Investigators identify 6 cold case victims, including Montauk Mary who was found in 1978, with use of new DNA technology

Their identities were lost for decades, their names and lives a mystery, their loved ones haunted by questions about their fates that went unanswered for too many years.

But advances in DNA technology and the work of  Suffolk County’s Cold Case Task Force, Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said on Thursday, allowed authorities to identify six dead and previously unknown people, including three believed to be homicide victims.

“The six individuals in these cases remained nameless for decades, with the oldest case dating back 50 years to 1976,” Tierney said at a news conference in Brentwood. “Through the dedicated work of those partners in the cold case task force, we have made meaningful progress in restoring the identities of these individuals, providing answers to their loved ones and advancing the pursuit of justice on their behalf.

“We’ve given back their names,” Tierney added, “and that’s not insignificant.”

The technology used to identify the homicide victims, next generation sequencing, was  used to identify Gilgo Beach victims Karen Vergata and Valerie Mack, Tierney said. It was also important in the prosecution of admitted Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann.

Suffolk officials also used DNA technology to determine Michelle Chronick Tyson, 59, of Virginia, was responsible for the death of her newborn baby in 1996. She was extradited from Virginia to Suffolk last month and charged with second-degree murder, Tierney said.

Suffolk’s Cold Case Task Force is a partnership between the district attorney’s Cold Case Unit and the county’s police department, according to officials, who urged anyone with information about the newly identified individuals to  call Suffolk Crime Stoppers at 800-220-8477.

“It’s about the victims, about Suffolk County never forgetting those victims, and making sure that they’re identified, and ultimately the people involved face justice,” Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said.

Several homicide victims 

The homicide victims include "Raymond Doe," who was found on Nov. 27, 1976, when three hunters discovered the remains of a man who had been severely burned in Deer Park. Investigators determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to his lower right abdomen. The victim was known as Raymond Doe because of the “Raymond” tattoo on his left arm.

Suffolk cold case investigators have identified the man as Ramon Perez y Rivera, a native of Puerto Rico who lived in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He was approximately 41 at the time of his death.

Officials also unveiled who the woman known as "Montauk Mary" was.

She was found when a U.S. airman on his lunch break discovered the body of an elderly woman near the parking lot of East Overlook Park on Montauk Highway on March 22, 1978. The medical examiner’s office determined the woman had been shot four times and had only been dead for a few hours.

Investigators identified the woman as Sofia Margherita Marrone, of Pleasantville, New Jersey. Authorities suspect Marrone may have been a victim of Richard Biegenwald, aka the “Jersey Shore Thrill Killer,” who Tierney said had been linked to numerous homicides between 1958 and 1982. Biegenwald died in 2008.

“While we have not been able to forensically tie Mr. Biegenwald to the crime thus far, the investigation is still going on,” Tierney said.

"Heckscher Jane Doe" was found on April 2, 1978, after a man walking his dog along the beach at Heckscher State Park in East Islip discovered what appeared to be a human skull in the sand. Law enforcement later uncovered a set of human remains. A belt was tightly bound around the victim’s neck and an autopsy determined the cause of death was strangulation.

Authorities identified the victim 48 years later as Antoinette Rugg, of Lindenhurst, who was 26 and had a 10-year-old son at the time of her death. The son attended Thursday’s news conference but did not speak to reporters.

A German tourist never boards return flight

Other newly identified remains include "Riverhead Jane Doe." She was found when a Riverhead Town employee working near a wooded area off Osborne Avenue on March 12, 1990, discovered the body of a woman. The cause of death remains under investigation.

Officials have identified the woman as Kyong-Ok Kim, of South Korea. Kim had gotten married and moved to Michigan in 1978. Kim moved to New York around 1985 and resided in Woodside, Queens, at the time of her death. She was 32 years old when she died.

The U.S. Coast Guard found the remains of "John Doe" approximately 9 miles south of Fire Island on Nov. 4, 1990. The cause of death is believed to be drowning. Investigators have identified him as Omelios Steward, of Brooklyn, who was 26 at the time of his death. Members of Steward’s family were also present at the news conference but declined to speak to the media.

Another "John Doe," whose partially decomposed body was found alongside the high tide mark east of Ditch Plains in Montauk, was found in 1999. Authorities have identified the man as Andreas Kupke, a German tourist. He was 27 when he died.

Kupke had planned to visit the United States between Nov. 24 and Dec. 4, 1999. He arrived at Newark International Airport but never boarded his return flight.

"These developments represent more than just investigative milestones," Tierney said. "They represent a shared principle that no victim should ever be forgotten."