Man convicted in ’76 killing faces new murder charge

In 1976, James Rose was convicted of kidnapping and murdering Lisa Berry, 8.

Decades after a gruesome murder, a convicted killer was back in a courtroom in Palm Beach County on Tuesday, charged with murder in a new case.

James Rose, 70, was convicted in 1976 of killing 8-year-old Lisa Berry and was sentenced to death. Now, decades later, he’s being charged with killing Jean Savage, 37, at her Delray Beach home in 1975.

A spokesman for the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office said the hearing Tuesday was procedural, and no date has been set yet for the next court appearance. In September, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said its cold-case unit had DNA processed from evidence it identified last year, leading to a DNA profile that matched with Rose.

When interviewed by detectives, Rose admitted to his involvement in Savage’s death, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Jean Savage’s husband, Edwin Savage, returned home to find her naked and dead, with stab wounds in her abdomen and her throat cut.

The sheriff’s office said it believed Jean Savage’s attacker likely entered the home by tearing away the screen from the door to her back porch.

There has been no date set for Rose’s execution for the death of Lisa Berry, who was abducted from the Brunswick Lauderdale Lanes, a bowling alley on State Road 7 in Fort Lauderdale.

After a four-day search, the body of the Hollywood girl was found in a canal. She had been bludgeoned to death.

STAFF FILE