NY NY - Anjanette Piotrowski, 21, Erie County, 17 Oct 1994

[ADKGemini]

Anjanette Piotrowski – The Charley Project

Anjanette Piotrowski

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Piotrowski, circa 1994

• Missing Since10/17/1994
• Missing FromBuffalo, New York
• ClassificationEndangered Missing
• Date of Birth08/13/1973 (45)
• Age21 years old
• Height and Weight5'5, 120 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA pink camouflage-print shirt, a black sweatshirt with the image of a gold horse and the word "Kentucky" on it, light-colored jeans and suede buck shoes.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsBiracial (Caucasian/Hispanic) female. Brown hair, brown/hazel eyes. Piotrowski is of Mexican and possibly Native American descent. She has a tattoo of a flower on her right breast.

Details of Disappearance
Piotrowski called in sick to her employer, Polymer Conversions, at 1:30 a.m. on October 17, 1994. Later that day a mechanic saw her at a car shop in Blasdell, New York. She was sitting in the passenger seat of a car being driven by Ronald Erhardt. Ronald had stopped by the shop to check on his car which was in for repairs.

Ronald later told police that he and Piotrowski afterwards went to the Broderick Park neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, and then got into an argument. Ronald says he walked home alone afterwards.

Ronald stopped by the mechanic shop again later on October 17. The mechanic says Ronald had changed his clothes by the time he stopped by again. Piotrowski was not with him and has never been heard from again.

Ronald had written a check for an apartment Piotrowski was planning to move into, but he canceled the check before reporting her missing. He also cleared her belongings out of her home.

Piotrowski is originally from Michigan; she moved to Buffalo in the summer of 1994 with her fiance, Dan Erhardt, Ronald's son. They broke up and Dan moved back to Michigan, and Piotrowski moved into Ronald's home in Lackawanna, New York.

Ronald claimed his relationship with her was fatherly, but police believe he and Piotrowski were in fact romantically involved. Police found a clump of human hair near Ronald's hunting camp and attempted DNA analysis to see if it was Piotrowski's, but they have been unable to identify it.

Foul play is suspected in Piotrowski's case and Ronald is the prime suspect in her case. He has since moved to Louisville, Kentucky and refuses to cooperate with the police in her disappearance.

Piotrowski maintained contact with her family prior to her disappearance, although she sometimes had a strained relationship with them, and it's uncharacteristic of to leave without warning. Hamburg, New York police are investigating.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[CastlesBurning]

Bumping for Anjanette, as we approach the 26th anniversary of her disappearance.

 

[Bit of hope]

"He <Ronald Erhard> has since moved to Louisville, Kentucky and refuses to cooperate with the police in her disappearance."

SAY WHAT? What a bizarre case. Poor girl. Why is there no justice for Anjanette?

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

The Doe Network: Case File 1504DFNY

In the summer of 1994, Anjanette Piotrowski moved to Buffalo from Michigan with her fiance. They soon broke up and he moved back to Michigan, but Anjanette decided to stay, continuing to live with his father, in his Lackawanna home. She later moved into a local hotel. During their investigation police discovered the father was the last person to see Anjanette.

Anjanette spent her first days of life overcoming the heroin addiction her mother passed on to her; she was abused as a child; and she had a series of stormy relationships with men. Anjanette was adopted when she was 5.

On October 17, 1994 she called in sick to her job at 01:30, and later that morning a Blasdell mechanic saw Anjanette in the passenger seat of her car, with her fiance's father driving. He had stopped to check on his car that was in for repairs. The man indicates that after leaving the repair shop, they went to Broderick Park in Buffalo, NY, had an argument, and he left walking home.

This man cleared out the place she was living <the hotelroom????> at the time, and cleaned out her personal belongings within the week she was missing, without reporting her missing person. It seems unlikely she would have gone off someplace voluntarily and left behind money, her clothes and her car.

Anjanette moved out of the house when she was 17, she occasionally came home briefly and she maintained irregular contact, although she had a sometimes strained relationship with her adopted family, she still kept in contact, especially with a sister in Mississippi. No one has heard from her recently.

Justice for Native Women: Anjanette Piotrowski, Missing from New York since 1994.
Sources disagree on Anjanette's race and ethnicity. Some claim Anjanette is White, others say she is multi-racial and is White, Hispanic, and possibly Native American.

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[Bit of hope]

Yes, sure ...he walked approx. 3 hours from the Broderick Park to where he lived. Nonsense IMO

Google Maps

 

[WNYer]

Anybody have a photo of Ronald!?

 

[WNYer]

Is he an official POI in this case? Maybe you want to blur the little girls face?

POLICE INVESTIGATING MAN SEEN WITH MISSING WOMAN
Justice for Native People: Anjanette Piotrowski, Missing from New York since 1994.

<modsnip: Not an approved source>

The Doe Network: Case File 1504DFNY
Person of Interest

 

[WNYer]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Also refer to first post made in this thread. There he’s named main suspect.

 

[WNYer]

DNA TESTING SCHEDULED FOR HEADLESS CORPSE

 

[StarrChance]

If the poi is Ronald Eugene he died 2014 Kentucky, aged 81.

 

[Bit of hope]

POLICE INVESTIGATING MAN SEEN WITH MISSING WOMAN

Due to privacy policies Europeans can't see the content of this paper article from 1995. I worked my way around and put here some of the text so everyone can see it.

The police have a body, a report of a missing woman and a suspect.

What they don't have is any concrete evidence linking the three, even though they have found and obtained DNA from the 21-year-old missing woman's biological mother, who put her up for adoption at age 5.

Scientific tests so far have failed to link a decapitated, handless corpse found on April 2 in Lake Ontario with Anjanette Piotrowski of the city of Hamburg, who has been missing since October 17.

And if DNA testing should eventually prove Ms. Piotrowski's body, there's still no determination of cause of death or whether she was a victim of foul play.

But if those two ifs — and the police recognize they are big ifs — are resolved, an arrest is likely.

"Once we have identified the body and determined that the cause of death is a murder, we will make an arrest," Detective Thomas Best of the City of Hamburg said on Tuesday.

He declined to identify the suspect, but Ms. Piotrowski was last seen with her ex-boyfriend's father on Oct. 17 in Broderick Park on the Niagara River in Buffalo, and police are investigating his activities.

The body found along the shoreline of Lake Ontario in Wilson in April generally matches Ms. Piotrowski, and no other missing person with a similar description has been reported within the same time frame.

The body was in an advanced state of decomposition and the river currents and ice were apparently responsible for the absence of the head and hands, police said, eliminating the possibility of using teeth and fingerprints to identify the body.

According to Detective Frank Panasuk, attempts to obtain DNA samples from the body have so far been unsuccessful due to its decomposition and the fact that it has been in the water for months.

I couldn't find any updates on this and because of the fact that the main suspect still isn't arrested I assume they were never able to make a positive ID. How immensely sad. Does anyone know more about the outcome and if they still try to get DNA with newer technics.

 

[mtlupy]

DNA TESTING SCHEDULED FOR HEADLESS CORPSE

Looks like they weren't able to get DNA, but I can't find any updates after this: POLICE CAN'T LINK BODY, MISSING WOMAN AUTHORITIES ARE ATTEMPTING DNA TESTS ON HEADLESS, HANDLESS CORPSE

 

[mtlupy]

This is the most recent article I can find about her disappearance: MYSTERY REMAINS UNSOLVED A YEAR AFTER HAMBURG WOMAN DISAPPEARED

It's been a year since a 21-year-old woman disappeared, and Hamburg town police admit they are no closer to solving the case now than they were then.

"Without a body, there's not much we can do," Detective Capt. Thomas M. Best said of the disappearance of Anjanette Piotrowski.

In fact, there is a body. But police don't know whether it is Ms. Piotrowski's.

Scientific tests so far have failed to link the headless, handless corpse found April 2 in Lake Ontario to Ms. Piotrowski, who has been missing since Oct. 17, 1994.

Authorities say water action and ice apparently were responsible for the absence of head and hands, eliminating the possibility of using teeth and fingerprints to identify the body.

Efforts by the Erie County Central Police Services laboratory to obtain DNA samples from the body were unsuccessful, apparently due to the advanced state of decomposition and the fact it was in the water for months, Best said.​

 

[Bit of hope]

This is the most recent article I can find about her disappearance: MYSTERY REMAINS UNSOLVED A YEAR AFTER HAMBURG WOMAN DISAPPEARED

It's been a year since a 21-year-old woman disappeared, and Hamburg town police admit they are no closer to solving the case now than they were then.

"Without a body, there's not much we can do," Detective Capt. Thomas M. Best said of the disappearance of Anjanette Piotrowski.

In fact, there is a body. But police don't know whether it is Ms. Piotrowski's.

Scientific tests so far have failed to link the headless, handless corpse found April 2 in Lake Ontario to Ms. Piotrowski, who has been missing since Oct. 17, 1994.

Authorities say water action and ice apparently were responsible for the absence of head and hands, eliminating the possibility of using teeth and fingerprints to identify the body.

Efforts by the Erie County Central Police Services laboratory to obtain DNA samples from the body were unsuccessful, apparently due to the advanced state of decomposition and the fact it was in the water for months, Best said.​

How very, very sad.

 

[spartanx]

unfortunate the story of the girl could not be happy .. hopefully she is in a better place ..
rest in peace

 

[NYanon]

Yes, sure ...he walked approx. 3 hours from the Broderick Park to where he lived. Nonsense IMO

Google Maps

To be fair, one of the Buffalo, NY articles does state the Person of Interest / Last Known Companion told police he walked and rode several buses. Were there cameras on buses or at / near stops or along the walking route, tickets, or witnesses to corroborate the claim? How long was it between appearances at the auto repair shop? Was there any explanation given for the clothing change? Would the time between the two visits allow for driving to Buffalo, arguing, walking & riding buses, going home to change, traveling back to pick up car? How did he get back to repair shop?

With advancements in DNA technology (including the 'vaccuum' process), i wonder if the hair found at the campsite could yield good results today.

[Edit: posted while still typing, apologies]

 

[Bit of hope]

A "perfect" example of how a life can be messed up by others. Poor sweetie. What she had to endure from birth to her missing is heartbreaking. As we say she must have been born under a dark cloud....not even the universe allowed her to be identified. How terribly unjust.

 

[Bit of hope]

To be fair, one of the Buffalo, NY articles does state the Person of Interest / Last Known Companion told police he walked and rode several buses. Were there cameras on buses or at / near stops, tickets, or witnesses

I believe he passed...or do you think she still might be somewhere out there and he wasn't the one?

 

[Bit of hope]

This is the most recent article I can find about her disappearance: MYSTERY REMAINS UNSOLVED A YEAR AFTER HAMBURG WOMAN DISAPPEARED

It's been a year since a 21-year-old woman disappeared, and Hamburg town police admit they are no closer to solving the case now than they were then.

"Without a body, there's not much we can do," Detective Capt. Thomas M. Best said of the disappearance of Anjanette Piotrowski.

In fact, there is a body. But police don't know whether it is Ms. Piotrowski's.

Scientific tests so far have failed to link the headless, handless corpse found April 2 in Lake Ontario to Ms. Piotrowski, who has been missing since Oct. 17, 1994.

Authorities say water action and ice apparently were responsible for the absence of head and hands, eliminating the possibility of using teeth and fingerprints to identify the body.

Efforts by the Erie County Central Police Services laboratory to obtain DNA samples from the body were unsuccessful, apparently due to the advanced state of decomposition and the fact it was in the water for months, Best said.​

Now with evolving technology they are able to get a trace from the smallest amount of cells or rebuilt it from the smallest amounts....Please bring this Jane Doe home.....and rule in or out this precious girl...saying her name Anjanette Piotrowski, waiting for a miracle.

 

[NYanon]

I believe he passed...or do you think she still might be somewhere out there and he wasn't the one?

(Apologies, my comment posted while i was still typing; i have added in edit).

IMO, there is very good reason to consider the POI the prime POI / Prime Suspect. Whether or not the POI is still alive, what happened to Anjanette and who was involved should still be answered to the extent possible.

Also, as in the case of the hair, i wonder if better results would be had utilising more advanced DNA technologies in the case of the Lake Ontario UID mentioned in this thread.

 

[Bit of hope]

To be fair, one of the Buffalo, NY articles does state the Person of Interest / Last Known Companion told police he walked and rode several buses. Were there cameras on buses or at / near stops or along the walking route, tickets, or witnesses to corroborate the claim? How long was it between appearances at the auto repair shop? Was there any explanation given for the clothing change? Would the time between the two visits allow for driving to Buffalo, arguing, walking & riding buses, going home to change, traveling back to pick up car? How did he get back to repair shop?

With advancements in DNA technology (including the 'vaccuum' process), i wonder if the hair found at the campsite could yield good results today.

[Edit: posted while still typing, apologies]

Is there a link to this source?