Judy Rodriguez identified as dead Brooklyn mom who went missing more than 3 decades ago, officials say

In the summer of 1991, the unidentified body of a young woman was found covered with cardboard at the intersection of the Cross Island and Southern State parkways in Queens. Her identity remained a puzzle for decades.

But earlier this year, through genetic genealogy, the dead woman was identified as Judy Rodriguez, 30, a single mother from Brooklyn who was the victim of a homicide, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Monday.

Rodriguez was last seen by her family in January 1991, after she attended a birthday party for her 1-year-old daughter, Stephanie, and officials said her family reported her missing around that time. 

Four men ages 18 through 20 were eventually arrested for the killing of the unidentified woman, for various crimes ranging from first-degree manslaughter, reckless endangerment to hindering prosecution, Katz said. All of them served various prison sentences.

Katz and her staff were not able to explain on Monday how prosecutors were able to link the four men to the unidentified body. Officials also could not provide information about a possible motive for her killing. The victim was tied up in a car, beaten and thrown from the vehicle by the parkway intersection, prosecutors said.

Eventually, the NYPD's cold case squad was able to use genetic genealogy, the methodology being used with success in identifying at least two Gilgo Beach homicide victims. A $500,000 grant secured with the help of Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) aided police in getting the genealogy testing done, Katz said.

"As I have said, it is never too late for justice," Meng said in a statement.

According to officials, analysis of DNA specimens from Rodriguez’s remains were sent to a company which is able to do advanced DNA analysis.

Since Rodriguez’s body had suffered from substantial decomposition, analysis of her DNA was challenging and apparently required more advanced techniques which have recently evolved, investigators said.

Once scientists developed a DNA profile of Rodriguez, the results were given to a detective in the NYPD investigative genealogy squad who constructed a family tree from publicly available data, Katz explained.

The genealogical leads developed were in turn passed on to investigators in Katz’s office and the NYPD cold case squad which contacted potential family members of Rodriguez, officials said. Eventually, DNA comparison samples were obtained which matched the profile of Rodriguez, according to investigators.

Similar methods have been used in the Gilgo Beach homicide investigation to identify the remains of victims Valerie Mack and Karen Vergata. FBI genealogists have also been working to identify three other sets of Gilgo Beach related remains, including those of a woman, her toddler and an Asian man.

Katz said the case represented the latest effort by the NYPD to solve some of the borough’s oldest homicides.

Rodriguez's family members were not immediately available for comment on Monday.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.