Remains of a woman killed in New York identified after over 30 years using DNA technology

NEW YORK (AP) — New York authorities have identified the body of a woman found more than 30 years ago near the intersection of two parkways in Queens by using advanced DNA technology.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said her office’s cold case unit, the New York Police Department and the Office of Chief Medical Examiner identified the woman as 30-year-old Judy Rodriguez. The mother of three was last seen by her family on January 23, 1991 and had been reported missing at the time.

Her disappearance coincided with the first birthday of one of Rodriguez’s children, who were raised by their grandparents.

“Three decades ago, four men were convicted for a gruesome killing of an unidentified woman,” Katz said in a statement released Monday. “Though justice was served, the family went 33 long years without any answers about their loved one.”

DNA Labs International, a private lab, produced the genealogical profile from the skeletal remains in April before it was uploaded into public databases. The results were given to a detective in NYPD’s Investigative Genealogy Squad, which built a family tree. Investigators then contacted potential family members who submitted DNA samples to compare with the remains.

The four men, two of whom were 20 and two others who were 18 and 19 at the time of the killing, were prosecuted and convicted in 1992 and 1993 for their roles in the killing even though the victim’s identity was unknown.