Mary Agnes Klinsky

FREEHOLD -- Closing the books on a 50-year-old murder case, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office says New Jersey's most notorious killer was responsible for the brutal rape and beating death of an 18-year-old Hazlet woman whose battered body was abandoned alongside a highway.

Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said Wednesday that new analysis of DNA evidence and other evidence links suspected serial killer Robert Zarinsky, who died in prison more than seven years ago while serving a life sentence for another teenage girl's killing, to the death of Mary Agnes Klinsky on Sept. 15, 1965.

Klinsky's naked body was found by Garden State Parkway road workers along an embankment at Telegraph Hill Park near what is now exit 116 of the Garden State Parkway the following day. Authorities said at the time she had been sexually assaulted and her head was bashed with a blunt object.

Gramiccioni said that with recent advances in the way investigators amplify and detect DNA profiles, forensic scientists re-examined items saved from Klinsky's murder investigation and they were able to develop a DNA profile of the suspect. He said that DNA evidence excluded everyone but Zarinsky from being a suspect the killing. That would have been enough for his office to file charges against the convicted murderer if he were still alive, Gramiccioni said.

In 2008, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office charged Zarinsky with murder in another cold case of a slain teen, Jane Durrua of Keansburg, whose body was found Nov. 5, 1968, in a grassy area of town the morning after she went missing. But the case was never formally resolved because Zarinsky died nearly nine months after charges were filed.

"When we ran the DNA testing, we were able to exclude everyone but the defendant," Gramiccioni said. "We have ruled out other suspects. It's only him."

He would not elaborate on the other corroborative evidence, but said investigators know Zarinsky was in the area where Klinsky was last seen and was very familiar with the area where she lived and where her body was found.

"We have evidence that demonstrated that Zarinsky had access and opportunity to commit these crimes," Gramiccioni said.

Klinsky, a senior at Raritan High School, was last seen when she was headed to a corner mailbox to send a letter to her fiancee in the Navy. One of nine children, Klinsky and some other siblings lived with an older brother after their mother died and their father left them, authorities said.

"The dogged determination of our investigators and those at the New Jersey State Police has provided closure for the Klinsky family. After more than half a century, they know who killed their sister and the residents of Monmouth County have a clearer understanding of the murderous reach of one of our most notorious serial killers in our history," Gramiccioni said. "I am grateful for all the hard work and commitment exhibited by these consummate professionals."

Robert Zarinsky, in a 2001 photo, was linked to the 1965 sexual assault and beating death of Mary Agnes Klinsky, 18, of the West Keansburg section of Hazlet.

Two of Klinsky's siblings met with investigating officers on Wednesday in Freehold before the charges were announced, Gramiccioni said. He said the family members commended the work of all the law enforcement agencies involved, and indicated they are gratified that their sister can now rest in peace.

In a phone interview on Wednesday evening, Frances Klinsky said it's been a rough 50 years, not knowing who killed her younger sister.

"I'm shocked to say the least, but happy that there might be some closure after all this," she said. "It was a rough time, it's been a rough 50 something years not knowing. And you keep hearing more and more and it gets overwhelming after a while. It's very emotional, even after 50 years."

Frances Klinsky, 71, said she wishes Zarinsky was still alive to see that justice is served.

"I would have really liked to see him go to trial," she said.

While long suspected in the deaths of several young women, Zarinsky had only been convicted in one case: He was sentenced in 1975 to life in prison in the 1969 death of Rosemary Calandriello, 17, of Atlantic Highlands. That case was the first time a suspect was prosecuted for murder without a body being found. In 1988, Zarinsky told the state Parole Board he killed Calandriello, but said he accidentally backed over her with his car. Decades later, he tried to bargain with investigators by claiming he would lead them to her body, but only led them on a wild goose chase. At one time, he told them he buried her body; another time he told them he threw it into the ocean.

While he was in prison for Calandriello's killing, Zarinsky was charged in 1999 with the 1958 death of Rahway police Officer Charles Bernoskie, who was shot as he investigated a break-in at a local car dealership. Zarinsky, however, was acquitted at trial two years later and Bernoskie's family brought a civil suit against him.

Zarinsky's death on Nov. 28, 2008, was expected to touch off a fight over his estate, which was valued at the time at $126,000, between his relatives and Durrua's sister, who filed a wrongful death suit against his estate.

-- NJ Advance Media reporter Alex Napoliello contributed to this report.

MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.