ms. Mirack the morning of the murder, and the DNA he left behind established that the Petitioner has not established a prima facie case of actual innocence and this failure would not be undermined by the potential that DNA could be found on the items surrounding Ms. Mirack at the murder scene,” Reinaker stated in his opinion.

“Obviously we think this is the correct legal decision and hope it provides some measure of relief for the family, but this is likely just the beginning of what can be a lengthy appellate process,” District Attorney Heather Adams stated.

None of the items will be tested and Rowe remains in prison. Rowe has 30 days to appeal Judge Reinaker’s ruling to the Superior Court.

Chief of Legal Appeals & Legal Services Ande Gonzalez is representing the Commonwealth in post-conviction litigation.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.