NJ NJ - Susan Walsh, 36, Nutley, 16 July 1996

[Murkywaters]

I find it highly unlikely someone living that lifestyle could move about for 18 years and never be contacted by LE , fingerprinted ect ..
It appeared she stepped out with nothing but the clothes on her back and some loose change for the pay phone .
Not really enough information provided to really lean one way or the other . The live in bf that was hardley mentioned looked pretty sketchy and seemed to be one of the last people to see her, along with the ex .
TT

I too think Susan's live in boyfriend Christian Peppo And estranged ex husband Mark seem suspicious and IMO seem like perfect persons of interest. When Susan went to make the phone call, An employee that worked at a Pizza Parlor across the road from her apartment said they saw her return back into her house. If that is true it shows she wasn't really going anywhere far and whatever happened to Susan probably could've happened in that apartment. It kinda makes sense of the missing month in the calender but why would they want to tear it out anyways? If Susan chose she disappear i guess she could've tore it out since the only people that had access to her apartment where Christian, her son David and Mark. Also Susan did file a restraining order against a man who become obsessive with her and that was a couple weeks before disappeared too. Also one thing that was mentioned in Susan's Unsolved Mysteries episode Melissa Hines claimed that she saw Susan a month after her disappearance and said she saw her next to a black car and when she yelled her name, Susan and the men she was with went into the car and drove off. The license plate number was tracked down, and the driver said he believed that he was with Susan around the time she was spotted, but he could not be certain if it was her. Mellisa never mentioned that in Susan's disappeared episode, Perhaps she had since changed her mind about seeing Susan that day?

Also here is the interview i was talking about in my previous post, It's a more-in depth look at Susan's life and her the people she worked with. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/55/three-women-and-the-sex-industry

 

[anya]

Is there any chance that she may have been doing some escorting on the side? I mean absolutely no judgement to her or her family by asking this… just seems like it would have been a likely possibility due to her experience in adult entertainment (dancing, etc.), her associates, drugs, desperate need of income, her age, bipolar (compounded with her being in the midst of a possible manic episode), her desperation in all of the above…

In addendum, that live-in boyfriend she had at the time she went AWOL really should have been looked into a bit more closely by LE.

The above is totally MOO and all is IMHO

 

[Murkywaters]

Is there any chance that she may have been doing some escorting on the side? I mean absolutely no judgement to her or her family by asking this… just seems like it would have been a likely possibility due to her experience in adult entertainment (dancing, etc.), her associates, drugs, desperate need of income, her age, bipolar (compounded with her being in the midst of a possible manic episode), her desperation in all of the above…

In addendum, that live-in boyfriend she had at the time she went AWOL really should have been looked into a bit more closely by LE.

The above is totally MOO and all is IMHO

That is a possibility, after all a did prostitute tell a police officer, She invited Susan in her place after they were working the streets of Newark NJ, Susan told her she left her son behind and if the police made her go home she would kill herself. However she could've fabricated the story to get reward money. Which of course is possible. Aside from dancing, in 1985 Did star in a live sex show on 42nd Street in New York once. And wrote rather disturbing pornographic tales for a New York magazine called Screw. But however no indication in her life that she was an escort. However, the desperation in her life, and her drug habit may have led her there. But there is other factors too. The Russian mafia is a piece of the puzzle you can't ignore either IMO. Just remember Susan exposed Russians mobsters forcing Russian women to dance in strip clubs, as virtual slaves. Nowadays it is common sense sex trafficking occurs but in 1996 this was all underground. And her colleagues did say Susan loved the 'sensationalism' and 'danger' involved in her job and because of that may have sewed the seeds in her own demise. Also Susan was working with a German documentary crew in producing a film about Russian immigrants being tricked into go-go dancing and was about to start work for the BBC on a similar programme when she disappeared. If someone did have a hit out on Susan, she was the prefect victim. She has so much chaos going on in her life, which could've lead the police and investigators in all kinds of wrong directions. After all Dancers have a reputation of being drug addicts, prostitutes who pick up leave, ect.

But there is another very real possibility that makes this case even more perplexing. Susan was threatening to take David away from Mark to Florida within a few weeks before her vanishing. Mellisa did say Susan was talking about making ''big changes'' in her life and was going to start her life new in Florida with David and she even had a job lined up and all. And Susan was constantly threatening to take David somewhere where Mark wouldn't be able to see him again too, and his neighbor also suspects he was planning to 'do away' with her because of this. Also apparently Susan's ex was seen allegedly dumping something wrapped in a carpet into a swamp around the time of her disappearance and can't account for his whereabouts at that time. There is so many possibilities in this case it is ridiculous. This July 16, will marked 18 years since Susan disappeared. The New York Times, and of course, The Village Voice should've reprint her articles. Perhaps someone might pick up on something or jog a memory, or God willing come forward with information.

 

[dreampeddler]

You're kidding, about the carpet? Did they ever search that supposed swamp?

 

[Murkywaters]

You're kidding, about the carpet? Did they ever search that supposed swamp?

I am not sure if that piece of information is correct, after all i got it off an amazon review of the book Red-light Susan helped write. http://www.amazon.com/review/R32WJFJVRPO49R from a poster called ''Robespierre'' He seemed to have a lot of in depth knowledge about the case things i didn't know, almost as if he could have been a friend of Susan's. If this accusation is real, i wouldn't at all be surprised if the swamp hasn't been searched.

 

[Megan87]

I wish we could have a resolution in this case. I saw Susan's case feature on some show or another and it has stayed with me all these years. I wonder how her son is after all these years and what he thinks happened.

 

[deedee21]

There are several simularities between Susan Walsh and one of the victims of the Long Island Serial Killer. Jane Doe # 6. The differences are not enough to ignore a possibility. You have to be registered to view the forum.

 

[Murkywaters]

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/6118

I wonder if this could be Susan? Skeletal remains were found March 11, 1999 at an above ground location in Staten Island, she was between 30 to 45 years old. In Susan's disappeared episode, James Ridgeway recalled that not long before she went missing, Susan had phoned him and said she was out in Staten Island and had no money.

 

[Murkywaters]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Susan_Walsh

Susan has been missing for 20 years today.

Susan Walsh (born February 18, 1960) was an American writer and freelance journalist who disappeared outside her home in Nutley, New Jersey on July 16, 1996. Walsh's disappearance was widely publicized into the late 1990s, especially after several newspapers and media outlets published articles alluding that her disappearance was potentially linked to the Russian mafia, as well as New York City's underground vampire community, both subjects that Walsh had investigated while writing for The Village Voice.

 

[Tssiemer]

I just watched the disappeared episode. Her boss seems .... super involved ....


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[pillywiggin]

I spent some time this afternoon looking for updates on this case. I couldn't find any. Does anyone in the Nutley, NJ area know more?

 

[U2forever]

I spent some time this afternoon looking for updates on this case. I couldn't find any. Does anyone in the Nutley, NJ area know more?

Hey Pillywiggin, I thought for sure the skeleton found on Staten Island would turn out to be Susan, the artists recreation looks spot on for Susan to me but Susan is 5'6 and the doe is 61inches-5'8.

Susan is not listed as a rule out for the doe, so maybe there is still a chance it's her even though the height is off and I've never heard of Susan having a broken nose before but anything is possible.

 

[Murkywaters]

I spent some time this afternoon looking for updates on this case. I couldn't find any. Does anyone in the Nutley, NJ area know more?

https://unsolved.com/gallery/susan-walsh/

There are very interesting comments from a person named Sam Frank. They were made in January of 2017.

 

[MagnoliaMountain]

Very interesting indeed.

 

[Murkywaters]

Very interesting indeed.

It makes sense, the Pizza guy said he observed Susan return to her apartment after using the phone. Susan's friend Melissa stated when went to Susan's apartment, the windows that were always open were locked shut, and Mark and David had just arrived from Staples. She stated on the Disappeared program, she believes whatever happened to Susan happened in that apartment.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Susan Walsh - LAST SEEN: July 16, 1996

Walsh, a 36-year-old aspiring writer, was last seen at her Nutley apartment she shared with her ex-husband and 11-year-old son, according to a report about her disappearance on CNN.

CONTACT: Nutley Police Department, 973-284-4947.

Have you seen them? N.J. State Police are looking for these missing people

 

[Richard]

The Doe Network:
Case File 1578DFNJ

Susan Walsh
Missing since July 16, 1996 from Nutley, Essex County, New Jersey
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

• • Date Of Birth: February 18, 1960
  • Age at Time of Disappearance: 36 years old
  • Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'6; 110-120 lbs.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Bleached blonde hair; blue eyes. Light complexion. Scar on her right wrist. Talks with a distinct Garden State accent.
  • Clothing: A gold ring with a black stone.
  • Medical: Manic-depression. Substance abuse, alcohol and drugs.
  • Dentals: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance
Walsh was last seen at her home in Nutley, New Jersey on July 16, 1996.
Walsh had been depressed and had attempted suicide.

She was a journalist, and occasionally worked as a stripper to support herself. Walsh had written a string of freelance stories for the New York weekly. Her most acclaimed article told how the Russian mob forced immigrant women to work in strip clubs. She also worked on her master's degree in writing at New York University.

At the time of her disappearance her life had taken on a downward spiral. She had started drinking after 12 years of sobriety, and was getting sick.

She was off her medicines and became increasingly paranoid, telling friends she was being targeted by stalkers and mobsters. She also worked as an exotic dancer at some skeezy places.

Her estranged husband told police that she went to use a pay phone less than a block from their Washington Street apartment in Nutley. According to police there is no record of any outgoing calls made from the pay phones near Walsh's apartment the morning of her disappearance.

Walsh and her son lived on the ground level of a rundown brick tenement in a mostly commercial strip on Washington Street. Her husband lived in a connecting basement apartment below. She left her purse, keys, pager and 11-year-old son behind, and was never seen again.

Foul play is suspected.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Nutley Police Department
Lt. Steven Rogers
973-284-4940
OR
New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit
800-709-7090

Agency Case Number: 0716

NCIC Number: M945727001
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
New Jersey State Police
Unsolved Mysteries
NamUs MP #9841

LINK:

The Doe Network: Case File 1578DFNJ

 

[millielammoreaux]

From Unsolved.com

"Submitted by Sam Frank (not verified) on Mon, 01/02/2017 - 16:42
I have followed this case for years. I was born and raised in Nutley and still reside there. I never knew Susan Walsh but I remember when this happened. I was told a very interesting story about this case by the brother of her ex husband Mark. Several years after her disappearance I met Mark's brother when he came to work for the same company I was working for. We struck up a friendship that continued for years until we lost touch after we both left that company. I asked him what he thought happened to Susan and he told me he knew exactly what happened to her. This is what he told me:

Mark and Susan were separated and Susan was living with their son David in the apartment upstairs while Mark was living in one room in the basement. All Mark had was a bed, a dresser, a telephone and his few personal belongings. Susan would come down and use his phone frequently but he would not allow her to use it to call her boyfriends or her drug dealers. In exchange for using the telephone, she would allow him upstairs to use the kitchen to cook his meals. The day of her disappearance they had a huge argument about her using the phone so she went across the street to use the pay phone. When she returned from using the pay phone she did not go to her apartment, she went to the basement where she and Mark continued fighting. In a fit of rage he grabbed a frying pan and smashed her across the head with it, killing her. It was not intentional but nonetheless it was murder. He hid the body in his basement room and once her boyfriend had gone to work he took David to Staples. Later that night or early the next morning he took the body to a reservation where he was known to hike and disposed of the body. He returned and later that day reported her missing.

He also told me that Mark did not have much money and when he visited his brother about a week before the disappearance Mark had shown him the new frying pan he had just bought and how expensive it was. When my friend went to see his brother after Susan disappeared he noticed the frying pan was gone. When he questioned Mark about it mark just said he must have misplaced it. He also told me that Mark removed the page from the calendar because there was something written on it he didn't want the cops to see. I didn't know what to make of his story but I told him he should go to the police if he was so sure that Mark had done it. He said he did go to the Nutley PD and sat with a detective and told him everything. The detective said they would investigate and they would be in touch, but he never heard a word from them. He said he called several times to see how the investigation was going but they just kept telling him they were still checking it out and would contact him. He finally gave up after not hearing anything. He said his brother became distant and remote from the rest of the family and concentrated on raising his son David.

I don't know if any of this is true and I'm not accusing Mark or anyone else of anything. This is the story his brother told me and he seems to believe it. I've never met Mark or his son but I find this theory pretty intriguing. I also wonder why the Nutley PD did not follow up. Or if they did maybe it was all a lie. One more fact about this story that is pretty interesting is that Mark Walsh and my friend are the younger brothers of Joe Walsh, the rock star. I've never seen that mentioned in any of the stories I've read about Susan Walsh."

 

[MagnoliaMountain]

Maybe I'm too young but I had to google Joe Walsh...

I'm wondering how Mark and Susan's son David is doing, what he believes happened to his mother.

 

[MagnoliaMountain]

I think I found David online...I'm pretty sure it is him, he looks a lot like Susan IMO.