State police in Mercer County are closing a cold case that happened more than 40 years ago.
Back on November 6th, 1980, police were called to I-80 in Wolf Creek Township to investigate a body that was burning. An autopsy at the time identified the victim as a young male with a thin build, however his body suffered serious burns and could not be identified.
It wasn’t until 2007 though that police were able to analyze DNA which was found at the scene. The investigation took until 2019 to confirm the body as 18-year-old Edwin Rodriguez of Chicago.
Through a further investigation, police now say Nestor Quintanal, most recently of Florida, would have been charged with criminal homicide. Police say Quintanal and Rodriguez left Chicago for Florida in the fall of 1980—but after they left, Rodriguez’s family never heard from him again.
Quintanal however died in 2002, and so charges are not able to be filed.