Key Evidence In 2015 Train Track Death Was Mishandled: Report

MAYS LANDING, NJ — An analysis of key evidence in the 2015 suspicious death of Mays Landing teenager Tiffany Valiante concluded that the items were so poorly handled by NJ Transit Police investigators that they were useless, according to a report released by Valiante family attorney Paul D'Amato.

Tiffany Valiante, then 18, died after midnight on July 12, 2015, after being struck by a NJ Transit train along a section of track in Galloway. The death was quickly ruled as a suicide, which the Valiante family has disputed in the years since.

NJ Transit declined to comment.

DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC) in Ohio analyzed the evidence and said it was difficult to get DNA due to the poor manner in which the evidence was treated and stored. According to the Valiante family, some evidence was even lost.

According to the DDC report, evidence was not properly sealed or labeled. An important piece of evidence, the t-shirt Tiffany had been wearing, had been placed in a plastic bag that was knotted closed. The DDC said that evidence containing DNA should be placed in paper bags or envelopes to keep it dry so it does not grow mold.

Other items had been left outdoors and exposed to the elements, contaminating them, according to the report.

The Valiante family believes Tiffany to be the victim of foul play. Read More: Could South Jersey Woman Have Been Kidnapped Before She Died?

"We were hopeful for a miracle with the DNA testing, especially knowing Tiffany’s death from the start was dismissed as a suicide without a proper investigation ever conducted," Dianne and Stephen Valiante, Tiffany's parents, said in a statement. "There’s no excuse for evidence being mishandled, even lost as in the case of a bloodied axe and a keychain found at the scene. We know her killer or killers are still free and must be held accountable for Tiffany’s death. We again appeal to the Attorney General to reopen this case and pray for justice for Tiffany."