() — Christa Nicole Belusko would be 33 today, but she hasn’t been seen in over 30 years.
Authorities say Christa was last recorded to have been seen with her mother in September 1991 at a shelter near Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, when she was 2 years old.
The body of his mother, Christine Belusko, was found “badly beaten, strangled and burned” on the eastern shore of Staten Island in 1991, according to Richmond County District Attorney Michael E. McMahon. Investigative work combined with forensic genealogy was used to confirm Belusko’s identity in April 2021. Her identity became public this week, more than three decades since her “brutal and depraved” murder, she said.
“We have already notified (Belusko’s) family of his death and continue to make every effort to also locate Christa Nicole so that we can inform her who her mother was and what has been done to bring justice to this case,” McMahon said in a statement. press conference this Tuesday.
Belusko was just 30 years old when his body — found face up, handcuffed, partially clothed and burned — was found in a vacant lot, according to David Nilsen, chief investigator for the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office. She was found with 17 blows to the head and a hammer was recovered at her place, he said.
“Despite the incredibly dedicated work of the NYPD at the time, authorities were unable to identify her or locate the person who so savagely and cruelly took her life at such a young age,” McMahon said. “Nearly 30 years later, in a joint effort with the FBI, my incredible team of investigators working with NYPD detectives took up the case and, working together, we employed the use of forensic genealogy technology that was not It was available in 1991, but it is invaluable in today’s law enforcement to bring closure and justice to those affected by crime.”
Once Belusko was identified, authorities contacted his living relatives, including his brother, and discovered that he had a 2-year-old daughter at the time of his death, Nilsen said.
This Tuesday a photo of Christa’s age progression was published and the search for Belusko’s killer and the whereabouts of her daughter continues. There is currently no known information about who Christa’s father is, McMahon said.
“We are seeking the public’s assistance in solving the homicide of Christine Belusko and determining the whereabouts of Christa Nicole,” Nilsen said.
An aged image of Christa Nicole Belusko. (Credit: Richmond County DA Office)
The use of forensic genealogy led to the identification of Christa’s mother after 30 years
Until she was identified, Belusko was only known as “the girl with the scorpion tattoo” for decades, McMahon said, referring to a distinctive scorpion tattoo found on her body.
Investigators believe the hammer recovered at the scene – which was found under Belusko’s body and with “Loyd L” engraved on the handle – was used in his murder, Nilsen said.
Initially, the police were unable to identify the killer or the victim, so the case remained unsolved. An individual was identified by the name of “Loyd L,” but “that was it,” McMahon said.
“There was no other indication that he was involved. He could not be prosecuted or exonerated at that time given the circumstances that were known to us,” McMahon said, adding that the person has since passed away.
In 2008, the prosecutor’s office reviewed the homicide case and sent his DNA and dental records to the FBI, but that didn’t turn up any new leads. The case was reviewed again in 2019 when McMahon decided to use forensic genealogy technology in a joint effort with the FBI, NYPD, and the New York City Office of the Medical Examiner, resulting in Belusko’s identification a few two years later, Nilsen said.
A police sketch of Christine Belusko, who was not identified at the time of the incident. Her distinctive feature was a scorpion tattoo (left) on her right buttock. (Credit: Richmond County DA Office)
Before his death, Belusko lived in Clifton, New Jersey, and worked for a clothing store, McMahon and Nilsen said. Belusko was given up for adoption when she was a baby and was raised by a New Jersey couple, said James Clinton, a spokesman for the Richmond County Prosecutor’s Office.
After learning she was adopted, she left home in July 1991 and stayed briefly at Mount Airy Lodge in the Poconos, Pennsylvania, Clinton confirmed.
None of Belusko’s family knew she had been murdered, as they assumed she lived safely in Florida, according to The Charley Projectan organization that tracks missing people.
While the investigation into her murder is ongoing, McMahon said investigators believe she knew her killer.
“There is absolutely no indication that this was done by anyone other than an acquaintance, given the facts of the case and what was revealed about the manner in which she was murdered…That certainly makes us think that this was someone who I knew her. It’s an intimate type of murder,” McMahon said.
