A Barnegat man has been indicted by a Middlesex County Grand Jury for the 1999 murder of Nancy Noga, 17, of Sayreville – a case that had gone cold for more than 20 years.
On Jan. 7, 1999, Nancy, who was then a senior in high school, was reported missing after she did not return home from work. Five days later, on Jan. 12, 1999, at approximately 8:57 a.m., her body was discovered in a wooded area behind what was then Mini-Mall Plaza Shopping Center on Ernston Road, according to a statement released by Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief John Zebrowski of the Sayreville Police Department on Aug. 31.
An autopsy determined Nancy died from blunt force trauma after being struck with a blunt object.
For more than two decades, the case remained open and active as investigators continued to investigate Nancy’s death. On Aug. 31, Bruce A. Cymanski, 49, of Barnegat, was indicted for first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder, first-degree aggravated sexual assault, first-degree kidnapping, and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in connection with the killing of Nancy Noga, according to the statement.
Assistant Prosecutor Scott Lamountain, who serves as the section chief of the Major Crimes Unit, presented the case to the Grand Jury. Following the return of the indictment by a Middlesex County Grand Jury, Cymanski was apprehended near his home by members of the Sayreville Police Department, Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Barnegat Police Department after a reported brief foot pursuit, according to the statement.
Cymanski was in-part identified through the use of genetic genealogy conducted by the chief genetic genealogist of Parabon NanoLabs, CeCe Moore, according to the allegations.
Cymanski was lodged at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick as of press time, where he was detained pending a pre-trial detention hearing in Superior Court.
The charges were made possible by a joint investigation conducted by Detective Mark Morris and Sgt. Deon McCall, both of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, in conjunction with Sgt. Daniel Ellmyer of the Sayreville Police Department and retired Detective Sgt. Richard Sloan, formerly of the Sayreville Police Department.
“In the decades since Nancy Noga’s death, law enforcement has relentlessly pursued justice on her behalf. The advancement of modern scientific tools has allowed that endeavor to enter a new chapter,” Ciccone said in the statement.
“This arrest is the result of decades of hard work by so many detectives and officers. We never stopped following up on leads, and today with the arrest of Bruce Cymanski, we are one step closer to bringing a degree of justice and closure to the family. I want to thank Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and her office for their tireless efforts and partnership in bringing justice to the family of this young girl,” Zebrowski said in the statement.
This investigation is active and continuing. Anyone with information should call Morris at 732-745-3702 or Ellmyer at 732-525-5406.