Barnegat Man Arrested For Murder In 20-Year-Old Case

Nancy Noga (File Photo)

  BARNEGAT – A township man has been indicted and arrested in a murder case from over two decades ago.

  Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief John Zebrowski of the Sayreville Police Department announced that Bruce A. Cymanski, 49, was arrested after being indicted by a Middlesex County Grand Jury for the 1999 murder of Nancy Noga, 17, of Sayreville.

  Noga, who was high school senior, was reported missing on January 7, 1999 after she did not return home from work. Five days later, her body was discovered in a wooded area behind what was then a Mini-Mall Plaza Shopping Center on Ernston Road.

  Her autopsy determined she died from being struck with a blunt object. For 22 years, the case remained open and active as investigators continued to investigate her death.

  Cymanski 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 Noga’s death.

  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 the Grand Jury, he was arrested near his home by members of the Sayreville Police Department, Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Barnegat Police Department after a brief foot pursuit.

  Cymanski remains lodged at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center until a pre-trial detention hearing in Superior Court. He was identified, in-part, through the use of genetic genealogy conducted by the Chief Genetic Genealogist of Parabon NanoLabs, CeCe Moore.

  The arrest was made possible by a joint investigation conducted by Detective Mark Morris and Sergeant Deon McCall, both of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, in conjunction with Sergeant Daniel Ellmyer of the Sayreville Police Department and retired Detective Sergeant Richard Sloan, formerly of the Sayreville Police Department.

  Prosecutor Ciccone said, “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.”

  Chief Zebrowski noted Cymanski’s “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.”

  This is still an ongoing investigation and anyone with information are asked to call Detective Morris at 732-745-3702 or Sergeant Ellmyer at 732-525-5406.