Winnipeg man admits to strangling New Jersey woman in decades-old homicide

SOMERVILLE — A Winnipeg man has admitted to strangling a New Jersey woman nearly three decades ago after he was arrested last year.

Robert Allen Creter pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the 1997 death of Tamara (Tammy) Tignor, whose body was found on a dirt road near Washington Valley Park.

The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office says Creter told court that he strangled the 23-year-old with his bare hands.

It says prosecutors agreed to a 10-year prison sentence, with 85 per cent of it to be served without parole, in exchange for Creter’s guilty plea.

A break in the cold case came in 2023 when evidence was resubmitted for DNA testing and pointed to Creter, who moved to Winnipeg in 2002 and was extradited to the United States.

Sentencing is scheduled to take place July 11.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2025.

The Canadian Press