Nicole Ganguzza had many things to look forward to during June 2008. The 26-year-old woman was a graduate student at University of Central Florida and was close to finishing her master's degree in marriage and family therapy. Additionally, Nicole had recently gotten married and was looking forward to starting a family with her new husband. Unfortunately, none of those exciting things ever got to happen, as Nicole's life was tragically taken on June 10th, 2008.
The day of Nicole's murder began as a typical one. Nicole attended class at the Orlando university, finishing around 5:30 PM. Shortly thereafter, she called her new husband, Brendan Ganguzza, to tell him that she was going jogging at the nearby Jay Blanchard Park.
Brendan began to worry around 7:00 PM, after he could no longer reach Nicole via phone. He then went to the park himself to search for his wife. Brendan searched unsuccessfully for about 2 hours before calling the police to report Nicole's disappearance.
Authorities searched for Nicole until 1:00 AM without any success. Around 60 people returned the following day to continue the search, during which Nicole's body was discovered around 5:15 PM. It was clear that she had been attacked and dragged off the trail by her assailant. Authorities later confirmed that Nicole died by strangulation.
Reports note that Blanchard Park was not Nicole's usual jogging spot. However, it is a popular jogging spot amongst Orlando locals. A 2008 report on Nicole's murder states that authorities believe Nicole's killer was a "stranger who had lain in wait on the jogging trail for the appropriate situation to occur." It was noted that two other women had been attacked on the same trail in 2006 and 2007 respectively. Both women escaped their attacker.
Shortly after Nicole's murder, a man named Clemente F. Garcia was arrested in connection to the 2007 attack. The arrest came after the then-20-year-old Garcia's DNA matched DNA found on the victim from 2007. At the time of Garcia's arrest, authorities stated that they hoped to question him in Nicole's case.
In March 2009, it was reported that police executed a search warrant "on the mobile home of a man who is considered a person of interest in the case." However, over 15 years have passed since that reporting, and no arrests have ever been made in Nicole's case. No suspects have ever been publicly identified.
The murder of Nicole Ganguzza remains unsolved today. The Orange County Sheriff's Department has investigative agency over the case. If you have any information that could help solve Nicole's case, please contact authorities at (407) 254-7000.
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Sources:
CNN
Sources:
CNN
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