NEW BRUNSWICK – The trial for an Ocean County man charged with the 1999 killing of a Sayreville War Memorial High School student is scheduled for later this year.
The Middlesex County trial for Bruce Cymanski, of Barnegat, a former South Amboy and Old Bridge resident, who was charged in 2021 with the murder of 17-year-old Nancy Noga, has been scheduled for early fall, according to both court officials and Cymanski's attorney.
The trial is scheduled 25 years after Noga, a high school senior, was reported missing on Jan. 7, 1999, and her body found a few days later. Noga's killing is among Middlesex County's oldest unsolved homicide cases.
It's not known if Cymanski plans to testify in his own defense. Cymanski, who is now in his 50s, was 26 years old at the time of Noga's disappearance and death.
Cymanski was arrested in August 2021 after he was partially identified as a suspect in the case through the use of genetic genealogy, according to authorities. He was indicted on murder, felony murder, aggravated sexual assault, and kidnapping, all first-degree charges and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
During a court hearing in 2022, Cymanski's attorney said his client wanted the case to go to trial. He added that just because his client's DNA was found on Noga doesn't mean he killed her, noting one of his client's relatives lived in the same apartment complex as Noga at the time of her murder and suggested it might be the relatives DNA that was found on Noga.
On Jan. 7, 1999, Noga was reported missing after she failed to return home at the Skytop Gardens apartment complex from work at the Rag Shop store on Route 9 in Old Bridge.
Five days later at approximately 8:57 a.m., on Jan. 12, 1999, her frozen body was discovered by a dog walker in a wooded area behind what was then Mini-Mall Plaza Shopping Center on Ernston Road. She was found wearing a purple Arizona jacket, a dark V-neck sweater, blue flare jeans, black and white platform sneakers and carrying a purple backpack.
An autopsy determined she died from blunt-force trauma.
Noga was described by friends as a nice, outgoing girl who was friendly and helpful. She had been involved in the school chorus before dropping out to work at the Rag Shop and Old Country Buffet. Friends have said she had plans to enter the military after high school and later attend college.
Her disappearance and death rocked the blue-collar community. Friends recall how fear spread once her body was found, especially among girls in town, who were afraid to walk alone at night.
For more than two decades, Noga's death has remained an open investigation.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
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