For many, the holidays can be a somber time of year. There’s a melancholy sense of nostalgia practically baked into this most special of seasons for many that can lead them to reflect and reminisce about years past and the loved ones who are no longer here. For the family of Judy Rodriguez, this sadness was made all the more painful because they simply didn’t know what had happened to her. For over three decades, the family searched for evidence of what had happened to Judy Rodriguez, but to no avail. The beloved mother and sister appeared to have simply vanished without a trace.
The family had all but given up hope of getting answers. Still, the combination of determined detectives, science, and the Queens District Attorney’s Office gave them the gift of new information during the holiday season. “It really is heartwarming to have answers,” said an emotional Anna Salvadore, Rodriguez’s sister.
Another sister, Jennifer Musse, called Judy “a beautiful person, she always had a smile on her face.”
A photo showed Judy and her daughter Stephanie at her first birthday party in 1991. But that was the last time the family would ever see Judy, as she disappeared right after. “We just had a beautiful time, and unfortunately, that was the last time we all saw her,” said Salvadore.
Search Efforts Yielded Nothing in 1991
The family searched New York City and posted handmade missing fliers. But there were no calls or leads—just the unbearable weight of questions, especially for the Rodriguez family’s matriarch.
“My mom was just always looking, asking questions. Trying to find people who had seen her,” Salvadore said. “I know she lived with an incredible hole in her heart. Just never felt whole after that.”
33 years later, thanks to the popularity of genealogy testing, answers have finally been given to the family. Salvadore’s daughter decided to submit a sample to a database and consented to law enforcement access. Then, out of nowhere, a phone call came in.
“It was a genealogist for the NYPD,” said Salvadore, “And that there was a possible DNA match to a missing person. I immediately got chills when I heard the message.”
A detective asked Judy’s daughter, Stephanie, to submit samples for further testing. “It came back a 100% match on my mom’s passing anniversary. I felt like my mom was giving us answers. It was incredible,” Salvadore said.
“To me, this is a miracle,” said Marcos Rodriguez, the victim’s brother.
Cold Cases Brought Back
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz started the cold case unit five years ago, and it has since become a model across the country.
“I knew that we could make a difference in people’s lives and that difference didn’t always mean prosecution. That difference meant giving people answers,” Katz told NBC New York. “There is a comfort to having closure.”
In 1991, the body of a woman was found hidden off the Cross Island Expressway and the Southern State Parkway in Queens. Four men were arrested, charged, and convicted of murder. The victim could not be identified, but NYPD detectives at the time made a crucial decision.
Building Upon Solid Foundations
“The foresight of keeping her bones and knowing that it could be tested one day was amazing,” said Katz. “Thirty-three years later, my office and the NYPD put into a genealogy company the DNA. And we finally got the identity of this woman. A woman named Judy Rodriguez.”
Judy Rodriguez’s case is not alone; far from it.
“We have about 47 cases now of victims that we have not been able to identify over the last decades. We are going through them one by one,” Katz said. “Congresswoman Grace Meng gave us a $500,000 grant to be able to do a lot of this research, especially with the 47 other victims that we have to identify.”
For families wrestling with unanswered questions during the holiday season, the Rodriguez family shared words of encouragement.
“There’s hope out there,” said Stephanie Rodriguez.
“For those that are looking for answers, go get a DNA test,” Salvadore said. “Don’t lose hope. It is possible all these years later to have answers.”
