The Disappearance of Shelayah Gonzalez

 

Shelayah Renee Gonzalez vanished at the age of 21 on July 16th, 2005. The young woman lived in Brooklyn, New York at the time of her disappearance. Shelayah was reportedly last seen at her residence in the 1100 block of Winthrop Street in the New York City borough. She disappeared at some point following that final sighting and has never been seen or heard from again.

There are very few details available about Shelayah’s case. The circumstances/events leading up to her disappearance are unclear. The one detail that has been publicly shared is that Shelayah had a son who passed at 24 months old in June 2005 - less than a month before she vanished. 

In January 2011, approximately five and a half years after Shelayah’s disappearance, her aunt made the following post on CNN’s iReport site: “My niece, Shelayah Renee Gonzalez, has been missing since July 16, 2005. She lost her 24-month-old son in June and disappeared from home less than a month later. Her mother and I looked all over NYC for her to include contacting the NYPD and placing posters in neighborhoods that she has grown up in. We are still in contact with the NYPD and have hit a stone wall because of her age. We've been unable to get any new information on her although we feel that the NYPD has information concerning her disappearance or current location.”

Now, nearly two decades have passed since Shelayah’s disappearance, and there have not been any updates. She remains missing today, and her disappearance is considered a cold case. The loss of Shelayah’s son followed by the disappearance of Shelayah herself must have been devastating events for her family members. They deserve closure and answers about what happened to Shelayah.

If you have any information that could help solve the disappearance of Shelayah Gonzalez, please contact the New York Police Department at 212-473-2042.

Sources:

Charley Project
CNN
NamUs
Track Missing
Websleuths

The Disappearance and Murder of Keisha Roman

 

Keisha Roman vanished at the age of 29 on March 22nd, 2009. The young woman was last seen at her residence in Binghamton, New York. Months later, on September 21st, 2009, Keisha's remains were found in a rural area in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Her death was ruled a homicide.

According to a memorial page for Keisha on FindaGrave.com, she faced legal challenges in the years leading up to her death. In 1996, she was sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter but was released in 2000 after serving just four. Following her release, Keisha briefly pursued acting, landing a role in the 2003 indie film Summers of Tomorrow. However, her legal troubles resurfaced a few years later, and she was arrested again in 2007 on various charges.

The events leading up to Keisha's disappearance are unknown. The Binghamton Police note that Keisha was "reported missing from her Oak Street residence in the City of Binghamton." After Keisha was reported missing, her case seemingly went cold until her remains were found several months later.

Keisha's remains were discovered in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, approximately 20 miles from Binghamton, near the New York state border. Because her body was found in Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Police took over as the lead agency in the investigation. Just days after the discovery, police confirmed that Keisha had been a victim of homicide.

Years later, her murder remains unsolved. There is scarce information about Keisha's life before she disappeared. According to her memorial page, she was married at the time of her disappearance and is survived by a son. Beyond that, there has been minimal coverage on Keisha's case.

If you have any information that may help solve Keisha's homicide, please contact the Pennsylvania State Police - Gibson at (570) 465-3154 or submit a tip with the Binghamton Police.

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Sources:

Binghamton Police Department
Find A Grave: Keisha Roman

Keisha's IMDB page
Press & Sun-Bulletin
Scranton Times-Tribune

The Disappearance and Murder of Jaylen Griffin

Jaylen Griffin vanished on August 4th, 2020. The young boy was only 12 years old at the time of his disappearance. Jaylen's family members last saw him near his home on Warren Avenue in Buffalo, New York. 

The day he vanished; Jaylen took his new puppy for a walk in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood. Shortly after he returned home, he told his mother he was going out again. Jaylen's mother assumed he would return soon, but he never did.

Jaylen reportedly left his home around 11:00 AM, and he did not tell his mother where he was going. He was known to frequent nearby stores in the area so he could help people carry their grocery bags. Jaylen's mother initially thought he was doing that on the day of his disappearance. However, when he did not return home, his family members began to think that something was wrong. 

According to sources close to Jaylen's family, he was not the type to go far from home or to stay out late.  There were reported sightings of him around the Buffalo area in the months following his disappearance, and authorities stated that they believed he may still be in the area. In November 2020, three months after Jaylen vanished, his older brother Jawaan Griffin was shot and killed. Many thought that the news of his brother's passing would encourage Jaylen to return home, but he didn't--nor did he contact his family at all. 

Despite all of this, authorities reportedly still maintained their belief that Jaylen was alive. An article from April 2021 quotes Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo, who stated, "we have no information that leads us to believe he is in immediate danger. I mean the fact of his age and the fact that he is not under his parental supervision is obviously dangerous to begin with, but we do not believe that he was abducted or taken against his will." 

Then, in 2024, that all changed. A maintenance man working at a multi-unit house on 107 Sheffield Avenue found a body in the attic. That body was later identified as Jaylen Griffin. His death was labeled a homicide. 

The house where Jaylen was found is approximately five miles away from his home. Neighbor in that area told reporters that police had responded to that house "several times" over the years. At this time, police have not named any suspects or persons of interest in Jaylen's case.

Jaylen's mother passed in September 2023, before learning of her son's fate. His remaining family members are hoping to find justice. The investigation is ongoing, and there is a monetary reward available for anyone with information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for Jaylen's homicide.

If you have any information that could help the investigation, please contact authorities at (716) 847-2255.

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Sources: [1, 2, 3, 4]

The Disappearance of Domonique Holley-Grisham

 

Domonique Holley-Grisham has been missing since February 12th, 2009. 

That day began as a typical day for the then-16-year-old. Domonique played in a hockey game, where he reportedly won MVP of the game. He then returned to his family's home in Rochester, New York. Domonique vanished a short time later. He still remains missing today.

Domonique is the second oldest amongst six siblings. Just hours before he vanished, Domonique brought some of his younger brothers' home from his hockey game while their mother went to the store. At some point after arriving home, Domonique received a phone call that prompted him to walk outside of the residence. He told his siblings he would be back, but he never returned. Domonique has never been seen or heard from again.

Domonique's mother later reported him missing. Police classified Domonique's disappearance as a runaway, despite the fact that he had never done so before, nor had he indicated that he planned to leave. There were a few reported sightings of him in the Rochester area, but none of the sightings were ever confirmed. 

Over the years, there have been a few rumors about what might have happened to Domonique. In 2016, Domonique's mother told reporters that several people have reached out to her, "saying her son was killed by a group of teens over an unknown disagreement. Others have told her his death was an accident and was hidden because the kids he was with were scared."

Neither of these theories have been confirmed, but it appears that they also have not been ruled out. Domonique's case remains opened, but several years have passed without any updates in the case. There has been very little reporting about his disappearance. 

Domonique's family has since moved to North Carolina. They are still hoping to once day receive answers about what happened to him. If you have any information that could lead to Domonique's whereabouts, please contact the Rochester Police Department at 585-428-6595.

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Sources:
Canalside Chronicles
Charley Project

Dateline

Democrat and Chronicle
WXXI News

The Disappearance of Brandon Clark

source: 13 WHAM

Brandon Clark vanished under suspicious circumstances on August 2nd, 2020. The then-29-year-old man was last seen in Rochester, New York. Brandon never returned home and abruptly fell out-of-touch with his loved ones. He was reported missing on August 4th, 2020. 

Brandon's last known location was reportedly on Orchard Street in Rochester. According to NamUs, he vanished after dropping his girlfriend off at her house. Brandon's family members told reporters that the rental car he was driving was later found abandoned and unlocked at Essex and Silver Street. His personal items were still inside the vehicle, but Brandon himself was nowhere to be found. 

Additional details about Brandon's disappearance are unknown. In the days following his disappearance, Brandon's family announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to his whereabouts. Unfortunately, years have passed, and Brandon still remains missing. There has been very little reporting about his case.

If you have any information that could help locate Brandon, please contact the Rochester Police Department at 585-428-6595.

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Sources:
13 WHAM
Charley Project
Democrat and Chronicle
NamUs
Spectrum Local News
Uncovered

The Murder of Priscilla Pimentel

Priscilla Pimentel. (source: NYtimes.com)

Priscilla Pimentel was only 24 years-old when she was murdered inside her own apartment during November 2006. The young woman was originally from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, but she was living in Queens, New York at the time of her death. Most of Priscilla's family members still lived in Pennsylvania, and she kept in touch with them often.

In fact, Priscilla was expected to join her family in Bethlehem for the Thanksgiving holiday. When she did not show up as planned, Priscilla's loved ones immediately began to worry. The following day - on November 24th, 2006 - Priscilla's four siblings traveled to her apartment in Queens to check on her. Upon their arrival, they discovered their worst fears: Priscilla was dead. She had been brutally stabbed to death. 

The scene in Priscilla's apartment was nothing short of horrific. Her bedroom and bathroom walls were streaked with blood. Priscilla herself was found in her bathtub with her hands bound behind her back. Her beloved Jack Russell terrier, Gucci, was found stabbed to death by her side. Both of their bodies were covered in green paint - which Priscilla had recently used to paint her walls. 

There were no signs of forced entry in the apartment. The only item that had been taken from the place was Priscilla's cell phone. Due to this, it's believed that Priscilla was killed by somebody she knew. Still, several years have passed without any arrests in the case. 

Many reports state that Priscilla identified as a lesbian. Shortly after her murder, Priscilla's stepfather Raoul Laracuente stated that he believed that she moved to New York because she was afraid her sexuality would hurt her family. Laracuente told reporters, "I truly believe in my heart that she moved away just so she wouldn’t hurt her mother’s feelings. This (Bethlehem) is a small town; everybody knows your business. She said she’d go to New York so that her mother wouldn’t be hurt."

While Priscilla's loved ones were worried about her living in a city by herself, they never imagined she'd meet such a tragic demise. Unfortunately, Priscilla's murder remains unsolved today. The investigation is classified as a cold case.

If you have any information that could help solve Priscilla's murder, please submit a tip.

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Sources:
New York Times
Queens Chronicle
Queens District Attorney

The Murder of Michaela MacVilla

source: Facebook

Michaela MacVilla was tragically murdered at the age of 21 on September 25th, 2018. The young woman seemingly vanished after leaving her job at a Stewart's Shop on West Main Street in St. Johnsville, New York shortly after midnight. Michaela unfortunately never returned home and was never seen alive by her loved ones again.

Two days later, on September 27th, Michaela's cell phone was found on Mill Road - and it appeared as if the phone had been thrown from a vehicle. Data from the cell phone led authorities to a 45-year-old local, Daniel Nellis. Michaela's final phone call was made to Nellis' phone number shortly after she left her job at Stewart's. 

Police initially spoke to Nellis on September 28th. During said interview, the officers noticed that Nellis had scratches on his forearms. Nellis told police that he picked Michaela up on the morning of her disappearance. He admitted to bringing Michaela to his home in Oppenheim that morning. Nellis explained that when he was driving her back home later that day, they got into an argument and Michaela asked to be let out of the car. He claims that he never saw her again after that. 

On October 2nd, 2018, Michaela's body was found under some brush on an access road near Kringsbush Road in Oppenheim. She had been shot to death. Her pants had also been pulled down, which indicated a potential sexual assault.

A few days after Michaela's body was found, Nellis was arrested on unrelated weapons charges. While already behind bars on those charges, Nellis was charged with the murder of Michaela MacVilla just a few weeks later. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Daniel Nellis. (source: The Times Telegram)

During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence from both Michaela's Fitbit - which was found near her body - and from local surveillance footage. Cameras near Nellis's home in Oppenheim captured Michaela and Nellis entering his house around 12:45 AM on the morning of September 25th. Approximately 12 hours later, they are captured leaving the house together. 

Data from Michaela's FitBit showed that Michaela's heart rate spiked at 12:24 PM before stopping altogether just six minutes later. Just minutes later, surveillance cameras captured Nellis's car driving down the access road where Michaela's body was later found. 

Despite all of this evidence, Nellis continued to maintain his innocence and even testified in his defense at trial. However, the jury did not buy his story and ultimately convicted him for the murder of Michaela MacVilla. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison. 

However, in 2023, Daniel Nellis's conviction was overturned. It was reported that on June 8th, 2023, "a four-judge panel of the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling overturning [the murder] conviction, finding that it was the result of 'prosecutorial misconduct' that went unchecked by the trial judge."

Such instances of alleged prosecutorial misconduct included the State eliciting testimony from three separate witnesses that had not been included in the pretrial motions. The testimony was regarding a prior shooting in which Nellis had allegedly been involved. The judge panel also found that certain questions asked by the prosecution during Nellis' trial were "'plainly improper,' as they didn’t relate to Nellis’ credibility but instead to his criminal propensity in such a way that it was prejudicial against his defense." 

Additionally, the judge panel noted that the trial judge did not intervene upon these instances of misconduct. The panel admonished said judge, stating that "County Court certainly must have been aware that some of the evidence introduced by the prosecutor, both on the People’s direct case and upon cross-examination of defendant, fell outside the scope of the court’s pretrial evidentiary rulings." Due to these circumstances, the judge panel ruled on overturning Nellis' murder conviction. A new trial has been ordered. At this time, it is unclear when the new trial will take place. 

Michaela's loved ones are inevitably devastated by this news. In a June 2023 interview with CBS 6, Michaela's grandmother told reporters that she is "livid, angry, to the point of beyond reason that this man gets a second chance at life and my granddaughter is dead."

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Sources:
Appellate court documents
CBS 6
The Daily Gazette
Law and Crime
Spectrum Local News
The Times Telegram

The Disappearance of Aliyah Boomer

Aliyah Boomer has been missing since August 15th, 2015. That day, the 27-year-old woman and her friend attended a barbecue at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York City. Afterwards, Aliyah went to her friend’s home at the Red Hook housing projects in the 400 block of Columbia Street. 

Around 11:00 PM that evening, Aliyah and her friend got invited to another barbecue. Her friend declined the invitation, but Aliyah herself accepted and left her friend’s home shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, Aliyah never arrived at the barbecue and has never been seen by her loved ones again.

Aliyah's last outgoing phone call was at 3:00 AM on August 16th. Aliyah had called one of her sisters, but her sister was asleep and did not answer the phone. Aliyah did not leave a message and has not made contact with her family since that morning. 

Aliyah’s family finally reported her missing 3 days later, after she failed to show up to her sister’s birthday party. Her absence immediately raised red flags, as it is out of character for Aliyah to be out of touch with her family and friends. Before she disappeared, she was working towards completing her nursing degree. Due to all of these circumstances, it seems unlikely that Aliyah is voluntarily missing.

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A cold case. 

Aliyah's case seemingly went cold fast. Very few details about the investigation have been revealed. Aliyah's family members worked to spread awareness about her disappearance, but no credible leads were found. 

Years ticked by without any updates in the case. Then, in 2022, it was reported that Aliyah's sister Victoria Boomer-Harris received a mysterious letter with potential information about Aliyah's case. 

The letter.

Victoria told reporters that she received the letter in 2021. It had a Bronx return address. The identity of the letter writer remains unknown, but PIX 11 refers to the writer as female. 

The letter references a building that Aliyah was seen at before her disappearance. The letter writer wrote that her late uncle lived in the building. Before he passed, the writer said that her uncle spoke to her about his friend who spent time in 'Apartment 2-C'. The message said, in part, "Everybody in that building no [know] what happen to her."

According to the letter, Aliyah had been spending time with a man and a woman on the third floor on the building - and those people know what happened to her. The letter states, "The people….sent her out on a drug run. She never came back. My uncle said they no [know] what happen to your family member."

Is the letter credible?

The information provided in this letter has not been confirmed by investigators or substantiated in any other way - but it appears that it has not been ruled out, either. When asked if she felt a drug run was what led to her daughter's disappearance, Aliyah's mother replied, "It might have". 

 

Investigators are also not 100% sold on this theory. In the same report, indicated that it's possible that the letter was written in efforts to "throw off the family and investigators". At this time, the motive for the letter remains unclear.

The family's efforts.

Aliyah's family members have not given up on trying to find Aliyah. They continue to spread awareness about her disappearance. One of Aliyah's sisters has placed a monetary reward for anyone with information that could lead to her whereabouts. 

Since then, it appears that there have not been any other updates in Aliyah's case. She remains missing today. The New York Police Department is in charge of the investigation. If you have any information that could lead to Aliyah’s whereabouts, please call 212-694-7781.

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Sources:
The Bronx Daily
Charley Project
PIX 11
Uncovered

Unsolved Murders: Jennifer Hammond & Christina White from Milton, New York

Jennifer Hammond (left), Christina White (right)

Jennifer Hammond (nicknamed 'Moonbeam' by her friends) vanished at the age of 18 on August 1st, 2003. Prior to her disappearance, Jennifer had a job selling magazines and she lived with her co-workers at a hotel in Albany, New York. On the day she vanished, Jennifer's co-workers dropped her off at the Creek & Pines mobile home park in Milton so she could sell magazine subscriptions door-to-door. When Jennifer's co-workers returned to the mobile home park later to pick her up, she was nowhere to be found. She never returned to the hotel in Albany and was never seen or heard from again.

Nearly two years later, another young woman disappeared from the Milton area. On June 30th, 2005, 19-year-old Christina White seemingly vanished without a trace. She was last seen by her mother at the home they shared at the Stockade mobile home park. The Stockade mobile community is located less than two miles from Creek & Pines, where Jennifer was last seen in 2003.

900 Rock City Road: Stockade Mobile Homes, where Christina lived. 855 Middleline Road: Creek & Pines, where Jennifer was last seen.

Nine months later, on March 10th, 2006, Christina's remains were found in the Daketown Forest in Greenfield. Forensics revealed that Christina had been stabbed multiple times. Due to the state of her body, it was believed that she had been killed shortly after her disappearance.

Christina's death was officially classified as a homicide and detectives continued to investigate it as such, however they had very few leads to chase. Meanwhile, Jennifer Hammond remained missing. Then, on October 26th, 2009, a hunter found a human skull on Lake Desolation Forest in Greenfield. The location where the skull was found is a little over three miles from the location where Christina's remains were found.

Forensic testing and dental records confirmed that the skull belong to Jennifer Hammond, who had vanished six years earlier in 2003. Her death was classified as a homicide. Investigators found it quite suspicious that two young women around the same age had vanished from the same area and had been found murdered in close proximity. From that point forward, detectives have announced that they believe Jennifer and Christina were killed by the same person(s).

In 2023, a 46-year-old man named Craig Nelson Ross Jr. was arrested and charged with kidnapping 9-year-old Charlotte Sena from a campground in Moreau Lake State Park. Fingerprints from a ransom note left behind by Ross led authorities to his mother's home in Milton. Charlotte was luckily found alive, hidden inside a cupboard at the home. Ross was subsequently arrested and charged with kidnapping. 

Authorities are now investigating whether or not Ross played a role in the disappearances and murders and Jennifer and Christina. At this time, he has not been charged with anything related to their cases. However, the investigation is ongoing. 

If you have any information that could help the investigation, please contact the Saratoga Springs Police Department at (518) 584-1800.

DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this post is to spread awareness about this case. The information provided in this post is information that was found through various sources on the internet. If any information on this post is inaccurate, please contact the author via email at truecasefiles@gmail.com or through Instagram and the errors can be corrected. Additionally, if you have any information that could improve the accuracy or quality of this post, please contact the author. 

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Timeline: The Case of Katie and Steven Pladl

Katie Pladl (18) and her biological father Steven Pladl (42) pictured together in 2016

The story of Katie and Steven Pladl is one of the wildest cases I have ever covered. The disturbing and tragic story has caused a lot of discussion on the case's tumblr post. While the post covers the overall story, this timeline breaks down the details in chronological order. 

1995: 20-year-old Steven Pladl meets 15-year-old Alyssa Garcia on the Internet.

Alyssa Garcia (source)

January 1998: 17-year-old Alyssa gives birth to a baby girl fathered by Steven. They name the little girl Denise. 

Steven and Alyssa's baby girl (source)

1998 cont.: According to Alyssa, Steven was abusive towards their infant daughter. Alyssa alleged that Steven would pinch Denise “until her body was left black and blue. The cruel father would also stuff Katie in a cooler to drown out her crying, preventing Alyssa from freeing the terrified infant until she was on the verge of suffocating.” (DailyMail). Despite this, though, Alyssa stays with Steven and eventually ends up marrying him. 

1998 cont.: Alyssa and Steven place Denise up for adoption. She is adopted by Anthony and Kelly Fusco. The baby's new name is Katie Fusco, and she is moved to Anthony and Kelly's home in Dutchess County, New York. 

Town in New York, where Katie moved as an infant after being adopted by the Fuscos

2007: Almost 10 years after giving birth to Katie, Alyssa gives birth to her and Steven's second child--a baby girl. Alyssa stated that they were “more grown up and ready” to have children at this stage in life.

2012: Alyssa gives birth to their third daughter.

2016: Katie, now 18 years old, grows curious about her biological family. She tracks down Alyssa, now 37, and Steven, now 42, on social media. The estranged parents and daughter begin to correspond.

Katie Fusco at age 18 (source)

June 2016: Katie graduates from high school. She has plans to enroll in the local community college and then eventually transfer to SUNY Purchase to study digital advertising.

August 2016: After continuing to correspond with her birth parents, Katie’s plans change. Instead of enrolling in college, she opts to move to Henrico, Virginia to live with Steven, Alyssa, and their other two daughters. 

Alyssa Pladl and Katie Pladl reunited in 2016 - pictured together with Alyssa and Steven's two younger daughters (source)

September 2016: Steven begins sleeping on Katie’s bedroom floor each night. According to Alyssa, she and Steven had already been sleeping in separate beds for months prior. 

Sept-Nov. 2016: Steven and Katie begin a sexual relationship.

November 2016: Alyssa moves out of the home and files for divorce from Steven. They split custody of the two younger children. Alyssa allegedly had suspicions about Steven’s relationship with Katie but was not completely aware of how far it had gone. 

Late 2016-Early 2017: Steven instructs his two younger daughters to begin referring to Katie as their stepmom rather than their sister. At some point, Katie learns she is pregnant with Steven's child.

Katie and Steven in 2017, while Katie was pregnant (source) 

May 23rd, 2017: Alyssa reads her 11-year-old daughter’s diary after a visit with Steven and Katie. From there, Alyssa learns that her ex-husband was engaging in a sexual relationship with their oldest biological daughter. She also learns that Katie is pregnant with Steven’s baby. After confronting Steven about it, Alyssa decides to contact the police. 

Pages from the diary of Alyssa and Steven's 11-year-old, describing Steven's relationship with Katie. Click to enlarge. (source)

May 31st, 2017: Henrico County police officers interview Steven and Alyssa’s two other children. No arrests are made.

Summer 2017: Katie and Steven move to Knightdale, North Carolina. 

July 20th, 2017: Katie and Steven get married in Maryland. Their marriage was official; they were able to “legally” wed because they did not disclose their father-daughter relationship. Their wedding ceremony was complete with guests, including Steven’s parents and Katie’s adoptive parents. Katie’s adoptive parents reportedly felt there was “nothing they could do except support Katie.” (CBSnews)

Katie, Steven & family at their July 2017 wedding (dailymail)

September 1st, 2017: Katie gives birth to her father’s baby. They name the little boy Bennett. 

Katie with Bennett (2017)

November 29th, 2017: Henrico County police officers issue arrest warrants for Steven and Katie.

Late January 2018: Steven and Katie are arrested and charged with incest and adultery. They are later released on bond and ordered to have no-contact with one another. Katie moves back to New York with her adoptive parents. Steven’s mother gains custody of their son.

April 2018: Katie decides to end her relationship with Steven. Despite the no-contact order, Katie calls Steven to break-up with him.

April 11th, 2018: Steven picks up his and Katie’s baby from his mother’s house. He brings the baby back to his house, where he later suffocates him and leaves his body in a closet.

April 11th-12th, 2018: Steven drives through the night from North Carolina to New York.

April 12th, 2018: Steven waits outside of the home of Katie’s adoptive parents. He watched as Katie and her adoptive father left together in a vehicle. He followed the two as they drove from Wingdale to New Milford. While stopped at a stop sign between routes 7 and 55, Steven shot Katie and her adoptive father, killing them both, before turning the gun on himself.

Scene where Steven shot Anthony Fusco and Katie before turning the gun on himself

Unfortunately, this disturbing tale ended violently. An officer working the case stated, “we may never understand the mindset or motives of Steven Pladl, but we do know his actions have shattered the lives of countless people.”

Additionally, this case has brought more attention to a term called "genetic sexual attraction", which is "used to describe the intense physical and emotional feelings that some people experience following restored contact between an adopted person and a close member of his or her birth family. Some people believe genetic attraction to be a delayed by-product of “missed bonding". Believe it or not, Katie and Steven are not the first father-and-daughter couple to fall in love. A list of other similar cases can be found here. More information about GSA can be found here.

The Disappearance and Murder of Samantha Humphrey

 

Samantha Humphrey vanished from her family's Schenectady, New York home on November 25th, 2022. That evening, the 14-year-old snuck out of the residence around 11:00 PM to meet up with her ex-boyfriend at Riverside Park. Samantha never returned home and was never seen alive by her family and friends again. 

When Samantha's family discovered she had left the home and not returned, they began to search the area. Her father searched around Riverside Park and found Samantha's jacket in the Mohawk River. The hood of the jacket appeared to be stained with blood. At that point, concerns for her safety escalated.

After Samantha was reported missing, police discovered surveillance footage that captured her walking alongside Mohawk River on the evening of her disappearance. This is consistent with a text that she sent a friend, saying that she was planning to meet up with her ex in that area - which is known as a popular spot for local teens to hang out. Police confirmed that the cameras captured Samantha entering that area, but there is no footage of her leaving said location.

Samantha's ex-boyfriend has not been publicly identified due to his minor age. Very little has been said about his potential involvement in the case. However, an article from December 2022 stated that he was cooperating with the investigation, but he had not been ruled out. After that, news about Samantha's disappearance seemingly went stagnant.

On February 22nd, 2023, a fisherman spotted a body in the river. Police were called, and the remains were pulled from the water. Days later, it was publicly confirmed that the body belonged to Samantha Humphrey. Her death was classified as a homicide.

It was later revealed that Samantha died from strangulation. Many believed that Samantha's ex-boyfriend was responsible for her death, but investigators did not immediately arrest him. In fact, it would be 2 more years before the ex-boyfriend was finally arrested in May 2025. The ex, now 17, has still not been publicly identified due to him still being a minor. As of right now, he is still charged as a minor, though those charges may be updated at a later date.

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Sources:
News 10
People
Times Union

The Murder of Yvonne Torch

image source

The morning of June 9th, 2004 began as a regular day for Yvonne Torch. The 31-year-old woman went to work that day at her business called "His and Hers Hair Salon" in Newburgh, New York. Around 10:00 AM, Yvonne saw a familiar client: her husband's grandmother. That appointment lasted approximately 30 minutes, and the grandmother left the salon before 10:40 AM. The next customer, who arrived around 10:55 AM, stumbled upon a horrific scene: Yvonne was on the floor, laying in a pool of her own blood. It was later determined she had died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Investigators were quickly able to conclude that Yvonne was killed within a small timeframe between salon clients. Still - many other questions remained; namely - who killed her? And why? A motive to kill Yvonne still remains unclear to this day. Yvonne and her husband, Pierre Torch, had lived in the Newburgh area for several years. The two raised Yvonne's daughter from a previous relationship and also had a child of their own. Yvonne opened her salon in 1994 and ran a successful business. By all accounts, she was a beloved member of the community.

Shortly before the murder, Yvonne and Pierre had decided to move their family to Florida. According to Pierre, the two of them were in the beginning stages of planning their move during June 2004. The family would unfortunately never get the chance to start this next chapter, as Yvonne was killed before they even found a new house. 

Detectives thoroughly investigated Pierre as a potential suspect, but he was eventually ruled out. After that, detectives began looking at other potential suspects. In 2022, a detective told Dateline that "there were a lot of possibilities of who could have killed her, but they never really narrowed down the list." It appears that to this day, detectives have not been able to close in on a prime suspect.

Yvonne's murder remains unsolved. If you have any information that could help the investigation, please contact the New York State Police Department at (845) 344-5370 or e-mail crimetip@troopers.ny.gov.
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Sources:
Inside Edition
NBC News
New York State Troopers
Uncovered

The Murder of Michele Neurauter

Michele Neurauter (pictured left) was brutally murdered by her ex-husband Lloyd Neurauter (pictured top right) in August 2017. Lloyd was assisted by their 19-year-old daughter Karrie Neurauter (pictured bottom right).

The Neurauters lived in Corning, New York. Lloyd was allegedly abusive, which was a main contributing factor to their split. After Michele and Lloyd divorced, Michele remained in the home with their children, while Lloyd moved out. In 2014, their oldest daughter Karrie moved to Syracuse to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Over time, Lloyd grew tired of having to pay Michele alimony and child support for their 14-year-old daughter. He wanted to stop these payments and gain custody of the 14-year-old. In early August 2017, he contacted Karrie to enlist her help in killing Michele. According to Karrie, her father gave her an ultimatum. He said that if Karrie did not help him kill her mother, he would kill himself. Karrie then agreed to help, and the two put a plan together.

On August 28th, 2017, Karrie and Lloyd executed their plan. The two entered Michele’s home and unplugged all electronic devices to hide their presence in the house. Then, Karrie distracted her 14-year-old sister while Lloyd entered Michele’s bedroom and strangled her to death. Karrie then helped Lloyd stage the scene to make it look like Michele had hung herself.

Police did not believe that Michele’s death was a suicide from the beginning. Both Karrie and Lloyd lied to the police and denied that foul play was involved in Michele’s death. Over the next few months, police continued to investigate. Eventually, the chilling truth was revealed.

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The investigation.

While trying to piece together the events leading to Michele's death, police decided to wiretap Karrie’s phone. Very shortly thereafter, they recorded a phone conversation between Lloyd and Karrie that was quite incriminating. Karrie knew she was going to be questioned by the police about Michele’s death, and Lloyd gave Karrie instructions on what to say. 

Lloyd was heard saying, “Tell them ‘I’m sorry, I’ve got a counseling appointment back in New Jersey tonight, I’ve gotta get to my counseling appointment. And tell them this had been really hard on you.” Then, with a laugh, Lloyd asked Karrie: “Could you cry?”, to which Karrie responded, “I might.”

It took months for police to put all the evidence together. Eventually, the true nature of Karrie's relationship with her father Lloyd was revealed. Karrie lived with Lloyd following his divorce from Michele. In the years that followed, Lloyd coerced and manipulated Karrie and their other daughter into turning against their mother. Karrie especially turned a special allegiance towards her father. Many believe Lloyd tricked his children into believing their mother was a bad person.

Investigators finally received warrants for Lloyd and Karrie’s arrests in January 2018. Karrie was arrested at her home in Syracuse. Lloyd led police on a chase to the top of a 5-story parking garage in Princeton, New Jersey. He threatened to jump, before an officer tackled him, and he was eventually taken into custody.

The charges.

Karrie was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree custodial interference, tampering with physical evidence and second-degree conspiracy. She initially pleaded not guilty, but then eventually accepted a deal and pleaded guilty to second degree murder. As part of the plea deal, Karrie also agreed to testify against her father at his trial.

Lloyd was charged with first-degree murder, and he also initially pleaded not guilty. Just two weeks before his trial, though, he changed his plea to guilty and admitted to killing Michele. He also admitted to coercing Karrie into helping him by threatening suicide. Due to this admission, Karrie was able to plead to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The sentencing.

On December 4th, 2018, Lloyd was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Days later, Karrie was sentenced to 1-3 years. Michele’s family members stated that they expected Karrie to receive a much longer sentence, however they are actually happy with the outcome. In fact, Karrie’s grandmother stated that this is “what Michele would have wanted.” 

Karrie was paroled in 2020.

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Sources:
CBS News
People
Star Gazette