George M. Smith was identified on September 24, 2021 as the lead suspect in the September 24, 1971 rape and murder of 17-year-old Maureen Brubaker Farley in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – 50 years to the day. The case has been cleared by exception due to the death of Smith.
Farley’s partially nude body was found by two boys, aged 14 and 15, in an abandoned car in a wooded ravine several days after she failed to show up for her job at a diner. She had been killed by a blow to the right side of her head.
Smith is reported to have passed away in 2013 at the age of 94. He was reported to have been an acquaintance of Farley and had visited the diner where she worked. He was long a suspect in the case, but there was no physical evidence tying him to the crime.
Farley’s mother is now 86 years old, and she was notified that her daughter’s killer has been identified. Her father passed away in 2009. She was the oldest of seven siblings.
Sources:
Associated Press. “Authorities Use DNA to Solve 1971 Murder of 17-Year-Old in Cedar Rapids.” Des Moines Register, October 8, 2021. Accessed October 8, 2021. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2021/10/08/1971-murder-brubaker-maureen-farley-cedar-rapids-iowa-cold-case-murder-solved-dna-george-smith/6048815001/.
Crane, Emily. “Iowa Teen’s Killer Identified 50 Years After Her Body Was Found.” New York Post, October 6, 2021. Accessed October 8, 2021. https://nypost.com/2021/10/06/iowa-teens-killer-identified-50-years-after-her-body-was-found/.
Ewing, Jody. “Maureen Brubaker Farley.” Iowa Cold Cases (Blog), Last modified February 20, 2019. Accessed October 8, 2021. https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/maureen-farley/.
Lambe, Jerry. “Police Solve Cold Case of Murdered Iowa Teen Exactly 50 Years to the Day Her Body Was Discovered.” Law & Crime, October 6, 2021. Accessed October 8, 2021. https://lawandcrime.com/crime/police-solve-cold-case-of-murdered-iowa-teen-exactly-50-years-to-the-day-her-body-was-discovered/.