Robyn Carter, a 41-year-old African American woman, was found raped and strangled on Sheffield Street in Newark, New Jersey, on December 16, 1991. Her killing was later identified as the first in a series of similar assaults that terrorized Newark and nearby East Orange that winter.

Investigators eventually linked the pattern of rapes and murders to Jerome Dennis, who had been released on parole on November 19, 1991, after serving 10 years of a 30-year sentence for rape, false imprisonment, and armed robbery. Dennis was arrested and later pleaded guilty in February 1993 to 13 charges, including five counts of murder that named Robyn Carter among the victims; his plea produced multiple life sentences with no parole eligibility for 60 years.

The early investigation into Carter’s death produced few leads until the pattern of attacks prompted a multi-agency task force and Dennis’s arrest. If anyone knew Robyn Carter, saw activity on Sheffield Street in December 1991, or has information about that night, please come forward.