Going West: True Crime - Minerliz Soranio // 386

Episode Date: March 2, 2024

In February of 1999, a teenage girl went missing while heading home from school in the Bronx. When her body was found days later in a dumpster behind a video rental store, police worked to find the person responsible. But after the case went cold, DNA technology would prove the devastating and shocking identity of her killer. This is the story of Minerliz Soriano. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on true crime fans? I'm your host Heath and I'm your host Daphne and you're listening to Going West. Hello everybody, happy March for those who are listening when this episode comes out. Oh my god, I can't believe it's March already. I know the year is already flying. We're cooking. We are. So thank you so much by the way to William for recommending today's case.

This one takes place in New York in 1999, but there are a lot of recent updates in this one. So big thanks to William for showing us this case. And oh, by the way, we just came out with another bonus episode for those who are all caught up on Going West after this episode is over. It is the case of Tina Satchwell in Ireland. This case is absolutely insane.

It happened in 2017 and that one also has recent updates. Oh my God, that one is just mind-blowing as well Yeah, and it's just gonna frustrate you to hell, but yeah, definitely go check out that episode We've got over a hundred other bonus episodes. They're ad-free all you got to do is subscribe on patreon Or you can subscribe on Apple podcasts. Yes, and thank you so much to everybody who has already subscribed We love you all so much and let's get into today's case. Alright guys, this is episode 386 of Going West, so let's get into it. I'm not a fan of the music. I'm a fan of the music. I'm a fan of the music. I'm a fan of the music.

I'm a fan of the music. I'm a fan of the music. I'm a fan of the music. I'm a fan of the music. I'm a fan of the music. I'm a fan of the music. I'm a fan of the music. I'm a fan of the music.

I'm a fan of the music. I'm a fan of the music. Alice! Alice! Alice! Get out! On March 8th... Many kids have imaginary friends. Ready or not... Just because you stop believing in them doesn't mean they're gone. Here he comes. And they're angry you left. Imaginary only in theaters March 8th. Hi, I'm Una Chaplin and I'm the host of a new podcast called Hollywood Exiles. It tells the story of how my grandfather Charlie Chaplin and many others were caught up in a campaign to root out communism in Hollywood.

It's a story of glamour and scandal and political intrigue and a battle for the soul of the nation. In February of 1999, a teenage girl went missing while heading home from school in the Bronx. When her body was found days later in a dumpster behind a video rental store, police worked hard to find the person responsible. And one day, DNA technology would prove the devastating and shocking identity of her killer. This is the story of Minerleys Soriano. Minerleys Soriano, who went by Minnie and we're going to call her Minnie today, was born in Puerto Rico on January 17, 1986, to parents Minerva and Luis. At some point in her early childhood, Minnie and her family relocated to New York City and her parents split up.

But Minnie, her mom Minerva, her younger sister Nadia, and her new stepfather Ray, settled into their new life in the Bronx, moving into a sprawling apartment building on a very lively street. The family resided in Pelham Parkway in a section of Central Bronx, just east of the Bronx River Parkway. So, Minnie grew into an active and happy young girl

who was very well known in her neighborhood. She loved to take her bike and rollerblades out and she and her little sister Nadia were often seen selling candy to neighbors. Minnie was a sensitive young girl losing herself for hours in romance novels and penning poetry in her journal about love and rainbows. One of her poems read, quote,

I spread my colors orange, pink, and blue down from the sky to look down on you. Her best friend and classmate, Kimberly Ortiz, recalled, quote, she was so bubbly, just a sweet person in general. She always wanted to help, especially with poetry. She was so natural at it. Minnie's journals, which were collected after her disappearance in the hopes that they could

lead police to her perpetrator, were a collection of her aspirations for the future. Poems, journal entries, homework, sketches of the moon and stars, and notes on astronomy, including a collection of her favorite websites to look at when she researched the cosmos. She was so passionate about outer space that she dreamed of one day becoming an astronaut. 13-year-old Minnie was studious and bright, and made a habit of sitting in the lobby of her apartment building to complete her homework while she chatted with other residents. She was a straight A student at FD Whalen Junior High School, where in 1999 she attended

seventh grade. And there, Minnie was also a peer mediator for other kids. Though her school did note that she was frequently skipping classes, this may have been to help out her family because Minnie was burdened with a lot of responsibility from a very young age. She was often seen walking to and from the laundromat to do laundry for the family, and to and from the nearby 24 hour convenience store to pick up groceries. Every day she would ride the bus home by herself, and then wait at her 7-year-old sister's bus stop to walk her home. So she just always had a lot on her plate.

Two days before her disappearance, Minnie was actually spotted crying at school, though it's not clear why she was crying. On the morning of Wednesday, February 24th, 1999, Minnie saw her sister Nadia off to her nearby elementary school. And after waving goodbye to her, Minnie walked to a street corner to wait for the Bronx 12 bus headed toward her middle school, which was 2 miles or 3.2 kilometers west of her family's apartment building. The day passed mostly without incident, although Kimberly remembered that her friend Minnie had seemed upset about something.

Minnie declined to divulge any more details, and Kimberly decided not to press the issue. School concluded at 2.20pm that day, and when it did, Minnie asked Kimberly if she wanted to stop at the library together, but Kimberly needed to get home that day, so she declined. So the girls said their goodbyes and they split up. And the last memory that Kimberly has of her best friend is waving goodbye and seeing her board a city bus wearing a red jacket and a black book bag bound for her sister's school. Even today, Kimberly maintains quote, I replay that moment over and over. I blame myself for years because I said to myself, maybe if I asked, I would have known what she was doing. I was the last person who probably saw her alive other than her killer. Nadia left school as usual, expecting to walk outside to find her sister waiting

for her, but when she emerged, Minnie was nowhere to be seen. Nadia wound up walking home by herself and relaying to her puzzled parents that Minnie failed to show for school pickup that afternoon. Her parents were alarmed instantly because Minnie was known to be very responsible and punctual, especially where her sister was concerned. Like nothing would have gotten in the way of Minnie picking up her sister. So by dinnertime, when Minnie still had not returned home, growing very scared about what could have happened, her parents reported their 13 year old daughter missing at 7.30pm that evening.

Searches began right away, fanning out from her school and her apartment building, hoping to find any sign of her. And remember, I mean her school was only a couple miles away from her house, so the area isn't huge necessarily that they have to search, but obviously this is in the city and technically she could be anywhere. Missing posters donned local businesses and apartment buildings, including of course the lobby of Minnie's own building. The NYPD, alongside dozens of friends, family, neighbors, and local volunteers hoping to help their community, scour the area

surrounding her apartment building and school, looking for any indication of where she had gone or any sign of her belongings. NYPD homicide detective Michael Ligiavani reported frustrated, quote, "'We've recambes the area a number of times. "'We've checked the bus lines, interviewed the drivers, and put up flyers all around the neighborhood, trying to find somebody

who may have seen this girl getting on or off the bus. She never made it to the apartment according to her mother and her stepfather. But after four agonizing days of no news or developments, a shocking discovery came in the dumpster behind a local video store. Sunday, February 28, 1999, brought another day of relentless searching for Minnie. As they had since the day she disappeared, Minnie's family once again walked the streets looking for her. That day they were joined by two of their neighbors from the apartment building, a couple named Mary Ann and Roger.

The couple said later that they can recall the exact moment that Minerva and Ray received the terrible news that their daughter had been found deceased. Mary Ann remembers Minerva throwing herself into her arms sobbing when the word of the discovery reached them. Minnie's neighbor Roger said sadly, quote, this is terrible. I really wanted to find her alive. We all did. Her other neighbor Marianne added, quote, she was a beautiful little girl.

Nearby, Minnie's stepfather Ray muttered, quote, I loved her like she was my own. I raised her since she was born. Minnie's lifeless body was pulled from a dumpster behind a retail store, and though it now houses the Bay Plaza Shopping Center in the Bronx, this section of the borough known as Co-op City once housed a Hollywood video rental store. Some reports have claimed that it was a maintenance worker who came across Minnie's body, while others have said that it was a local homeless man. But regardless of who made the tip, a man came across Minnie's body in the dumpster, bound in the fetal position with green gaffer's tape and wrapped in black plastic bags.

The store was located 2 miles or 3.2 kilometers northeast of her family's apartment building, and nearly 4 miles or 6.4 kilometers from her school. One detective who was working Minnie's case recalled, quote, It was a Sunday morning and I was at church. I got a beep because we still had beepers then. There was a guy who dug through the dumpsters. He found a heavy bag and ripped it open. Michael also noted that many had been placed inside

rather carefully when compared with other homicide victims that they found. Detective Michael remembers quote, "'She was all wrapped up in a bundle, "'like somebody cared that she was dead. And that sounds kind of awful because obviously this person didn't care or they wouldn't have done this unthinkable thing to her

but I understand what he means for sure but it is always important to note how the body was treated because it can sometimes lead investigators to conclude that the killer knew the victim kind of like if their body is covered in a blanket or something and they see into that. Yeah, I mean, we've talked about this on this show before about how, you know, if the victim is known to the killer, like if it's a personal killing, a lot of times the killer will take the time to cover up the body or cover the face with a blanket

or a basket. I think we even talked about somebody covering someone's face with a basket one time. Yeah, we did. So yeah, it's very interesting and it does give police some clues. Yeah, so they're definitely taking that into note and that will come full circle at the end, actually. So every detective on this case

really cared about finding justice for many. For example, although Detective Michael retired two years after this, Every detective on this case really cared about finding justice for Minnie, for example. Although Detective Michael retired two years after this, he claimed that he checked on the status of Minnie's case at least once per year, every year, after he stopped working on it. But before jumping ahead, let's get back to the scene. So police were on the scene immediately

and after a brief comparison to recent missing person reports, the body was confirmed to belong to Minnie. Her cause of death was strangulation, showing a chokehold compression on her neck. But strangely, there were no defensive wounds on her body. The single most important piece of evidence, connecting her to her killer was a semen stain

found on the sweatshirt that she had been wearing beneath her red coat. However, the medical examiner found little evidence to support that she had actually been sexually assaulted, so it was not a foregone conclusion that she had been. But neither the red coat she had been wearing nor her black school backpack were found with her in the dumpster. Now, based on the intimate nature of the crime and the quote unquote care that was taken with the dumping of her body, police had reason to believe that the perpetrator was known to her and had maybe even been close to her, but they did not publicly name who they suspected it

may be or even who they were lining up as suspects. Now what we would find out later is that police initially zeroed in on a maintenance worker and a repairman who worked in the apartment building as well as her own stepfather Ray, but all three men were cleared of involvement. Minnie's best friend Kimberly remembered sadly quote, I carried a lot of guilt with me for years. I made a promise to her in front of her casket that I would figure out who did this to her.

Minnie's middle school held a candlelight memorial service for her where her friends and peers sang, read poetry, and released dozens of balloons in her memory. Her principal honored her by saying, quote, This was a sweet, lovely person. We're all having a difficult time with this. She was so sweet, such a good person. She was a great kid. Her teachers are heartbroken. Her little friends are heartbroken.

Armed with DNA believed to be her killers. Detectives compared their sample against 13 sex offenders in the area, and they found no match. So although they were putting a ton of effort into the case, they weren't coming up with any answers. The missing persons posters were bringing in few tips, even with a reward of $11,000 being offered, so the kids at her school and in the neighborhood were just distraught and terrified by all of this.

And so were all of the parents, of course. Minnie's friend Kimberly recalled quote, we were all worried, they didn't know who it was and we were like, the They didn't know who it was. And we were like, the killer's still out there. And this person's probably praying on kids our age. Especially because they didn't know how Minnie got into that dumpster miles away and nobody saw her getting off the bus.

So there's no puzzle pieces being put together to keep parents' minds at ease and kids' minds at ease. Yeah, all we know at this point is that there's this guy out here who murdered a little 13-year-old girl and he's still on the loose. Another peer of Minnie's stated quote, she was nice, I'm scared now. What if whoever did this is still around here? More DNA samples from underneath Minnie's fingernails were brought in for testing, as well as hair follicles that were plucked from her clothing. Some

items were sent to the FBI laboratory for further examination, but even that wasn't enough to bring answers or present a suspect in this case. Detectives pursued the murderer persistently for a year, with no answers, and the case, sadly, eventually went cold. The detectives who had teamed up to find answers for many were nearly as devastated as her grieving family. They wanted so badly to close this case. Though many retired in the years following the investigation, they all circled back to check on developments. So Michael absolutely was not the only one here. New York City Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson, who worked on Minnie's case, stated

quote, The hardest cases that we deal with as medical examiners are those involving children. What was done to her is something that has been haunting me for nearly 20 years since. When it's a homicide like this, and where there were no really good leads as to who did it, that's the most troubling kind of case for us. 22 excruciating years passed with no resolution for her grieving family. On the 22nd anniversary of his daughter's slaying, Louise claimed that he was still hopeful

that DNA evidence would lead them to his daughter's murderer, reporting, quote, we are suffering the murder of my daughter. I wanna pull out the thumbtack to my heart. Then in late November of that year, a suspect emerged from a surprising source. Familiar DNA connecting the killer to Minnie via the killer's own deceased father. And he had actually been a neighbor in the very apartment building in which Minnie and

her family lived. ක්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්න්නෙන්න්නෙන්න්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්න්න්නෙන්න්නෙන්න්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන්නෙන් Joe Martinez, who had been in his 20s at the time, was also a resident of the Palin Parkway apartment building where Minnie and her family resided. And he lived just two floors away. Now we're gonna post photos so you guys can see. This is a pretty big building. It looks pretty nice. Yeah, about 66 units, right? Yeah, and there's seven floors.

If I'm literally counting them right now. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Yeah, seven floors and about 66 units. At least that's what it says online, so I don't know if they have built onto it, but yeah, a fairly big, nice building. So like all the other residents of the building, Joe was questioned when Minnie originally disappeared,

but he said what every other neighbor said, that he had seen her around the building frequently, you know, playing or selling candy bars with her sister or doing homework, etc. Like he was familiar with her. William O'Toole, who was a commanding officer for the NYPD Bronx homicide division, recalled quote, He had been interviewed during the canvas when we were talking to everyone in the building. He said, Yeah, I used to see the girl in front of the building. What everybody said. And it's the same thing. And now he's our guy. But

like all her other neighbors at the time, Joe maintained that he had not seen her on that fateful Wednesday evening. And that he had nothing to do with her disappearance. However, after the DNA match, 49-year-old Joe Martinez was arrested on Monday, November 29th, 2021, nearly 23 years after Minnie's death, making him around 26 and twice Minnie's age when the murder occurred, and he was arrested at his home in New Rochelle, New York,

just 11 minutes northeast of the apartment complex where he used to live. NYPD kept their findings concealed until news of the arrest broke. So it was a very disturbing revelation for the community that both Minnie and Joe hailed from. Even more shocking was the fact that Joe was beloved in his borough

for the work he did with children. That just makes me so sad, thinking that nobody had any idea that this fucking piece of shit was such a predator. Yeah, I know. And he was kind of like a Bill Nye the science guy type of person. Like he gave himself the moniker Jupiter Joe due to his passion for

astronomy and he took to the streets to share his knowledge with the locals. Like he would set up a telescope on the sidewalk to offer anybody of you who was curious, a view of this guy, obviously. So in addition to his work in the community, he ran a YouTube channel and an Instagram page in modern days, and was a well-known public figure on the streets of the Bronx. In Joe's own words, quote, Jupiter Joe's sidewalk astronomy is just a local outreach program.

It's a grassroots outreach program that's designed just to bring awareness of the cosmos to the people. Joe, who was born and raised in the Bronx, explained that he had a desire to bring the knowledge of astronomy to people for whom it may not have otherwise been accessible, and especially to kids who had an interest in it. So aside from what I'm about to say

being a passion project for a local, Joe also claimed that it was historical because the Bronx was the scene of a solar eclipse back in the 1920s. And he claims that that laid the foundation for his efforts to keep the interest in astronomy alive and well in his stomping grounds. And he was especially focused on teaching

and connecting with children. So I mean, really we can, we're gonna talk about that. I don't wanna get ahead of myself, but really start thinking about the fact that he lived in Minnie's building, Minnie loved astronomy, he loved astronomy, they knew who each other were. You know what I mean? Like there's this connection.

Right, and not only is there this connection to astronomy and the cosmos and outer space But now we have a connection through DNA So how it's such a seemingly gentle and nurturing figure been capable of murdering a child Joe had no history of criminal activity or trouble with the law, and aside from his astronomy outreach efforts, he lived a pretty quiet life. In the notes from his initial line of questioning, detectives wrote, quote, He is a computer consultant and has resided in the building for a little over one year. He has seen the girl in the lobby getting mail and remembers her selling candy in November

door to door with her sister and seeing her play in front of the building, but he was not considered a suspect at the time. He spoke to police only briefly when they came door to door asking questions. Those in the orbit of Jupiter Joe who knew his jovial persona were shocked at this development. The week before his arrest, Joe had suffered a health setback and his once very active social media was ablaze with comments wishing him well, including one that read, quote, sending you much love and prayers, sweetie.

He had two daughters and was by all accounts very proud and doting father. It's so gross when male sexual predators have daughters. Oh yeah, it's very- I mean, children in general. Yeah, yeah, it's very disturbing. So one of his daughters simply referred to in the media as A, said that the NYPD came knocking to search her apartment at the time of her father's arrest, explaining, quote, the police came to our door and said that they had a warrant. I thought my father had gotten hurt or something. And she added that she hopes

her father is innocent. A colleague of Joe's spoke on his shock at the news of the arrest, saying, quote, I'm still thinking there's got to be a mistake. He called Joe a, quote, fantastic guy. A neighbor of both Minis and Joes named Rosa Gilbae claimed quote, I can't believe it, but I'm glad they got him. She was such a sweetheart. She used to do a lot of duties at home, shopping for the mother and stuff like that.

Very respected teenager. Another former neighbor of theirs remembered that earlier the very year that Joe was arrested for Minnie's murder, he had returned to Palom Parkway for a summer block party. This neighbor who chose not to be identified recalled quote, it was a heartbreaking situation. A tornado tore through their whole lives. Everyone looked at them differently after that. He took her life and went on with his life, went on to have kids. You never know, your own neighbor. Though the arrest seemed sudden and came as a surprise to those who knew Joe and his work,

NYPD detectives had dedicated years to connecting him to the crime. In late 2017, so four years before he was arrested, New York state began allowing a particular type of DNA test with the specific goal of solving cold cases. Now, this development allowed law enforcement to cycle DNA through a proprietary system to see if the DNA recovered from the scene of a cold case crime comes up with a match to any male relatives in the database. And at the time of Minnie's murder, the male DNA that was found on her sweatshirt was run through the CODIS database.

But because her murderer had never been convicted of a crime, his DNA was unavailable for comparison. This investigative tool is a lot more inclusive than CODIS is, and it allows law enforcement to run DNA through an advanced software program to see if it matches any male relatives in New York system. Emmanuel Katronakis, who is deputy chief of the NYPD-Frenzix Investigation Division, explained, quote, So it's limited to those convicted offenders, which constitutes about 700,000 in total, looking for first order male relatives.

In other words, a father, brothers, or sons. Emanuel strongly believed that the identity of the culprit behind Minnie's murder could be found utilizing the DNA evidence left on her sweatshirt and wanted a chance to use it. It took a year and a half of patience and bureaucratic hoops to jump through on behalf of the NYPD, but it totally paid off. Because a link was found to a family member of the DNA that they had.

It led them to a deceased man, but that discovery led them to his five sons. So the two oldest sons were ruled out based on their age alone, but of the youngest three, two were tested, and the DNA found on mini-sweater was an exact match to one of them. Joe Martinez Emanuel continued, quote, we have not forgotten, we will never forget. And if we can apply familial DNA searching or another specific tool to solve the case to bring you closure, we are committed to doing that. There are many, many people who feel that this particular technique is something that

the NYPD shouldn't use. But I say to all the families and victims and all those out there, we should use it and we are going to use it. To anybody who had doubts about this method's efficiency, he added, quote, "'It is unequivocal that this individual deposited his DNA in the form of semen

on the front of the victim's sweatshirt. And this was actually the first time that DNA matching of this nature was used to solve a cold case in New York City. At a press conference about the surprising arrest in a 22-year-old case, the Bronx District Attorney Darcelle Clark spoke of how proud she was of the city's relentless investigation, saying quote, this beautiful little girl was treated less than human. It has been 22 years since her life was cruelly taken,

but detectives never gave up on finding justice for her or her family, and neither did my ADA. But when the technology was vital, it really was the humanity, dedication, and compassion of the investigators and their relentless drive to get justice in this case. That is why we do this work. I hope today's indictment brings some consolation to the victim's family. Now Joe, who was 49 at the time of his arrest arrest pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder Which I don't even know why you tried bro. They got your DNA exact match are the words yeah Though reporters were throwing dozens of questions his way Joe remained silent during his arrest

One NYPD officer remarked quote he had that 10 mile stare to nowhere, like how did this happen? He wasn't outraged, he wasn't belligerent, he was not combative, he was not in denial. All hallmarks of a guilty person. His DNA puts him at the scene, and that's a wrap. However, Joe's defense attorney Troy A. Smith told the press, quote, he denies these allegations. The case is pretty unusual in that Mr. Martinez is 49 years old

and he has no criminal history. Okay, but that doesn't really mean anything. It doesn't. It's like, so you did this one crime and then you didn't commit another one or you didn't get caught for it? Like, think about how many years he didn't get caught for this one. Are there others? You know, just because you have not been caught doesn't mean you haven't done anything ever.

It also doesn't mean that it's not possible for somebody to commit a murder and then just never commit a crime after that. Yeah, maybe he committed this crime and then was like, oh, I don't want to do that again and then didn't do it again, you know, so I don't think that's a really good defense. Yeah, I totally agree. So Minnie's family, though relieved, still holds resentment at what could have been, a vibrant life taken far too soon. Omar Soriano, Minnie's cousin, who said that she was like a sister to him, recalled, quote, it's been an open festering wound.

Minnie's father, Luis, added, quote, I feel happy because justice is working, but I feel sad at the same time because it takes too long. When asked what he thought of the arrest of Joe Martinez, Luis quipped, quote, he can go to hell. Because Joe is staunchly proclaimed that he is not guilty of Minnie's murder, police are still having difficulty piecing together the events of the evening that she was taken, and have even less in mind in terms of a motive. When asked her guess, Minnie's Aunt Amelia mused, quote, maybe she wanted the telescope.

It is difficult especially because there are no witnesses somehow, even though she was on a city bus. Like, it's not like she was on a lone rural road, you know? She was, she's in the middle of the Bronx and she's on a city bus leaving school and nobody knows what happened to her after that. So was he possibly on the bus too? And he said, hey, I wanna show you something on my telescope

and was able to get her to a different area because there was no report of her ever arriving at the building they both lived at. So how did they come into contact that day? Yeah, I mean, it's very possible that they saw each other on this very public bus and maybe he coaxed her back to the apartment building and nobody had seen them arriving there.

I mean, it definitely is possible. I don't know if anybody worked in the lobby, so I wonder that as well. But knowing that she was getting on the bus to go to her sister's school, I just don't really see her going home first, you know? So that's what makes me wonder if on the way to her sister's school, he was there in some way

and again, coaxed her to some area. Like, I don't know. I mean, yeah, the guy's a predator, so it's easy to believe that he was able to manipulate a 13 year old girl, especially when they had these things in common about, you know, again, about space and cosmos and astronomy. So it's very possible that he was able to coast her somewhere.

Yeah, it is entirely possible that then 26 year old Joe had been watching her and set his sights on her just based on the fact that they were neighbors. And like you're saying as well, they had a lot of common interest. And because of their shared hobby in astronomy, it could have also been a crime of opportunity born from this again, like do you wanna look at something on my telescope? Or something along those lines.

Kimberly feels that many may have been the reason for Joe's outreach program in the first place, that perhaps he was racked with guilt over what he had done and spent his life trying to atone for and forget his heinous crime. She mused quote, it really makes me sick to my stomach that he blended in with society. To be honest I feel like he did this due to his guilt. Yeah but I mean on top of that you know if he did have all this guilt and remorse, then why is he pleading not guilty when they have his DNA on her sweater?

He's probably just trying to get away with it as everybody does, you know? Of course, but it's like, you know, if you're gonna go that far to create this outreach program because you committed this heinous crime and you feel bad about it, then be a fucking man and own up to it when there's really no other answer. I mean maybe he doesn't, this is just her theory, this isn't like the fact, but you know maybe he didn't really feel bad and he just loved astronomy and kept it going. I really don't know, but Minnie's antimilia still mourns what Minnie, who now would be 37 years old, could have achieved in her lifetime. She said quote,

She was very caring, a lovely loving girl. Who knows who she could have been or what she could have done. I felt that this would all come to light. It was very sad not knowing, no one seeing anything, no one knowing anything. He threw her in the dumpster like she was garbage. Which then also really makes you wonder, how did he get her body to that location miles away in a garbage bag with green gaffer tape?

Like how did this disposal occur? Yeah, I'm thinking about that as well because it's like, you know, did he have a car? If they did meet on the bus, then is that implying that he didn't have a car and he was using public transportation to get around? Right, right. So how would you conceal her body to get it that far away?

You know, it's unless you you know somehow packed it into a duffel bag and took a taxi or something to this location But who knows? It's so hard to say without any witness statements at all, you know, like there's so many holes in this story. Her Aunt Amelia claimed that the arrest brought them closure but not relief, saying, quote, I can't explain because I can say I'd be happy because they got him, but the pain is in here. This case has been a historic move for the NYPD who hope that familial DNA can help bring closure to even more families in the near future. Joe Martinez has been awaiting trial in prison

since November of 2021. So we will keep you guys updated on how that goes, but this just means that Minerley Soriano's killer is exactly where he belongs. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode and on Tuesday we'll have an all new case for you guys to dive into. I can't believe that even while having DNA and working so hard from the jump on this case that it took over 22 years, almost 23 years

to find the guy who did it, but I am so glad that they did. I'm so glad that NYPD worked so hard to make this familial DNA match and that they did. So I just hope that her family gets even more answers and this case can feel officially closed. Yeah absolutely and just the fact that again he's claiming that he's not guilty with all of this evidence this DNA evidence you know it's gonna come to

light and I hope that one day he can just explain what happened on that fateful day. Absolutely well thank you guys so much for tuning in, thank you again to William for recommending this story and we'll see you guys on Tuesday. Alright guys, so for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. වවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවවව� Thank you for watching!