A girl who was murdered by a bunch of males in Queens greater than three a long time in the past has lastly been recognized – by superior DNA testing – as a mother who went lacking quickly after celebrating her daughter’s first birthday, prosecutors mentioned.
Judy Rodriguez was 30 when her household reported her lacking on January 23, 1991, a short while after her daughter Stephanie’s first party.
A number of months later, on Aug. 25, 1991, an unidentified girl’s physique was discovered hidden below a big wood board – with a wire binding her ankles – in a grassy space the place the Cross Island and Southern State parkways meet, in accordance with the Queens District Legal professional’s Workplace.
An in-depth DNA evaluation revealed — 33 years later — that Rodriguez was actually the sufferer of the ugly slaying.
“It truly is heartwarming to have solutions,” Anna Salvadore, Rodriguez’s sister, informed NBC 4 New York.
The investigation revealed that 4 males approached Rodriguez someday between July 15 and Aug. 15, and took her on a nightmarish drive the place two of them tied her up, in accordance with the DA’s workplace.
They drove her to the drop-off spot – pushing her out of the automobile, the place one of many brutes struck her on the pinnacle with a big steel flashlight, prosecutors mentioned.
The blow prompted her demise, in accordance with prosecutors, who mentioned that the violent foursome then drove away.
The crew returned to the scene about two weeks later, and tried to hide the physique by masking their sufferer with a big wood board, the DA’s workplace charged.
4 males – two 20-year-olds and the others ages 18 and 19 on the time of the killing – have been arrested and charged in August and September of that very same 12 months, prosecutors mentioned.
One among them pleaded responsible in September of 1992 to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to eight 1/3 to 25 years in jail.
He was reduce free in 2009 on parole, which discharged him in August of 2016.
Two others pleaded responsible in October 1992 to first-degree reckless endangerment and have been sentenced to 2 1/3 to seven years in jail, the DA’s workplace mentioned.
Each have been launched in 1996 and discharged from parole in April of 1998.
The ultimate suspect pleaded responsible in February of 1993 to hindering prosecution and obtained a sentence of 1 ½ to 4 ½ years in jail.
He was additionally launched to parole in 1996 and finally discharged in July of the next 12 months.
The investigation was revived in November of 2023, when the Queens DA’s Chilly Case Unit and the NYPD referred to as in a personal lab to assist them with clues on the sufferer’s id.
Then in April of 2024, DNA Labs Worldwide used superior DNA testing of the sufferer’s skeletal stays to provide a complete genealogical profile, which was uploaded to public databases, the DA’s workplace mentioned.
Detective Joseph Rodriguez of the NYPD’s Investigative Family tree Squad then used the outcomes to construct a household tree.
Salvadore informed NBC her personal daughter had submitted a DNA pattern to a database and allowed regulation enforcement to assessment it – which finally opened the door to solutions.
An NYPD genealogist referred to as Salvatore, confirming “a attainable DNA match to a lacking particular person,” she informed the community.
“I instantly acquired chills after I heard the message,” she mentioned.
A detective then requested Judy Rodriguez’s daughter Stephanie to submit samples for testing as effectively, the outlet reported.
“It got here again a 100% match on the anniversary of my mother’s passing,” she informed NBC. “I felt prefer it was my mother giving us solutions. It was unbelievable.”
The household is now planning to bury Judy close to her close to her dad and mom and maintain a correct memorial service.
“Truthfully joyful that we’re capable of put her to relaxation. And that we have been capable of finding her,” Stephanie Rodriguez informed the community. “It’s bittersweet however I’m so grateful we’ve solutions. So grateful, past blessed.”
Queens District Legal professional Melinda Katz counseled all the businesses concerned for lastly bringing closure to the grieving household.
“Three a long time in the past, 4 males have been convicted for a ugly killing of an unidentified girl,” Katz mentioned in an announcement. “Although justice was served, the household went 33 lengthy years with none solutions about their liked one.”
“Because of our companions on the NYPD and the Workplace of Chief Medical Examiner, we’ve now offered these essential particulars, which I hope brings a measure of solace,” she added. “This case is a major instance of the willpower of my Chilly Case Unit in figuring out victims and fixing the borough’s oldest, most difficult homicides.”
Rep. Grace Meng, who secured a $500,000 grant for the DA’s workplace to research chilly instances, additionally applauded the long-awaited break within the investigation.
“This newest case from 1991 underscores why this cash is so vital, and it’s an instance of the forms of instances it is going to be used to resolve,” Meng mentioned. “I’m proud to work with District Legal professional Katz in pursuing justice for the victims of chilly instances in Queens, and I proceed to face together with her in by no means forgetting about them and their family members.”
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