Do you know who murdered Susan Noelle Cvengros? In the spring of 1999, Susan Noelle Cvengros, a 24-year-old woman, was found brutally murdered in her Washington, D.C. apartment, a case that would remain unsolved for over two decades. A native of South Carolina with aspirations of becoming an artist, she had moved to the city and was working as a waitress. On May 21, 1999, a former roommate discovered her body in her basement apartment on the 400 block of F Street NE. She had been stabbed multiple times, and her throat was cut.
The initial investigation revealed no signs of forced entry, and police found evidence that she may have had visitors the night before her death, including an empty pizza box and wine glasses. Friends described her as a shy and quiet person who had recently quit her job as an exotic dancer to focus on her art and a new job at a restaurant in Union Station.
Despite collecting evidence, including DNA samples from the scene, the case grew cold, leaving her family and friends without answers for years.
Decades later, a breakthrough in the investigation led to an arrest. In July 2025, the Metropolitan Police Department announced that they had charged 70-year-old George Mudd with first-degree murder in connection with Cvengros's death. The arrest was the result of advancements in DNA technology. A DNA profile developed from evidence collected in 1999 was eventually matched to Mudd in the national DNA database. His DNA was in the system due to a 2005 conviction for a violent assault on another woman in 2004, where he also used a knife.
Court documents revealed that the DNA link to Mudd was first established in 2012, but a significant delay in the investigation occurred because the FBI had misplaced the laboratory data file for the case. The file was eventually located in the summer of 2024, leading to Mudd's arrest. At the time of the murder, Mudd was 44 years old and was living with a relative who was a friend of Cvengros. He was not initially considered a suspect. Following his arrest, Mudd was held without bond.
