Investigators revealed that they identified Christine Belusko of Morris County, New Jersey, nearly two years ago, in April 2021.
Police have publicly identified a woman who was found murdered in New York City more than 30 years ago, with the hope of both tracking down her daughter and identifying her killer, authorities announced Tuesday.
Investigators revealed that they identified Christine Belusko of Morris County, New Jersey, nearly two years ago, in April 2021, as the woman who for decades was known only as “the girl with the scorpion tattoo.”
Her body was found “brutally beaten, strangled and burned” in a vacant lot on the East Shore of Staten Island in September 1991, Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon told reporters Tuesday.
Found face-up, handcuffed and partially clothed, she was the victim of what McMahon described as a “brutal and depraved murder” that long troubled local law enforcement, who knew little of the victim beyond the distinctive tattoo she bore on her buttocks.
Now, they are revealing her identity with the hope that doing so will help solve another longtime mystery — who killed her? — and track down the daughter they didn’t know she had.
Search for a killer continues
Belusko died of more than 17 blows to her head — likely with a hammer engraved with “Lloyd L” on the handle that was found under her body — and strangulation, said David Nilsen, chief of detective investigators for the district attorney’s office.
She was wearing a dress, sneakers, and two gold chains, Nilsen added. Her body had been at the scene — near 777 Seaview Ave. — since at least 6 p.m. the night before her body was found, he added.
After her body was discovered, her fingerprints were entered into state and local databases in an attempt to identify her, and sketches of Belusko, her tattoo and jewelry were shared with the public, Nilsen said.
Authorities chased down any leads they could find about the identity of the victim and her killer, but turned up nothing, he said.
Investigators had identified someone with the name on the hammer handle — “Lloyd L” — but but there was no indication that he was involved and he could not be prosecuted based on the information authorities had, McMahon said. That person is no longer living, the district attorney added.
The circumstances of Belusko’s brutal death suggests her killer knew her, McMahon said.
“There’s absolutely no indication that this was done by anyone other than someone who knew her, given the facts of the case and what transpired and the way she was murdered, and does not seem random but certainly was very brutal,” he said.
“There’s no indication at all that this was some sort of serial killer out on the prowl and picked her up, this seemed to be someone who knew her,” he added.
Cracking a cold case
In 2008, the district attorney’s office revisited the case and submitted Belusko’s DNA into CODIS — a federal DNA database used by law enforcement — and sent her dental records to the FBI, Nilsen said. But no new leads turned up at that time.
Alongside the FBI and the New York City Police Department, the district attorney’s office conducted forensic genealogy research and detective work after McMahon decided in 2019 to use the controversial technology to try to solve the case, said Nilsen.
They identified her after submitting her blood and tissue to a Houston lab in 2019, zeroing in on possible DNA matches in New York and New Jersey and obtaining a DNA swab from her biological brother reported.
Belusko had been put up for adoption by a New Jersey woman with eight other children; after she learned she was adopted, she drifted apart from her adopted family members and none of them knew she had been murdered, according to the Times.
At the news conference, McMahon said the decision to use forensic genealogy — which has helped solve several similar decades-old cold cases — came after “every other methodology had been tried.”
“If we can use genealogy to get tips to other facts that help us close out a case, I see no ethical problem,” he said, adding that they would not pursue a conviction based on genealogical records alone.
Investigation turns up a daughter
After finally identifying Belusko in 2021, authorities informed her family members, including her brother, who they interviewed in June 2021, Nilsen said. (It is not clear if that is the same brother who provided the DNA swab.) The brother told investigators Belusko had a daughter, Christa Nicole, who was born on Aug. 1, 1989, making her a little over 2 years old at the time of her mother’s death.
Detectives have already searched records for missing children or children found dead at that time, but none have proven connected to the case, McMahon said.
Investigators do not know the father of Belusko’s daughter, or where the girl was at the time of her mother’s death, authorities said.
Authorities are now hoping to track down the daughter, who should be 33 years old and was born at the now-closed Barnert Memorial Hospital in Paterson, New Jersey.
At the news conference Tuesday, authorities showed an age progression image of what she may look like today.
The district attorney’s office did not immediately respond Wednesday to NBC News’ requests for the photo.
Authorities also shared more information about Belusko: Her last known address was in Clifton, New Jersey, where she lived until late July 1991, investigators said, adding that she had been staying in Mount Airy Lodge in the Poconos prior to her death.
She had worked in a clothing store — Rainbow Shops — in New Jersey, and was wearing clothing from there at the time of her death.
Investigators are still looking into why she was on Staten Island at the time of her death.
For now, they are hoping someone in the public knows something about who killed Belusko or where her daughter might be, they said.
“We have pretty much run down all the leads we can in trying to locate the individuals who would know Christa Nicole and any other leads that may help us in solving the underlying crime,” McMahon said.