Unsolved Mysteries: Tiffany Valiante

[Mastersmysteries]

I watched it tonight. Weird one, with Tiffany leaving the party and her parents just a minute behind (verified on the trail cam) and she's gone. I find it odd the phone, shoes and headband were found where they were. I also found it odd the 3 convenience store witnesses didn't tell the cops the same thing the store owner heard. Definitely some reasons to think of foul play.

The scene must have been horrific with the train slicing her body into pieces. The blood on the tracks looked to have come from her as a result of the train. It doesn't sound like they did a great job cleaning up since her uncle found some large pieces nearby the tracks. Anyway, with her body being that far destroyed I was thinking the shorts could have been caught on the train and fallen off later down the tracks, further than they searched.

Overall I lean towards it being a suicide. The credit card thing, the breakup. Kids can do drastic things on a whim and that is what it sounds like happened here, IMO.

To me it sounds Iike she was hot maybe from walking and took off her shoes (might have been hurting) and her headband. She wasn’t found completely naked, I think they said only her shorts were missing. From the trail cam, these were super short. This is probably the weirdest part but as @GatorFL said, maybe on impact they ended up tearing and catching in some nook of the train. I have heard of other cases with hit and runs of the victims coming out of their clothes on impact and this was a huge hit. Being somewhat sceptical I also thought, maybe they were so ripped (they were very short to begin with) that they might not have been recognisable and may have been logged incorrectly by the MD. They don’t tend to return things like that to the family so I don’t know that we can say with 100% certainty that her shorts were not on her…

Given the temps the "being hot" theory doesn't make any sense. The terrain being what it was, it doesn't make sense that she'd take off, even uncomfortable shoes. Where they were found was forest, (sticks/branches to walk over). Then at the railroad sharp rocks.

 

[PotterHead]

Given the temps the "being hot" theory doesn't make any sense. The terrain being what it was, it doesn't make sense that she'd take off, even uncomfortable shoes. Where they were found was forest, (sticks/branches to walk over). Then at the railroad sharp rocks.

The article posted by another member mentions that it was a hot night. This is also supported by what she was seen wearing. If she was going through something and experiencing mental distress and was suicidal, it’s also futile to try to make rational sense of inherently irrational behaviour.

 

[PotterHead]

Also, re the rape kit that apparently wasn’t performed: can anyone point me to a statement from police or a document about that? I’m just wondering whether it wasn’t done because it couldn’t be done due to the amount of trauma on the body rather than just lazy police work which is why the family believe.

 

[GatorFL]

Also, re the rape kit that apparently wasn’t performed: can anyone point me to a statement from police or a document about that? I’m just wondering whether it wasn’t done because it couldn’t be done due to the amount of trauma on the body rather than just lazy police work which is why the family believe.

Do you think transit cops even do those or do they refer to local LEO?

 

[PotterHead]

Do you think transit cops even do those or do they refer to local LEO?

I think irrespective of which part of the police carries out the investigation, the bodies are taken to the same morgue and the same local MEs perform the exams. So it would be a standard process in that respect but I don’t know if every jurisdiction does those kits automatically or if they have to be specifically requested by the police. That’s why I was wondering if there are documents showing that a kit was not requested.

 

[Cocoapuff65]

What a great article! Thanks for sharing. Presents arguments on each theory and lots of detail. Why was most of this information not included in the episode? To inflate the mystery elements by withholding known facts? It’s like the Rey Rivera case all over again. Sigh.
Undoubtedly the police could have done a better job with the evidence but I still don’t see anything that clearly shows third party involvement. It’s interesting that she had taken money from her parents account too so it wasn’t a one off thing. Just shows there was something going on with her.

I have seen this story profiled on another show not long ago. UM did indeed omit a lot of details. What came to mind when watching tonight then reading the article (excellent) was 1) she was overwhelmed with the (over?)reaction of her family and friends, and the intense searching/chase that ensued. Surely she heard the motorbikes, and maybe she realized this was turning into a serious situation that no one would quickly forget about. 2) weighing the impulsive risk-taking against all of her successes and bright future, perhaps there was an emptiness, a darkness that wanted to sabotage this promising future 3) she impulsively decided to end things or she was startled by someone searching for her while taking a daring risk by standing so close to the train tracks. I do not think she was intentionally harmed.

 

[Cocoapuff65]

Do you think transit cops even do those or do they refer to local LEO?

I thought it odd that the transit cops are required to investigate…

 

[PotterHead]

I have seen this story profiled on another show not long ago. UM did indeed omit a lot of details. What came to mind when watching tonight then reading the article (excellent) was 1) she was overwhelmed with the (over?)reaction of her family and friends, and the intense searching/chase that ensued. Surely she heard the motorbikes, and maybe she realized this was turning into a serious situation that no one would quickly forget about. 2) weighing the impulsive risk-taking against all of her successes and bright future, perhaps there was an emptiness, a darkness that wanted to sabotage this promising future 3) she impulsively decided to end things or she was startled by someone searching for her while taking a daring risk by standing so close to the train tracks. I do not think she was intentionally harmed.

Really good points. I often think of what would have happened in cases like this if the person was found following a big search. The family would be relieved but probably really pissed off too. She probably thought she’d be in trouble over the credit card and then the running away added to that. She had obvisouly had trouble with her mother before (article).
The credit card thing really gives me Maura Murray vibes. Middle class girls, no prior record, start doing really stupid things that would easily get them caught. Is that a sign of something else?

 

[MassGuy]

Imo, absolutely suicide. The chance that Tiffany had a confrontation with a friend and her mom about stealing, tossed her phone, ran off in (possibly) embarrassment and distress, then met up with a murderer late at night in the woods as she ran? And the train staff lied about seeing her alone? That is essentially impossible. The oddest coincidence ever, and we’ve seen some odd ones on websleuths.

Are they insinuating the train staff purposely killed their daughter and are lying to cover? Otherwise, the train staff wouldn’t be covering for the murderer unless they are the murderers? Just bizarre. I feel for the parents, but there are simple, plausible reasons why the stories changed slightly, even just because engineers should have rung the bell, etc., and didn’t follow perfect procedures. No signs of murder.

Understandably, the family is in denial their daughter could have been so distressed, she would have committed this final act. So very sad. What is that saying? Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem? Who knows how long Tiffany’s distress had been going on, with prior history of stealing, and a very high level of achievement. She may have been a perfectionist and deeply hiding “shameful” parts of herself for a very long time. I’m not saying they were shameful, they just felt that way to a teen girl. Just my own speculation. Who knows? I’m very sad she felt this was her only choice. RIP sweet Tiffany.

Totally agree. I just watched the episode myself, and there's just no way that wasn't a suicide. I was annoyed that case was even covered, to be honest. After I watched it I googled and read what they left out; I was actually pretty mad.

This was as slanted as that Making A Murder nonsense.

 

[PotterHead]

Totally agree. I just watched the episode myself, and there's just no way that wasn't a suicide. I was annoyed that case was even covered, to be honest. After I watched it I googled and read what they left out; I was actually pretty mad.

This was as slanted as that Making A Murder nonsense.

I totally get it! I kept thinking, OMG I can think of five super mysterious cases just off the top of my head - why is this one getting the air time, chasing non-existent conspiracies. Exactly what they did with the Rey Rivera case in season 1.

 

[MassGuy]

I totally get it! I kept thinking, OMG I can think of five super mysterious cases just off the top of my head - why is this one getting the air time, chasing non-existent conspiracies. Exactly what they did with the Rey Rivera case in season 1.

I think the older episodes (80s and 90s) did a much better job of presenting cases in a balanced manner. This new iteration almost feels like if a clickbait headline was turned into a show.

 

[customCF]

how would you explain Tiffany's feet being "clean" when she was found?

How did she walk so far without shoes and her feet not get dirty? From the links that other posters have put in their posts they seem to indicate that her feet were clean

 

[PotterHead]

how would you explain Tiffany's feet being "clean" when she was found?

How did she walk so far without shoes and her feet not get dirty? From the links that other posters have put in their posts they seem to indicate that her feet were clean

I think for me it’s about where the information about the clean feet is coming from. Is there a written account by the ME? I can’t imagine given the impact that there would be no blood on the feet. As for dirt, it would depend on (1) how long she walked without shoes and (2) what the terrain was. If it was dry and grassy, probably wouldn’t make the feet too dirty.
The point is, in cases like that you hear bold statements like “her feet were clean” repeated by the family because it supports their theory, but that doesn’t explain any nuance (how clean were they exactly) and it doesn’t make sense for her feet to have no blood on them for example (horrific injuries and extremely bloody scene). So without actually seeing the written evidence and photos (I don’t think the public has access to either of those), I take it with a grain of salt personally.

 

[GatorFL]

how would you explain Tiffany's feet being "clean" when she was found?

How did she walk so far without shoes and her feet not get dirty? From the links that other posters have put in their posts they seem to indicate that her feet were clean

I wouldn't call the foot they showed in the program to be "clean". JMO

 

[Ksprincess2]

I think the older episodes (80s and 90s) did a much better job of presenting cases in a balanced manner. This new iteration almost feels like if a clickbait headline was turned into a show.

Totally agree! It's annoying to me that out of all of the true mystery/crime cases out there, Unsolved Mysteries chose this case that's not actually a case. I feel bad for her family but this show did nothing to help them heal or to help solve a real crime.

 

[RaeOx]

Everything Unsolved Mysteries Leaves Out About Tiffany Valiante's Death

Unsolved Mysteries’ coverage misses some details.

screenrant.com

I have not heard of this case before your post today. I couldn't find any actual news articles about the case but lots of opinion articles due to the Netflix show. Without that, I am not sure what to think. But most people hit by a train are accidents or suicides. Young kids can get upset about something relatively minor that appears like the end of the world, especially if they are drinking or drugging/partying and make permanent decisions about temporary problems. Very sad.

Hey Wendy. So I did a quick search to bring up any articles from 2015-2021 for each year individually below Hope that's okay folks.

All Google links:
2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021

 

[RaeOx]

I totally get it! I kept thinking, OMG I can think of five super mysterious cases just off the top of my head - why is this one getting the air time, chasing non-existent conspiracies. Exactly what they did with the Rey Rivera case in season 1.

I feel as if at this point the Rey Rivera has more evidence compared to this case (though still very little).

There are things within this case that don't add up, such as why didn't they mention the Stolen Credit Card owner having any interview or spoken with at least being the last person outside of the family & the home that she spoke with apart from her parents. They had a row so at least a conversation with this girl should have happened by the investigators but apparently nothing come up about that and I believe at the end it said she didn't want to be involved in the making of the episode either. They could of investigated into how much she spent giving a clearer indication as to what it was used for and why and if it had caused a significant amount of debt for her friend which would of caused Tiffany to be in a distraught manor.

The lack of damage to the feet is also a bit off as that far of a walk would of atleast caused more than just some dirt marks upon her feet as shown in the photograph that was on the episode.

There's of course more things but they are in this case quite small details unfortunately. I hope whatever the facts are, the family can eventually find some peace and truth somewhere. Evidence going missing really doesn't help and could of closed this case for the family and friends themselves several years back but the system are always apparently losing evidence it seems so its no surprise.

 

[wendybtn]

Hey Wendy. So I did a quick search to bring up any articles from 2015-2021 for each year individually below Hope that's okay folks.

All Google links:
2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021

Thanks for your work but all of the articles I saw through your link were published recently. I meant the original articles that were published around the time of the incident. But after several years and possibly little coverage at the time, I haven't found any.

 

[RaeOx]

Thanks for your work but all of the articles I saw through your link were published recently. I meant the original articles that were published around the time of the incident. But after several years and possibly little coverage at the time, I haven't found any.

That's odd as the links worked for myself and I just pressed them again and they're working still and taking me to set timeframes of years for the different links available. Are you using mobile or Web?

Nevertheless - try doing what I did but manually your end, press tools and add the time frame you'd prefer

 

[wendybtn]

That's odd as the links worked for myself and I just pressed them again and they're working still and taking me to set timeframes of years for the different links available. Are you using mobile or Web?

Nevertheless - try doing what I did but manually your end, press tools and add the time frame you'd prefer

I am talking about the publication dates around the time of her death, not articles published the last few weeks that contain the different years in the body of the article.