Going West: True Crime - Christine & Christa Belusko // 341

Starting point is 00:00:00 What is going on True Crime fans? I'm your host Tee. And I'm your host Daphne. And you're listening to Going Last. Hello everybody, so sorry this episode is a little bit late. This is our wedding week. So it's a huge week for us and we just had our bachelor bachelor at parties over the weekend. Keith was in Big Bear. I was. It was amazing. We did some fishing. We sat around the campfire and yeah, that was pretty much it. Just had some fun. Yeah, it looked amazing. I just did mine locally in LA here. We went downtown. We saw a comedy show just with a bunch of my friends. It was super fun, but we have just been hosting family and doing all this stuff getting ready for our wedding this weekend. So we didn't want to rush this episode and have it be low quality. So thank you guys for your patience with it.

Starting point is 00:00:56 And actually, also thank you to Amelia for recommending today's case. This one has a lot of crazy elements to it, and there was some resolution for it actually, just last year, so there are some recent updates for it, so let's not waste any more time, let's talk about it. Yeah, this is one of those generational cases. Absolutely. All right guys, this is episode 341 of Going West, so let's get into it. In September of 1991, a 30-year-old woman vanished from a lodge in Pennsylvania.

Starting point is 00:01:58 Although she was found shortly after, badly beaten, strangled, and burned on a beach in New York, it took 30 years to identify her body. And when police did, it only deepened the mystery. Because as it turns out, her young daughter is still missing. This is the story of Christine Balusco, and her daughter, Kra Balusco. Christine Balusco was born in New Jersey in 1961 and if it isn't obvious by that very short sentence, there is shockingly little known

Starting point is 00:02:46 about her early life and family, but we do know that she was adopted as a baby. Now the only information made public about her early years is that her biological mother put her up for adoption when she was a newborn, and that her mother had nine biological children in total. So Christine had eight biological siblings. And this is gonna come up in a bit and actually kind of lead to her disappearance. So it's not clear whether all nine of the children

Starting point is 00:03:11 were put up for adoption by their mom or if some of the children lived with her, but Christine was adopted by the Balusco family in Montville, New Jersey, which is about 30 miles or 48 kilometers outside of Manhattan, New York. She joined parents Dorothy and Frank and was later joined by a little brother named Francis who was also adopted, though again, it's not clear if they shared the same biological

Starting point is 00:03:36 mother. Dorothy worked as a secretary at a car dealership and Frank was a glass blower, and they both served in World War II with Dorothy assembling aircraft radios and Frank a medical technician. At some point in Christine's adult life, she relocated to the small city of Clifton, New Jersey, which is her last known address, and it's about 30 minutes away from Montville where she was raised. So leading up to her disappearance, she was working for a rainbow brand clothing store, and when she was around 27 years old, Christine got pregnant with a baby girl, though it's never been made clear who the father was, or if he even knew of his daughter's existence. But her daughter, Kristen Nicole, was born on August 1, 1989. It actually seems as if Christine found out that she was adopted later in life because

Starting point is 00:04:28 all sources claim that she left New Jersey after finding out that she was adopted, with the goal of finding and meeting her birth family. She apparently located someone that she was biologically related to down in Naples, Florida, and told her adoptive parents and brother that she was heading there to find them. So she left the cliff in area in July of 1991, and her family would never see or hear from her ever again. Strangely though, she actually wound up in Pennsylvania, not Florida. And the last confirmed sighting of Christine and her daughter was at the Mount Erie Lodge

Starting point is 00:05:08 in the Poconos Mountains of Pennsylvania, which is about an hour and a half away from where they had been living in Clifton. The Poconos are a mountain range in eastern Pennsylvania, dotted with resorts and hotels and drawing millions of tourists each year. And we actually mentioned them briefly in our series on the University of Idaho murders, because the main suspect Brian Cobrager, who I'm sure all of you guys know, had been hiding out at his parents' house next to the Poconos Mountains. But what brought Christine to the Poconos is still unknown, especially since she had said

Starting point is 00:05:41 that she was going to Florida. Which only deepens the mystery more, just knowing that her last movements just cannot be explained. Yeah, absolutely. Now, it's possible that she did go there with someone and then lied about it to her family, and it's definitely possible that if she had been there with someone, that person had something to do

Starting point is 00:06:00 with her disappearance, but again, we do not know at this point. But either way, Christine's family didn't know that she had been in Pennsylvania at all. Christine and her baby daughter, Christa's whereabouts between July of 1991, when they supposedly left New Jersey, and the second week of September of 1991, when they were last spotted in the Poconos, are unknown. The last time either Christine or her daughter were spotted publicly was near the Mount Erie Lodge around September 13, 1991. Then, on September 20, 1991, a brutally murdered body turned up two states away on Staten Island,

Starting point is 00:06:40 which is the southernmost borough of New York City. She was spotted in some brush in a ditch alongside Seaview Avenue situated along the east side of Staten Island on the lower bay. Sadly, it had been a gruesome end for her. Christine had been struck 17 times in the back of the head with a hammer. Lying face up, her hands were bound in handcuffs,

Starting point is 00:07:04 and she had been strangled. After she had been discarded like trash in the weeds of the ditch, her body had been set ablaze and was still smoldering when she was discovered by a local resident just after sunrise. This likely meant that they had just missed the woman's murderer, or at the very least, the dumping of her body. So detectives took great care to comb the crime scene for every possible detail. Now Staten Island is the least densely populated burrow of New York City and also has the lowest crime rate, and police intended to keep it that way, aiming to catch the perpetrator

Starting point is 00:07:43 as quickly as they could. Beneath Christine's body, investigators discovered what they felt was the link to this woman's murderer, a hammer, splattered with blood and believed to be, of course, the murder weapon since Heath had told us that she was struck 17 times in the back of the head with one. So this hammer was an automotive hammer generally utilized by automacanics to hammer out dense in the bodies of vehicles. So that was a potential clue in itself. They concealed the discovery of the hammer at first, just not wanting to kind of rile

Starting point is 00:08:17 the public, but by later that day investigators announced that they had put together a profile of the victim because they don't know who she is at this point. So she was a white woman believed to be as young as 16 or as old as 27 and had been wearing a black knit dress with a fuchsia color and pockets. Underneath, she wore a white bra and black thong underwear with multicolored flowers on it. She was wearing white-size 8-10 issues called balloon sneakers from brand Tom McCann, which was sold in Kmart and Sears stores. She had been wearing two necklaces at the time. One was a 20-inch gold rope chain,

Starting point is 00:08:59 and the other was an 18-inch gold-haaring bow necklace. On her hand, she wore a black ring with a watch face and an adjustable band. And with her, she had 30 cents in change and a pack of cigarettes. On her lower right backside, she bore a red and blue scorpion tattoo that may have been a nod to an astrological sign. She had brown eyes and curly or wavy brown hair. She stood at 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighed about 120 pounds. So not the most specific description but at least the tattoo and the jewelry kind of were. But with no identification, police released a sketch and a description of the victim, just hoping someone would at least be able to identify her,

Starting point is 00:09:43 even if they had no idea who may have murdered her. In comparison to the 7 million people living in the rest of New York City, Staten Island hosted a comparatively small population of 380,000 people, but no one came forward to claim her. And I mean, Jane and John Doe's are difficult because these people could come from anywhere. I mean, we and John Doe's are difficult because these people could come from anywhere. I mean, we covered the Lady of the Doon's case on our Patreon last year,

Starting point is 00:10:10 who was a Jane Doe that had been found murdered on Cape Cod in Massachusetts in 1974. And that case was massive, but still, it took until late 2022 for them to solve the case. And a big reason her identity wasn't uncovered sooner is because she had been lasting in either california or tenise either not exactly sure and again she was found in massachusetts so same with today's case like being found on satin island doesn't mean she was from satin island so

Starting point is 00:10:41 it would make sense why no one was coming forward locally absolutely and that again you know like you, it makes it so much harder when somebody is murdered on vacation or they're, you know, taking a trip or they had just recently moved because it's like you said, I mean, who's going to be there in Staten Island to identify her when she's from a completely different parts of the country. Exactly. And especially more so in this day and age as well, this is the early 90s. Like, anybody could kind of go on a trip. They're not posting on social media. Maybe they're not letting people know where they're going. Like, people can just kind of move about as they will. So it was a lot harder, especially back then, to find John and Jane Doe's sometimes

Starting point is 00:11:24 because they could have been from a different place. Yeah, totally. And I didn't mean to say a different part of the country. I meant to say a different state, but... Oh, yeah. Well, technically. It's the same part of the country. But I mean, it is really strange that she was last seen in Pennsylvania. She told her family that she was going to Florida, and then she's found in Staten Island, but she's from New Jersey. Exactly. Well, that's why, as you guys will see, as we'll uncover, she took a very long time for them to determine that this was Christine. But we'll get into that, obviously. So let's get back to the crime scene because there's a lot more interesting stuff to be

Starting point is 00:11:59 told about that hammer. Yeah, so obviously we mentioned that, you know, the most prominent clue that police found linking her to the potential killer was this hammer that was found beneath her body. So engraved on the handle was the name Lloyd L and Lloyd was spelled with only one L. Which is not very common. No, it's not. So obviously, police believe this to be the name of their perpetrator and they were actually able to track down someone with this name and they were able to speak with him.

Starting point is 00:12:28 Now the Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon said quote, that's as far as it got. There was no other indication that he was involved. He couldn't be prosecuted or exonerated at the time given the circumstances that we knew. He also added that this particular Lloyd has since passed away and has never been formally linked to this murder. And while it was thought to be the first name

Starting point is 00:12:52 with the first initial of a surname, it's equally possible that the Hammer's owner had been crudely carving it into the wooden handle and messed up the first time accounting for this second L. Obviously because of the brutal nature of this crime, investigators assumed whoever the perp was was someone who knew the victim, which made things exponentially difficult, considering that they didn't have a clue who the victim was at this point. But they felt confident about this fact since the overkill of more than a dozen hits from a hammer felt really like retaliatory and also very like personal. So Michael McMahon remarked quote,

Starting point is 00:13:35 there's absolutely no indication that this was done by anyone other than someone who knew her, given the facts of the case and what transpired in the way that she was murdered. That certainly makes us think that this was someone who knew her. It's an intimate type of murder. But obviously, again, without knowing her identity, the case was in danger of going cold and going cold very fast. Staten Island Police Lieutenant William Quinn said quote, We're reaching out to the public to reach this girl's family so that she can receive a decent burial. We've been on it for a month and a half now, we're running out of time. The district attorney announced the only information they knew for sure about this murder saying quote,

Starting point is 00:14:18 We know that she was strangled, we know that she was beaten, and we know that the body was burned. It was a cruel and vicious killing. It really was, but with no tips coming in and no one coming forward to claim her as their own, if you will, please continue to attempt to track down the source of the hammer with the name carved into its handle. Authorities spoke to various mechanics hoping to connect the missing hammer to the murderer, and when they didn't yield any results, they tried focusing on her tattoo. So she actually came to be nicknamed the girl with the Scorpion tattoo for this reason,

Starting point is 00:14:55 but crazy enough. Sounds like a book I know. Yeah, exactly. The girl with the dragon tattoo. Exactly. Actually, I don't know what Heath of you knew this, but in 1991, tattooing was illegal in every burrow of New York City. Did you know that?

Starting point is 00:15:06 Wow, I did not know that. That's insane. I know, it's kind of like a fun, like good trivia question, kind of fun fact. I didn't know that until looking into this case, but that was so shocking to me, considering that wasn't very long ago at all. Yeah, 1991, huh? Well, the reason that it was banned is because there was like a hepatitis B breakout in New York City in 1961, and it wasn't reinstated until 1997. So it was 36 years in New York City where you couldn't get a tattoo,

Starting point is 00:15:34 where it was literally illegal, pretty crazy. So if she, but this kind of helps get a better understanding of the situation, because like I said, or like we we've said this crime happened in 1991 That's when she went missing when Christine went missing. That's when her body was found But again at this time they don't know it so they're trying to Consider since she was found on Staten Island. They're trying to consider the whole tattoo ban because she has a tattoo So they're like oh, maybe then she didn't live in New York City because you couldn't get a tattoo.

Starting point is 00:16:08 And she certainly was not over the age of 30. Right. That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, so kind of interesting. So they thought that maybe she, but it doesn't help that much because obviously she could have traveled to get a tattoo or somebody could have done it illegally because there was a bunch of artists illegally tattooing

Starting point is 00:16:25 people across the city, a lot of them from their homes during this 36 year stint. So it helps in a way, but it also doesn't help because she could have gotten the tattoo illegally or she could have gotten it from somewhere else. But at least they're kind of thinking maybe she's not from New York City. Well, it's definitely a good thought.

Starting point is 00:16:43 Yeah, it's very smart to look into it that way. But trying to trace her tattoo by questioning local artists proved unsuccessful, though they did try. And as law enforcement feared, her case went cold and remained that way for 17 years. She was laid to rest in an unmarked grave in New York City's public cemetery on Heart Island in the Bronx, but in 2008, the District Attorney's Office attempted to revitalize the case by submitting her DNA and dental records to the FBI hoping to find a match. With no luck, the case was shelved again until 2019. This time, the District Attorney's Office, with the help of the NYPD and the Medical Examiner's Office, made one final push to resolve the mystery of the girl with the Scorpion Tattoo's

Starting point is 00:17:37 identity. In 2021, a vial of her blood and tissue were sent to a lab in Texas and using forensic genealogy. Investigators located DNA relatives of hers in New Jersey and New York. So with this, they were able to locate her biological brother and he offered to give them a sample to compare. Now when this was a match, they were finally able to track down the true identity of this Jane Doe, this long time Jane Doe. So in April of 2021, almost 30 years exactly after her chilling murder, the victim was confirmed

Starting point is 00:18:18 to be 30-year-old Christine Balusco. Now this is interesting too because she went missing when she was 30 and remember they thought she was between the ages of 16 and 27 So that makes things harder with John and Jane does as well because They can estimate what age they think there, but they're not always right So maybe they're not looking for missing posters of people over the age of 27 Because they are estimating that she's not over that age. Sure.

Starting point is 00:18:47 But she was. Right. So, as we'll see though, there was no Missing Persons report at all. Yeah, well let's get into that. So, District Attorney McMahon said, quote, despite the incredibly dedicated work of the NYPD at that time, authorities were unable to identify her or locate the person who took her life so savagely and viciously at such a young age.

Starting point is 00:19:09 Nearly 30 years later, and a joint effort with the FBI, my incredible team of detective investigators working with the NYPD detectives picked up the case and working together, we employed the use of forensic genealogy technology unavailable in 1991, but invaluable in today's law enforcement world to bring closure and justice to those touched by crime. One of the most shocking twists in this already stunning case was that no one in her family ever reported her missing, like Daphne said, and seemed to never even realize that she was missing in the first place. Christine's mother Dorothy passed away in 2000, so nine years after her disappearance, and her father Frank followed in 2002.

Starting point is 00:19:53 Both of their obituaries named their daughter Christine Balusco as a survivor, saying that she's now living in Florida. So they both passed away without ever realizing that their daughter and granddaughter were missing. Dorothy's obituary even mentions Christa by name, but this came as a surprise to investigators who didn't realize that Christine even had a child. According to reports online, her brother Francis still resides in New Jersey, and when questioned, he told the police that he and his parents had just assumed that Christine and her daughter were happily living in Florida

Starting point is 00:20:28 and had chosen to cease contact with the rest of the family after learning that she was adopted. So obviously this is just really, you know, just a tragic misunderstanding here because they think she's living in Florida because she chose to separate herself from them. They have no idea what had happened to her. Yeah, it was such a weird timing that she had said, well, now that I know I'm adopted,

Starting point is 00:20:48 I'm going to go find my biological family, and they probably just devastatingly thought that she kind of ditched them, which is not the case. There wasn't the case at all. Though police now had what they were looking for, which was the descendant's identity, these revelations begged even more questions. Why hadn't anyone reported her missing in 30 years? And where was her daughter, Christa? At public mobile, we do things differently. From our subscription phone plans to throwing a big sale right now when no one else is. Well, maybe they are, but who cares, our sale is better.

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Starting point is 00:22:13 Apply today at MotiveFinancial.com slash GIC 120. Limited time offer conditions apply. MotiveFinancial.com slash GIC 120. Why waste the next 120 days earning less interest when you can grow your cash faster than fast right now? Open a new savings or checking account with Motiv to enjoy speedy savings with the 5.75% 120 day GIC. Eligible only on transfers from another financial institution. Apply today at Motivfinancial.com slash GIC. Eligible only on transfers from another financial institution. Apply today at MotifFinancial.com slash GIC 120. Limited time offer conditions apply. MotifFinancial.com slash GIC 120. Investigators were astounded when they learned from Christine's brother that she had a two-year-old daughter at the time of her disappearance, and that they had supposedly left for Florida

Starting point is 00:23:20 together. There were no signs of Christa, who had just turned to at the time anywhere near her mother's body, so this meant that they had a disappearance and abduction, or another murder on their hands. Law enforcement continued to investigate the murder and disappearance quietly and privately for two years, but as progress stalled and there were no new discoveries after they confirmed Christine's identity, they made the decision to open up their findings to the public, just hoping that someone with information would come forward. But as the story hit headlines and Christine's identity became public knowledge in March

Starting point is 00:23:58 of 2021, the case received a renewed sense of vigor and investigators were hopeful once again. District Attorney Michael McMahon announced, quote, we have already notified Balusco's family of her death and we continue to make all efforts to also locate Christa Nicole so we can let her know about who her mother was and what has been done to bring justice to this case. While this is a story about a brutal and depraved act of violence that killed a young woman in her prime, and the dumping of her body and a lonely and desolate field on the east shore of Staten Island exactly 31 and a

Starting point is 00:24:37 half years ago, it is also a story about our dog dedicated detectives and detective investigators and my persistent and purposeful prosecutors. So they released baby pictures of Christa and a description of what she looked like when she disappeared in hopes of sparking a memory in, you know, anybody out in the public. They also noted Christa's birthday and that she was about two feet four inches tall and weighed 30 pounds. Like her mom, she had brown hair and brown eyes. But this was difficult in itself because babies obviously grow fast and their appearances changed, so it's no wonder they didn't get any hits. Because at this point if Christa was alive, she would be in her early 30s.

Starting point is 00:25:20 She probably wouldn't recognize a baby photo of herself because if she was abducted by somebody and raised by somebody else, they probably wouldn't have had pictures. Yeah, they wouldn't have really any references, most likely. Most likely. So, I mean, they did still try just in case anybody out there would have recognized her. But to this day, investigators have not found a single trace of her since she disappeared 32 years ago. They continue to circulate her picture and information, including an age-progressed photo,

Starting point is 00:25:53 just hoping that someone will know or recognize her and come forward. So check out our socials for those photos. It's definitely feasible that Krista was either abducted or trafficked and raised under a different name and that she's still alive to this day, but without knowing where she is, it would be impossible to connect the dots between Christa's disappearance and Christine's murder. But if Christa was also murdered, where is Christa's body? And why had it not been found with Christine's?

Starting point is 00:26:23 And most importantly, who had done this to them? Though police have stated at the time and have since stated again that they do not believe that a serial killer was involved, there's a few cases that have drawn some similarities. For a time, Christine was considered a potential victim of New York serial killer Joel Rifkin. Joel lived on Long Island, New York serial killer Joel Rifkin. Joel lived on Long Island New York and has believed to be responsible for as many as 17 murders in that area. After his arrest in 1993, he was convicted for the murders of 9 women, two of whom were never identified

Starting point is 00:26:58 and remain nameless to this day. And all of his victims were women in their 20s and 30s and fit the profile of Christine Belusco, but ultimately he was not found to be connected. Christine was also a possible victim of the Long Island serial killer, who we now know is likely to be Rex Hewerman, and we did cover that case if you want to go check out that episode. It is episode 322, so go check that out out but because of where she was found and how she was Disposed of it's likely that he is not responsible for Christine's murder yeah and the the cause of death and just how her body Was burned it doesn't really match

Starting point is 00:27:37 The long-end serial killers m.l. But obviously I get why people are at least wondering so another man why people are at least wondering. So another man investigated was Lloyd Groves, who like the first Lloyd investigated, spelled his name with only one L. Now, though this connection may be kind of a stretch, admittedly, there are some coincidences. So Lloyd lived in Lockeven, Pennsylvania, which is about two hours from the Poconos mountains

Starting point is 00:28:04 where Christine and Christopher last seen. And he lived there with his wife and two small children, and he was employed by a local paper company. So it was there that he met Kathy Heckle, who was also married with two children, and the two became involved in a fair. On July 15, 1991, Kathy left their mutual workplace for what she said was a lunch meeting, but Lloyd had also been unaccounted for at this time. When Kathy failed to return home, her father actually reported her missing, and then her car turned up in a hospital parking lot two days later. parking lot two days later. Once the news of the affair broke, Lloyd became a prime suspect in her disappearance. A friend of Kathy's even told the police that she had been wanting

Starting point is 00:28:53 to put an end to their relationship and that she was afraid of him. She confided in this friend that Lloyd had been stalking her and sending her inappropriate messages. A few of their co-workers even reportedly witnessed him chasing her through the paper mill on the very day that she disappeared. Lloyd's wife, whose name was also Kathy, remembers him coming home from his lunch break that day, saying his clothes had gotten dirty at work, and then he needed to change before he went back for the afternoon, which obviously looks really bad. She recalls that a week or so after Kathy Heckle's disappearance at the end of July, Lloyd left town for a couple days by himself,

Starting point is 00:29:37 leaving her a note that read, quote, I have to get away for a while. I'll be back tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest. Caffee, I love you. Tell the kids I'm at work." He also left his wife what he called instructions in case she ever needed to get by without him, explaining how to execute tasks such as, you know, changing her oil and mowing the yard. When a search of Lloyd's van turned up blood, he was considered the prime suspect, but because there wasn't enough of a sample to determine whether or not the blood belonged to Kathy Heckle, Lloyd got off on a technicality, which is such a bummer because it's like,

Starting point is 00:30:16 Lloyd is the guy. As I'm about to prove, but so Kathy Groves, who is Lloyd's wife, chose to believe him when he denied both the affair and having anything to do with Kathy Heckel's potential murder. Kathy's disappearance remained unsolved until 2015 when the blood evidence from Lloyd's car was retested and proved to be Kathy's. In 2019, Lloyd was convicted of third-degree murder after a judge ruled it likely to be a spur of the moment crime or like a passion killing, and he sentenced Lloyd Groves to

Starting point is 00:30:53 10-20 years. An internet slewster pretty quick to point out that Kathy and Christine bear a passing resemblance. And like Daphne said, Law Cave in Pennsylvania is only about two hours west of the Mount Erie lodge where Christine and Krista were last spotted together. So obviously that could mean something. And then of course his name is Lloyd with one L. And that was not a very common thing. And there were those few days after Cathy disappeared that Lloyd ventured off on his own. So was it possible that Lloyd encountered Christine and Krista? This theory does not, however, address how or why Christine would end up in Staten Island,

Starting point is 00:31:31 which is nearly 100 miles or 160 kilometers away from the lodge in the Poconos where she was last seen, which is actually only a 2 hour drive, so it wouldn't have been that hard for someone in Pennsylvania to bring her body to Staten Island if Pennsylvania is where she was actually killed. But this also doesn't account for Christine's whereabouts in between when she was last seen and when she was found. So she could definitely have gone to New York or somewhere else during that time and been killed outside of Pennsylvania. And because her body was still burning when she was discovered, she must have been discarded

Starting point is 00:32:05 there within the last hour or so, meaning police had just missed her killer. But regarding time of death, police haven't commented on whether it's possible that she had been deceased for some time before she was left there. Christine brought to mind another similar case for Staten Island investigators. In September of 1996, almost five years to the day after Christine was found, another woman was discovered murdered and wooded area on Staten Island.

Starting point is 00:32:34 37-year-old Susan Dalton worked for a laundromat and lived in an apartment on Sea View Avenue near the South Beach on Staten Island. Her apartment was right around the corner from where Christine's body was found. Susan had lived in her apartment for about four years and was well-known and liked by her landlord and her neighbors. It was actually her landlord who first raised the possibility that she was missing after not seeing her or her dogs around the building for an entire weekend.

Starting point is 00:33:02 The landlord contacted Susan's parents, and they, along with police, stopped into Susan's apartment for a wellness check. There, they found all three of her dogs unattended. And this was, you know, a disturbing discovery because she cared for her dogs more than anything else in her life. Her landlord remembered, quote, she really liked her dogs.

Starting point is 00:33:24 They were like her children. And just by the way, the dogs were okay and they were taken in and well cared for. But her dogs being left alone was not the only eerie discovery. Her air conditioner, TV and radio were still on, and her iron was still actually plugged in. It was as if she just stepped out for a moment to collect her mail or answer the door, and then she disappeared. Sadly, two days later, police would recover her body.

Starting point is 00:33:54 As a traffic enforcement officer checked for a legally parked cars along campus road near Staten Island's Wagner College, he spotted something that looked like a decomposing body, propped up on display. Upon further inspection, it was Susan, who had been left naked atop an abandoned auto part about 40 feet from the road. So not only were both Christine and Susan left with automotive accessories, remember, Christine's was the hammer, their causes of deaths were pretty similar. Like Christine, Susan had been strangled. She had also been stabbed so deeply that it pierced her spleen, and then she was set ablaze after being discarded.

Starting point is 00:34:39 From the scene, investigators removed a pair of pants, a potential blunt force object, and an empty beer bottle for evidence, though it's unclear if they were related to the murder or not. When they attempted to retrace Susan steps, investigators came to the belief that Susan was murdered somewhere on the grounds of her apartment building and then transported to the Wagner College campus for disposal. However, though the murders bore eerie similarities, authorities announced that they did not believe

Starting point is 00:35:09 that the murders of Christine and Susan were related. A police statement read, quote, although the methods were similar, we don't think there's anywhere near a connection. So the question of who killed Christine Balusco remains to this day. Due to the extent of who killed Christine Balusco remains to this day. Due to the extent of her injuries, police maintain that it's likely she knew her attacker. And the identity of Christ's father remains a mystery, so it's definitely possible that

Starting point is 00:35:36 it could have been him, because somehow nobody knows who this guy is. Like some people think that maybe he was angry that Christine kept Christa away from him and he wanted to be a part of her life or something and there was some kind of dispute but that's obviously full speculation because again, we don't know this man. But we do know that it doesn't seem like Christine ever made it to Florida like she told her family but that's not necessarily an indication that she was actually headed there because it seems that she kept much of her private life concealed from her loved ones. So is it possible that she was met with violence during maybe a confrontation with a member

Starting point is 00:36:14 of her large extended biological family after they did reconnect? Who knows. But one report questioned if she and Krista had headed to Staten Island in the days prior to her murder to meet up with or reconnect with someone. As a pretty secretive person, it's also possible that Christine had maybe turned to sex work to support herself and her daughter and that she had been met with a dangerous client. And then with that, possibly Krista was kidnapped or put in danger and Christine died protecting her. These are just some of the theories that are circulating.

Starting point is 00:36:51 But there are so many unknown circumstances that plague this case, but if Christine's identity can be determined after three decades as a Jane Doe, then the rest of the questions are just waiting to be answered. Christa Blusco would now be 34 years old. If you have any information about the whereabouts of Christa Blusco or the murder of Christine Blusco, please contact the Staten Island District Attorney's Office at 716-556-7085. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going Last. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode, and on Friday we'll have have an all new case for you guys to dive into. Yes again apologies for the slight delay with this episode but thank you guys so much for tuning in and for your patience please don't forget to share this episode it's crazy that it

Starting point is 00:37:54 only got resolution fairly recently so hopefully there will be further resolutions sometime soon. Again if you guys want to see photos from this case, if you want to look at the age progression of Christa and other photos, head on over to our socials. We're on Instagram at Going West Podcast, Twitter at Going West Pod, and then we have two Facebook groups. We have a private discussion group, which is fun to join, and then we also have a regular Facebook page. Yeah, I'd be looking out for those wedding photos because we are getting married this weekend. We're so excited. And again, thank you for your patience with this episode. It is going to be a crazy week, but crazy exciting because we got family and friends in town. So anyway, we love you guys so much and we'll see you next time.

Starting point is 00:38:36 So for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%

Starting point is 00:39:00 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% Music you

Going West: True Crime - Christine & Christa Belusko // 341

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