Identified! NY - Staten Island, WhtFem 16-27, UP2689, scorpion tattoo, ring watch, dress, sneakers, Sep'91 - Christine Belusko

[othram]

Thank you for doing all that you do.

I have a question, is there a person to contact in regards to an "estimate" ie, to find out how much it would cost for a specific dna test, or if it's possible to get a dna reconstruction for a cold case that's got some various restrictions to it? I wasn't sure if it's a situation where we contact Othram to "get a quote" or how that works? If the persons family would like to get a specific DNA profile or item ran and the detectives don't have the budget but allow us to privately fund it? Has that ever been done? Thank you so much!

Othram can't work outside of law enforcement. We can help law enforcement find funding, but we have to onboard the case from law enforcement.

 

[cvaldez1975]

i wonder if they ever found her daughter, whether she was alive or not.

 

[jennytrevor]

i wonder if they ever found her daughter, whether she was alive or not.

She's still listed as missing on NamUs.

 

[FancyBotwin]

I believe Othrams standard cost for creating a DNA profile is 3500-5000 USD

Thank you!

 

[FancyBotwin]

Othram can't work outside of law enforcement. We can help law enforcement find funding, but we have to onboard the case from law enforcement.

Ahh I see, so if LE reaches out to you, we can have it tested? That's awesome info, thank you for responding! I'll contact the detectives asap. <3

 

[Mictecacihuatl]

I remember this case and haven't looked until now to see if she was ever identified. My folks have liked in SI since the 80s, my father in particular traveled a lot and from what he told me, this part of the island you just had to know well enough to dump a body. Other than the people working in that area, most folks didn't go there and transportation was almost non-existent. Whoever dumped her body there knew she wouldn't be found for a while, knew what area to dump her in. Even today, you'd have no business being in that area unless you lived nearby or worked in those places.

Her body was found here: Seaview Ave/East Psych Center Entrance · Staten Island, NY 10305

Seaview Ave/Olympia Blvd · Staten Island, NY 10305

Bus stop

maps.app.goo.gl

Right off the S52 bus stop Seaview Ave/Olympia Blvd
Even today, that area is all woods/trees. The houses next to it weren't built until 2004+ but the houses in the corner existed prior to 1991. Further down, most of those houses are new and were built after 1991. So aside from those3-4 houses, no one lived in that area.

- Was the person who found her mentioned to be a worker or someone who lived nearby?
- What time was the body found? it would be obvious she was dumped there in the night or near dawn. Again, no one lived in that area aside from those houses in the corner, no one would have seen someone setting her on fire.
- For how long did the fire burn? how much of her body was burned?

Whoever dumped her was either from SI or knew the area well enough to have dumped her there. But they way she was killed seems personal. Maybe she had someone who disagreed with her up and moving away to Florida? the father or her child? How awfully convenient that she finds out she's adopted and she up and decides to move to Florida. Whoever killed her might have been someone close to her that knew this information and took advantage that she might not even be reported missing, her and her daughter.

 

[FancyBotwin]

I remember this case and haven't looked until now to see if she was ever identified. My folks have liked in SI since the 80s, my father in particular traveled a lot and from what he told me, this part of the island you just had to know well enough to dump a body. Other than the people working in that area, most folks didn't go there and transportation was almost non-existent. Whoever dumped her body there knew she wouldn't be found for a while, knew what area to dump her in. Even today, you'd have no business being in that area unless you lived nearby or worked in those places.

Her body was found here: Seaview Ave/East Psych Center Entrance · Staten Island, NY 10305

Seaview Ave/Olympia Blvd · Staten Island, NY 10305

Bus stop

maps.app.goo.gl

Right off the S52 bus stop Seaview Ave/Olympia Blvd
Even today, that area is all woods/trees. The houses next to it weren't built until 2004+ but the houses in the corner existed prior to 1991. Further down, most of those houses are new and were built after 1991. So aside from those3-4 houses, no one lived in that area.

- Was the person who found her mentioned to be a worker or someone who lived nearby?
- What time was the body found? it would be obvious she was dumped there in the night or near dawn. Again, no one lived in that area aside from those houses in the corner, no one would have seen someone setting her on fire.
- For how long did the fire burn? how much of her body was burned?

Whoever dumped her was either from SI or knew the area well enough to have dumped her there. But they way she was killed seems personal. Maybe she had someone who disagreed with her up and moving away to Florida? the father or her child? How awfully convenient that she finds out she's adopted and she up and decides to move to Florida. Whoever killed her might have been someone close to her that knew this information and took advantage that she might not even be reported missing, her and her daughter.

The body was "Still smoldering" when they got to her...as in, it had only been a few hours tops, between her death (which was suspected to be at the location), and when she was found (Early AM)...simultaneously, it was in the brush but very close to the road, it was likely done quickly and due to the amount of evidence, carelessly. They think she likely was transported to the spot from what I can remember. I believe it was a child/children playing who found her, but I could be wrong on that last part. There are some pretty candid photos of the area/scene from back then available online that show a better perspective.
She was staying in the poconos at the Mt. Aery lodge right before this, and after leaving her job in new jersey, for the summer.

 

[snooptroop88]

The body was "Still smoldering" when they got to her...as in, it had only been a few hours tops, between her death (which was suspected to be at the location), and when she was found (Early AM)...simultaneously, it was in the brush but very close to the road, it was likely done quickly and due to the amount of evidence, carelessly. They think she likely was transported to the spot from what I can remember. I believe it was a child/children playing who found her, but I could be wrong on that last part. There are some pretty candid photos of the area/scene from back then available online that show a better perspective.
She was staying in the poconos at the Mt. Aery lodge right before this, and after leaving her job in new jersey, for the summer.

I've heard this, too, with the smoldering and having been transported. And about her staying at that lodge. I think initially they were positive it was an angry bf or associate of some kind, but I think if that were the case, they'd have had him by now.

They're swarming Heuermann's house right now, there's a very strong police presence as they search his home again. Weirdly, I've heard "Staten Island" come up in some of these interviews when they're discussing the home search and an earlier related search of the Manorville woods. I've wondered for a very long time if one of these area SKs wasn't connected to this case. I'm finding it really interesting that Staten Island's making its way into some of these discussions.

 

[FancyBotwin]

I've heard this, too, with the smoldering and having been transported. And about her staying at that lodge. I think initially they were positive it was an angry bf or associate of some kind, but I think if that were the case, they'd have had him by now.

They're swarming Heuermann's house right now, there's a very strong police presence as they search his home again. Weirdly, I've heard "Staten Island" come up in some of these interviews when they're discussing the home search and an earlier related search of the Manorville woods. I've wondered for a very long time if one of these area SKs wasn't connected to this case. I'm finding it really interesting that Staten Island's making its way into some of these discussions.

Yup! Agreed he's someone to look at esp. considering the hammer element. There were several known SK's operating around that time in the area/region (I've counted 9/10) that literally ALL could have easily been responsible for SI JD= and Rex is on the list for sure. I'm working on mapping it for an OSINT project and I'll post here- but I've found a few interesting/odd things recently I'll post rn ---- for example- Belusko had an old unclaimed property record and an address in NJ that was listed back to a beautiful home and her daughter is listed as well:

 

[dotr]

Oct 7 2024

Beyond the scorpion tattoo: ‘Christine’s Story’ to explore woman at center of Staten Island cold case

A year and a half after the district attorney's bombshell revelations, key questions in her case remain.

www.silive.com

''The mystery woman wore a black sweater dress with pink trim, two gold chains, a ring watch and white, low-cut sneakers. In her pockets were a pack of Newport cigarettes and 30 cents in loose change. She had on black, flowered underwear. On her right buttock was a tattoo of a red and blue scorpion.
What happened to her was horrific.
A medical examiner would determine the victim was strangled and struck 17 times in the back of the head with a hammer. Her hands were cuffed behind her back. She was doused in turpentine and set on fire.'

''To access the entire series, you’ll need to be an SILive.com subscriber. If you aren’t already, we hope that you will consider going to silive.com/subscribe to join us on this journey.''

 

[jennytrevor]

I'm glad her case is getting media attention, but I'm sad it's behind a paywall!

 

[LucyOso]

RIP Christine. So they must have found a biological sibling? A sibling aware she was adopted out? That would be the only way to link? Unless it was a family adoption...

 

[snooptroop88]

Per CNN: "Prior to her death, Belusko lived in Clifton, New Jersey, and worked for a clothing store, McMahon and Nilsen said. Belusko was placed for adoption when she was an infant and was raised by a New Jersey couple, James Clinton, a spokesperson for the Richmond County DA’s office said.

After she found out she was adopted, she left home in July 1991 and briefly stayed at the Mount Airy Lodge in the Poconos in Pennsylvania, Clinton confirmed.

None of Belusko’s family members knew she was murdered, assuming she was safely living in Florida, according to The Charley Project, an organization that tracks missing people."

She'd evidently been in a state of flux when this happened and was considering moving down to Florida, so nobody in Christine's family ever knew anything had happened to her. She was working at a store in the Rainbow Shops chain and the dress she was found wearing was a product of that same shop.

 

[cvaldez1975]

I hope they find her child

 

[dotr]

Nov 4 2024

The significance of the tattoo at center of Staten Island cold case

It was a crudely etched, red and blue scorpion, and for three decades it's all that was known of the unidentified victim.

www.silive.com

By Kyle Lawson | [email protected]
'EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of “BEYOND THE SCORPION TATTOO: CHRISTINE’S STORY,” an ongoing series examining the life and cold-case murder of Christine Belusko. She was found dead on Seaview Avenue in Ocean Breeze on Sept. 20, 1991.

>> Previous chapters and full table of contents

 

[dotr]

Officials seek information in Poconos cold case | Times News Online

Officials from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia, and the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office, New York, continue to search for a girl who was last ...

www.tnonline.com

November 29. 2024

Christine B, at age 2

 

[caradana]

That she left Clifton (inner ring suburb of NYC, lots of multifamily housing, traffic, socioeconomically diverse) and went to Mount Airy Lodge for at least a few weeks before vanishing out to unidentification. This is completely fascinating for any woman in that time in around the same place (hi). Let me share the Mount Airy Lodge commercial that was on NY regional TV pervasively during that time. It was presented as the ultimate escape. It was also a place where a baby would have been noticed and remembered.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Christine Belusko deserves to have her story told.

The Advance/SILive.com investigative series “Beyond the Scorpion Tattoo: Christine’s Story” aims to do that. So far we have published six chapters that peel back the onion of Christine and her case, with more to come in 2025.

Ultimately investigators still hope to close the case, find Christine’s missing daughter and identify her killer.

Tips are welcome.

How to catch up on the series:

CHAPTER ONE: For 30 years, she was a murder mystery, but to those closest to her, she was Chris

CHAPTER TWO: A long-kept secret sparked a break with her parents. When she vanished, no one knew

CHAPTER THREE: A resort rendezvous? A move to Fla.? Tracing the final weeks of S.I. murder victim’s life

CHAPTER FOUR: ‘She was so still and lifeless.’ A horrific find in brush patch still haunts Staten Island

CHAPTER FIVE: In Texas lab, scientists unlock the mystery; a breakthrough detailed

CHAPTER SIX: Holding out hope for a cold-case miracle: Detectives, kin try to learn missing daughter’s fate

Catch up with the Advance/SILive.com series on a murdered woman, who deserves to be remembered

For 30 years she was nameless, referred to as “the girl with the scorpion tattoo.”

www.silive.com

 

[dotr]

• Huge article.
• May. 27, 2025

A secret adoption, a grisly murder, and a 30-year mystery: Timeline of Staten Island ‘scorpion’ cold case

Christine Belusko was described as vibrant, beguiling and adventurous. Her killer remains at large and the whereabouts of her daughter unknown.

www.silive.com

''Over the course of “Beyond the Scorpion Tattoo” an ongoing investigative series by the Advance/SILive.com, new leads have been generated and pivotal moments revealed in the life of a murder victim who was known for decades only for the distinct marking on her body.''

''Christine was a member of the choir, show choir, color guard and flag squad. As a senior, she phased out of school clubs and found part-time work cutting hair and babysitting.

In her free time, she was a fan of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and fell in with a friend group that frequented local rock concerts and hung out at the arcade.''

This photo shows the Othram Inc. laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas. The facility helped uncover the identity of 1991 murder victim Christine Belusko. Google

''As part of the cold case investigation assumed by the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of the FBI, Christine’s DNA had been sent to a privately-run biotech and engineering laboratory in Texas.

'In 2019, through innovative forensics at Othram Inc. and along with old-fashioned detective work, Christine was identified.''

 

[othram]

• Huge article.
• May. 27, 2025

A secret adoption, a grisly murder, and a 30-year mystery: Timeline of Staten Island ‘scorpion’ cold case

Christine Belusko was described as vibrant, beguiling and adventurous. Her killer remains at large and the whereabouts of her daughter unknown.

www.silive.com

View attachment 589157

''Over the course of “Beyond the Scorpion Tattoo” an ongoing investigative series by the Advance/SILive.com, new leads have been generated and pivotal moments revealed in the life of a murder victim who was known for decades only for the distinct marking on her body.''

''Christine was a member of the choir, show choir, color guard and flag squad. As a senior, she phased out of school clubs and found part-time work cutting hair and babysitting.

In her free time, she was a fan of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and fell in with a friend group that frequented local rock concerts and hung out at the arcade.''

This photo shows the Othram Inc. laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas. The facility helped uncover the identity of 1991 murder victim Christine Belusko. Google
View attachment 589156
''As part of the cold case investigation assumed by the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of the FBI, Christine’s DNA had been sent to a privately-run biotech and engineering laboratory in Texas.

'In 2019, through innovative forensics at Othram Inc. and along with old-fashioned detective work, Christine was identified.''

A huge case and our first in New York!