Murder of George Seitz
George Clarence Seitz (December 12, 1894 – December 10, 1976)[1] was an American World War I veteran[clarification needed] murdered on December 10, 1976, in the New York City neighborhood of Jamaica. Police recovered his remains 43 years later, and arrested his alleged murderer in 2021.
George Clarence Seitz | |
---|---|
Born | December 12, 1894 |
Disappeared | December 10, 1976 Jamaica, New York City | (aged 81)
Died | c. 1976 |
Cause of death | Homicide |
Body discovered | Jamaica, New York City |
Known for | Homicide victim identified after 45 years through genetic investigation |
Disappearance[]
The victim was a World War I veteran who went by "Clarence".[1] He was reported missing after going for a haircut.[2] At the time, Seitz was 81 years old.[2]
Investigation[]
There were no leads and the investigation was placed in the cold cases file, abandoned for decades.[2] However, in early 2019, a woman in her 50s informed the police that as an 11-year-old girl,[3] she had seen her mother's companion dismember and bury a body.[4] The police used dogs to scour the property where she had lived at the time, and found human remains, but were unable to identify the victim.[2] Only the pelvis and part of the torso were found.[1]
Identification of victim[]
Using material from the remains, investigators generated a genetic profile. Two years later, still unable to identify Steitz as the victim, the FBI were called upon,[1] as well as an external forensic genealogy laboratory, Othram[2][5] Detectives were then able to find close relatives and identified Seitz through DNA samples.[2]
Arrest of suspect[]
Investigators identified the man mentioned by the informant as Martin Motta.[1][2] He and his brother had owned the barbershop[6] where Seitz visited when he disappeared, located only a few city blocks from Seitz' home[2][4] He was arrested, arraigned,[2] and indicted by a grand jury,[1] in November 2021.[1][2][4]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f g Garger, Kenneth (2021-11-03). "NYC man charged in cold-case killing of WWI vet missing since 1976". New York Post. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j Watkins, Ali; Schweber, Nate (2021-11-04). "Bones in the Backyard: How Police Cracked a Grisly Cold Case". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
- ^ McShane, Ellen Moynihan, Rocco Parascandola, Larry. "NYC girl watched as killer dismembered World War I veteran inside Queens barbershop". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ a b c "Queens Man Martin Motta Arrested In Connection To 1976 Murder Of World War I Veteran George Seitz". CBS-NY Television. 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Murdered World War I Veteran from Queens is now Identified". DNASolves.com. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
- ^ "Queens Man Martin Motta Arrested In Connection To 1976 Murder Of World War I Veteran George Seitz". 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
- People murdered in New York City
- 1976 murders in the United States
- Crime in New York City