ID Of Riverhead 'Jane Doe' Released For First Time: DA

RIVERHEAD, NY — The identity of six "John" and "Jane Doe" individuals, dating back 50 years across Long Island, have been released for the first time Friday — and one of them was the Riverhead Jane Doe, who has remained a mystery since 1990, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Two other individuals found in Montauk were also identified, the DA said.

Tierney, along with the Suffolk County Police Department , announced the identification of the six individuals Thursday; the cases span nearly five decades, with the earliest dating back to 1976, Tierney said.

Three of the individuals are homicide victims, Tierney said.

Regarding the case of Riverhead Jane Doe, on March 12, 1990, at about 12:40 p.m., a Riverhead Town employee was operating a street sweeper near a wooded area off Osborne Avenue, south of Horton Road, in Riverhead, Tierney said.

At that time, the employee saw what he believed to be a mannequin just off the side of the road, Tierney said.

Upon closer inspection, he observed the body of a deceased Asian female, the DA said.

The woman’s cause of death remains under investigation, Tierney said.

While the woman had previously been identified by law enforcement, her identity was never made public, Tierney said.

On Thursday, the Cold Case Task Force released the identity of "Riverhead Jane Doe" as Kyong-Ok Kim of South Korea, born on November 30, 1957, Tierney said.

The investigation established that in 1978, Kim married, moved to the United States and settled in Michigan, the DA said.

Later that year, Kim gave birth to a son, Tierney said.

Around 1985, Kim became estranged from her family and moved to New York where she worked, for a time, at a grocery store in Manhattan and resided in Woodside, Queens, Tierney said.

At the time of her death, Kim was 32 years old, Tierney said.

"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. Through advances in DNA technology, including next generation sequencing, and the persistence of our Cold Case Task Force, we have been able to identify six individuals whose cases had long gone unsolved. Restoring their identities is about more than solving a cold case. It’s the first step in determining what happened to them and giving their families long-awaited answers that they deserve."

Also identified was "Montauk Mary," first found in 1978, the DA said.

On March 22, 1978, at about 12:30 p.m., a United States Airman was seated in his vehicle while on lunch break at the East Overlook Park on Montauk Highway, Tierney said.

At that time, he observed the body of a white female about 15 feet from the parking lot, the DA said.

The Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the woman had suffered four gunshot wounds and had likely been deceased for mere hours before being found, Tierney said.

For the last 48 years, the woman could only be referred to as "Montauk Mary," the DA said.

On Friday, the woman "can finally be referred to by her name," — Sofia Margherita Marrone of Pleasantville, NJ, born on January 18, 1905, Tierney said.

Marrone was last seen just days before her death, on March 16, 1978, as she left Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point, NJ, the DA said. At the time of her death, she was 73 years old, Tierney said.

"For far too long, these victims remained unidentified, but they were never forgotten," said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina. "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. Our work is not done and we remain committed to uncovering the circumstances of their deaths."

Other homicide cases included Raymond Doe, found in 1976 in Deer Park, and Heckscher Jane Doe, found in 1978.

On April 2, 1978, an individual was walking his dog along the beach at Heckscher State Park. The dog began scratching at loose sand, exposing what appeared to be the top of a human skull. Law enforcement responded to the scene and ultimately uncovered a set of human skeletal remains. A belt was observed tightly bound around the neck area of the victim. During the autopsy, the victim’s cause-of-death was determined to be strangulation.

Notably, Tierney said, Montauk Mary, Raymond Doe and Heckscher Jane Doe were identified through the utilization of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG).

On October 9,Tierney testified in favor of NGS use in New York State public laboratories during a public hearing before the New York State Commission on Forensic Science and the DNA subcommittee.

In each of the cases, the task force was able to develop a traditional autosomal DNA profile from each victim’s remains and uploaded them to CODIS, which failed to yield any results., Tierney said.

CODIS is short for the Combined DNA Index System, a national database managed by the Federal Bureau of Investigations that allows law enforcement agencies to compare DNA profiles from unidentified remains with those of missing persons or close relatives who have submitted a family reference sample, Tierney said.

At the time of his sentencing, it was announced that Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann's DNA would be released into the CODIS system; the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on those results.

Next, task force members employed NGS to restore the identities of the six individuals.

Two additional individuals were publicly identified Thursday.

John Doe, found in Montauk: On December 24, 1999, a partially decomposed body was found alongside the high tide mark east of Ditch Plains in Montauk, the DA said. For almost 27 years, the could only be referred to as "John Doe," Tierney said.

Recently, through partnerships with Interpol, the New Jersey State Police, the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory, East Hampton Town police, and German authorities, the individual has been identified as Andreas Kupke, born on September 23, 1972, the DA said.

He was a German citizen who was 27 years old at the time of his death, Tierney said.

Kupke was scheduled to visit the United States between November 24 and December 4, 1999, the DA said.

He arrived at Newark International Airport on November 24, 1999, but never boarded his return flight on December 4, 1999, Tierney said.

Subsequently, Kupke’s parents reported their son missing to German authorities; nearly 27 years later, his parents were finally notified of the circumstances of their son’s death, Tierney said.

Another John Doe was also revealed: On November 4, 1990, an unidentified and floating in the Atlantic Ocean by the United States Coast Guard, about nine miles south of Fire Island, the DA said.

Due to the circumstances in which the victim was found, the victim’s cause-of-death is believed to be drowning, Tierney said. For almost 36 years, the individual remained nameless, the DA said. On Thursday, as a result of advancements in fingerprint analysis, his identity was revealed as Omelios Steward, born on June 23, 1962; Steward was 28 years old at the time of his death, the DA said.

The District Attorney’s Office thanked its local partners, the Suffolk County Police Department, the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory, as well as partners at Astrea Forensics, Bode Technology, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and the Latent Print Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the DA's Office also thanked its genealogist and the Bureau of Justice Administration’s grant program for the Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Grant, which helped fund the work, the DA said.

Anyone with information about these or any other unresolved cases is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS or by visiting their website.

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