Warning: There are details of sexual assault and murder in this story. It is recommended that readers use discretion.
Before Robert Creter was charged with first-degree murder in May 2023, Tami Tignor’s case had been unresolved for at least thirty years. After the man entered a guilty plea and admitted to first-degree aggravated manslaughter, the 1997 murder was finally concluded. CBS News reported that he was given a 10-year prison sentence on July 23.
The Bridgewater Township police received a 911 call on November 4, 1997, regarding the discovery of a female dead on a gravel access road. It was later determined to be Tami Tignor, who was 23 at the time. ABC 7 reported that the DNA from the woman’s sexual assault kit was retested using the most recent technology and matched that of Creter.
The inquiry concluded that the man most likely picked Tami up, r-ped her, and then strangled her to death. Her corpse was found just a few hours after it was disposed of in the woods close to Washington Valley Park, according to ABC 7.
But soon after, the matter was abandoned, and Creter was also nowhere to be found. In 2002, authorities discovered that the man had relocated to Winnipeg, Canada. He was arrested by Canadian authorities in June 2024, and the following November, he was extradited to New Jersey.
According to a news release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, the man acknowledged that he killed Ms. Tignor by manually strangling her with his bare hands. Additionally, they verified that Creter had accepted a plea bargain.
COLD CASE Suspect appears in court at 9 AM. Robert Creter, 60, is the first person seen in person at the Somerset County Courthouse.-Charge: Murder in connection with Tami Tignor’s strangulation in 1997.*** DNA evidence connected Creter to the crime scene.@news12nj#tamaratignorpic.twitter.com/sjl4g6KeaL
December 4, 2024, Chris Keating (@ChrisKeatingNJ)
Your honor, if I could go back in time and change that day, I would. He assured the judge it wasn’t planned. He stated at the court, “I never meant to hurt anybody.” Simply put, I made the worst choice of my life when a poor circumstance got out of control. I’d take it back if I could. I’m sorry.
The court expressed her expectation that Creter will no longer be eligible for parole in eight and a half years, according to CBS. As part of the plea agreement, a 10-year sentence was suggested. The victim’s mother, Piper Bailey, bemoaned the fact that her killer ought to have been apprehended long ago.
She told CBS that while we were all incarcerated, her killer had been free for 27 years. Day and night, I searched the location where she vanished. Her passing keeps giving me nightmares. He killed my daughter. Bailey said that he ought to be imprisoned indefinitely because he choked her to death.
Tignor would have turned 50 at the time of the Creter’s sentencing, according to CBS.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, please call 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), the National Sexual Assault Hotline.
