On Sept. 20, 1991, an unidentified adult female was found deceased and handcuffed, with severe injuries to her head in a wooded area on Seaview Avenue in Ocean Breeze.
District Attorney Michael E. McMahon plans to
reveal “significant updates” in the investigation during a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
he murdered woman’s identity has remained a mystery despite numerous attempts by local and national law enforcement throughout the years to identify her.
Detectives considered the possibility of the woman being a recent immigrant to the United States. If the woman was alone and fairly new to the country, it would explain why there was no one who recognized her. Any potential relatives may not have known of her fate after losing contact with her because no one came forward to identify her. Also, in 1991 communication technology was not nearly what is is today, and resources used for overseas communication like What’s App did not exist.
2. Did she work for the circus?
Police at one point looked to see if she was possibly employed by a traveling circus at the time of her murder, Advance/SILive.com records show. That possibility turned out to be a bust.
3. Was she a victim of Joel the Ripper?
The case was examined by investigators who were probing the slayings of self-described Long Island serial killer Joel Rifkin. No connection was ever announced.
4. Was she missing from California?
Cops probed the theory that the woman may have been reported missing from Vallejo, Calif. However, California authorities determined that the Jane Doe was not their missing woman upon receiving her medical charts.
The Scorpion murder
Thirty cents, a pack of Newports, two gold chains, a ring watch, and a little black dress were the only clues investigators had in 1991 to identify the brutalized body of the young woman.
The woman, investigators determined, was killed by strangulation and more than a dozen blows with a hammer to the back of her head before being set on fire. Authorities said that it is possible that she was murdered then dumped at the Seaview Avenue site, where a passerby discovered the body.
Prosecutors are set to reveal "significant updates" on Tuesday in one of Staten Island's enduring mysteries.
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