A Winnipeg man has been charged with first-degree murder of an American woman 27 years ago in New Jersey and extradited to the U.S.

Robert Creter, now 60, was working as a day labourer in Bridgewater, N.J., when the body of 23-year-old Tamara Tignor was found, said a news release from New Jersey prosecutors and police.

Tignor's body was found on a dirt access road near Washington Valley Park on Nov. 4, 1997. She was from Newark, N.J.

The case went cold until January 2023, when detectives from both the Somerset Country Prosecutor's Officer and the New Jersey State Police used more advanced DNA testing and got a match for Robert Creter, the news release said Monday.

Somerset County Police Chief Frank Roman did not comment on how the DNA was matched to Creter or whether he had any past criminal convictions. Roman also could not comment on whether the two knew each other. 

Creter, a Canadian citizen, relocated to Winnipeg in 2002, where he's been living until now, police said.

Creter was arrested in Winnipeg in June and was extradited to the U.S. in November.