Six people whose deaths were investigated in Suffolk County cold cases dating back as far as 1976 have been publicly identified, including three homicide victims whose names remained unknown for nearly 50 years, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Among them are a woman shot four times in Montauk in 1978, a 26-year-old mother found strangled at Heckscher State Park and a man whose burned body was discovered in Deer Park in 1976.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced the breakthroughs Nov. 12, crediting advances in forensic technology and the work of the county’s Cold Case Task Force, a partnership between prosecutors and Suffolk County police.
The investigations used advanced DNA testing, genetic genealogy, fingerprint analysis and cooperation with other law enforcement agencies to establish the identities. Authorities are now asking the public for information that could help determine what happened to the victims.
“Every person deserves to be known by their name, and every victim deserves answers and justice,” Tierney said. “Five decades have passed since the first of these individuals was found deceased, but our commitment to identifying them and pursuing justice has never wavered.”
Three homicide victims identified after nearly 50 years
Deer Park, 1976: Ramon Perez y Rivera
On Nov. 27, 1976, three people hunting rabbits in Deer Park discovered the severely burned body of a man lying face up. Investigators determined he had died from a gunshot wound to his lower right abdomen.
For nearly five decades, authorities referred to him as “Raymond Doe” because of a tattoo bearing the name Raymond on his left arm.
Investigators have now identified him as Ramon Perez y Rivera, a native of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, who was approximately 41 when he died. According to prosecutors, his last documented proof of life was a 1950 U.S. Census record listing him as Raymond while he lived in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Montauk, 1978: Sofia Margherita Marrone
On March 22, 1978, a U.S. airman taking his lunch break discovered an elderly woman’s body near the parking lot at East Overlook Park on Montauk Highway. The medical examiner determined she had been shot four times and was likely killed only hours before being found.
For 48 years, investigators knew her only as “Montauk Mary.”
Authorities have now identified her as Sofia Margherita Marrone, 73, of Pleasantville, New Jersey. She was last seen March 16, 1978, leaving Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point, New Jersey, six days before her body was discovered.
Investigators are also examining a possible connection to Richard Biegenwald, a serial killer known as the “Jersey Shore Thrill Killer,” according to Newsday’s account of Thursday’s announcement. Tierney said investigators have not established a forensic link between Biegenwald, who died in 2008, and Marrone’s killing.
East Islip, 1978: Antoinette Rugg
On April 2, 1978, a man walking his dog along the beach at Heckscher State Park discovered what appeared to be part of a human skull protruding from the sand. Police uncovered skeletal remains with a belt tightly wrapped around the victim’s neck, and an autopsy determined she had been strangled.
For nearly 48 years, she was known as “Heckscher Jane Doe.”
Investigators have now identified her as Antoinette Rugg, a 26-year-old mother from Lindenhurst who had a 10-year-old son at the time of her death. According to Newsday, her son attended Thursday’s announcement but did not speak publicly.
Prosecutors said all three homicide victims were identified using next-generation DNA sequencing and investigative genetic genealogy. Traditional DNA profiles entered into a national law enforcement database had previously failed to produce matches.
Three additional cold case identities revealed
Riverhead, 1990: Kyong-Ok Kim
On March 12, 1990, a Riverhead Town employee operating a street sweeper near a wooded area off Osborne Avenue spotted what initially appeared to be a mannequin. A closer examination revealed the body of a woman.
Authorities have now publicly identified her as Kyong-Ok Kim, 32, who was born in South Korea. Unlike the three homicide victims, Kim had previously been identified by investigators, but her name had never been released publicly.
Kim married and moved to the United States in 1978, settling in Michigan, where she gave birth to a son later that year. Around 1985, she became estranged from her family and moved to New York, where she worked for a time at a Manhattan grocery store and lived in Woodside, Queens.
Her cause of death remains under investigation.
Fire Island, 1990: Omelios Steward
On Nov. 4, 1990, the U.S. Coast Guard recovered an unidentified man’s body floating in the Atlantic Ocean approximately nine miles south of Fire Island. Authorities believe he drowned, but his identity remained unknown for almost 36 years.
Advances in fingerprint analysis have now identified him as Omelios Steward, who was 28 when he died. His family members attended Thursday’s announcement, according to Newsday.
Montauk, 1999: Andreas Kupke
On Dec. 24, 1999, a partially decomposed body was discovered along the high tide mark east of Ditch Plains in Montauk. For nearly 27 years, investigators were unable to identify the man.
Authorities have now identified him as Andreas Kupke, a 27-year-old German tourist who arrived at Newark International Airport on Nov. 24, 1999.
Kupke had planned to return to Germany on Dec. 4, 1999, but never boarded his scheduled flight. His parents subsequently reported him missing to German authorities.
The identification resulted from cooperation among Interpol, the New Jersey State Police, the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory, East Hampton Town Police and German authorities. Nearly 27 years after their son disappeared, Kupke’s parents were notified of the circumstances surrounding his death.
Investigators seek answers in decades-old cases
The Suffolk County Cold Case Task Force includes prosecutors from the district attorney’s Cold Case Unit and Suffolk County police detectives. Officials said advanced forensic testing has allowed investigators to revisit evidence that previously produced no answers.
“For far too long, these victims remained unidentified, but they were never forgotten,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said. “Advances in forensic science and the persistence of the District Attorney’s Cold Case Unit, which includes Suffolk County Police detectives, have finally given us their names.”
Although authorities have established or publicly revealed the six identities, significant questions remain about several of the deaths, including the three unsolved homicides.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about these individuals or other unresolved cases to contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS (8477). Translation services are available, and information can also be submitted through the Suffolk County Crime Stoppers website.
Photo: Suffolk County investigators revealed the identities of six people connected to decades-old cold cases, including three homicide victims whose remains were discovered in Deer Park, Montauk and East Islip. (Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office)
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