The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The investigation into the longest unsolved murder in Somerset County recently took a new twist with the exhumation of the remains of the 15-year-old victim.
Sharon Thor was killed in October of 1982 after she was seen getting into a car with two males in front of her John E. Busch Avenue home. Her disappearance came after she took a phone call, tucking herself away from the rest of her family while she spoke to the person on the other end of the line.
Thor’s bludgeoned body was found several days after her disappearance in a field close to her home.
The revelation that Thor’s remains have been exhumed was made by Frank Resta, a lifelong township resident who has been at the forefront of bringing renewed attention to the 41-year-old case.
“The family told me that they exhumed her body,” Resta said. “Science has advanced … so that hopefully now that can help” in the investigation.
Authorities have hinted at using DNA evidence to solve the case over the years, but nothing has as yet materialized.
The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating the case with the Franklin Township Police Department, was mum on the most recent revelation.
“(T)he investigation remains open as an on-going Homicide Investigation which is being conducted by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and Franklin Township Police Department,” Chief Francisco Roman Jr., the Prosecutor’s Office spokesman, wrote in an email. “With all on-going investigations we cannot comment further to maintain the integrity of the investigation.”
Resta is a local business owner who attended high school with Thor. His interest was piqued when he attended the FTPD’s Community Police Academy, during which the Thor case was discussed.
Resta started a reward fund – separate from the CrimeStoppers of Somerset County’s $5,000 reward established in 2019 – with $500.
A production at Villager’s Theatre of a play written by a friend of Thor’s family raised more money for the reward fund and that, combined with additional donations, helped it grow to $4,000.
