Who is 'Marie'? Suffolk police using genetic genealogy to identify 1983 murder victim
The April 12, 2002, edition of Newsday included an article about an unidentified woman whose remains were discovered underneath the patio of a Bellport home. Credit: Newsday
Who is she?
For years, police in Suffolk County have been stymied in efforts to identify a woman whose remains were found in 1999 buried under a concrete patio in a house in Bellport.
Known only as “Marie,” she had been murdered in 1983 by confessed killer Arthur Kinlaw, who admitted to the NYPD and — again in 2000 in a Suffolk County courtroom — to stabbing her about eight times, killing her and burying her in what appeared to be a dispute over rent.
Now, Suffolk homicide detectives are using genetic genealogy, a widely expanding and emerging forensic technique, to try and determine the identity of the woman, Dawn Schob, a spokeswoman for the department, told Newsday.
Kinlaw, a convicted killer who is serving a sentence of 20 years to life in upstate Sullivan County, didn’t reveal the dead woman’s full identity and after her remains were exhumed no useful leads were developed. In late 2001, Suffolk detectives sent the woman’s skull to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, where artists rendered a sketch of what they believed the woman looked like in life in the hopes of discovering her identity. Still, even after the sketch was publicized, the dead woman wasn’t identified, authorities said.
The genealogy method involves comparing unknown DNA to genetic profiles of people who have submitted their DNA to commercial ancestry services like 23andme.com. Genealogists then look for close comparisons in the DNA and then construct family trees that might reveal familial relationships. Investigators then do additional work to zero in on family relationships and identity.
Colleen Fitzpatrick, a forensic genealogist with the firm Identifinders International, said there was a good chance experts could get viable DNA from the Bellport remains, depending on the moisture content and condition of the soil.
“We have got DNA from remains from the 1800s,” Fitzpatrick noted.
Used successfully in identifying Gilgo Beach murder victim Valerie Mack in 2020, genetic genealogy is becoming a viable option in a growing number of cases to identify unknown crime victims and murder suspects.
One of the more recent and widely publicized genetic genealogy cases involved Dawn Olanick, who grew up in West Babylon and attended Connetquot Central School District until 1982, when she disappeared at age 17. In April of this year, a woman’s body found in a New Jersey cemetery back in 1982 was identified through DNA analysis and genealogy as being that of Olanick.
New Jersey police said Kinlaw had made a number of admissions in prison that linked him to the Olanick killing since about 2005. But investigators had not been able to corroborate Kinlaw’s confession. Until now.
After Olanick’s remains were identified publicly earlier this year, Warren County, New Jersey, prosecutor James L. Pfeiffer charged Kinlaw, now 68, with Olanick's murder. The investigation of Kinlaw found that he tried to recruit Olanick for prostitution, as he did with other victims, officials said.
Olanick's relatives could not be reached for comment.
It was during his guilty plea on two earlier New York murder cases that Kinlaw admitted that he had killed the Bellport woman, known to some by the name "Marie," and buried her in a small grave on Michigan Avenue, Newsday reported at the time.
Kinlaw’s wife, Donna, told police and a Newsday reporter that the couple put the victim in the grave and then covered the area with cement. [Donna Kinlaw separately pleaded guilty in a Bronx homicide case, got a prison sentence of 3 to 7 years and agreed to cooperate against her spouse. Donna Kinlaw, now 64, was released in February 2005.]
As reported previously in Newsday, neighbors of the Michigan Avenue address described the woman as being heavyset and walking with the aid of crutches or a walker. She sometimes babysat for local families, the neighbors recalled.
Property records show that the Michigan Avenue address is currently owned by a limited liability corporation. No contacts are listed for the entity.
Arthur Kinlaw is coming up for a parole hearing in February 2024, according to state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision records. But even if he is paroled, Kinlaw will likely remain in custody as the murder case against him in Olanick's killing makes its way through court, officials said.
In the "Marie" case, officials say they can't tell how long it will take for results to come back. It's not unusual to take months or even years to get results, experts say.
Who is she?
For years, police in Suffolk County have been stymied in efforts to identify a woman whose remains were found in 1999 buried under a concrete patio in a house in Bellport.
Known only as “Marie,” she had been murdered in 1983 by confessed killer Arthur Kinlaw, who admitted to the NYPD and — again in 2000 in a Suffolk County courtroom — to stabbing her about eight times, killing her and burying her in what appeared to be a dispute over rent.
Now, Suffolk homicide detectives are using genetic genealogy, a widely expanding and emerging forensic technique, to try and determine the identity of the woman, Dawn Schob, a spokeswoman for the department, told Newsday.
A picture showing Arthur Kinlaw that ran with a Newsday article on Oct. 10, 1999. Credit: Newsday
Kinlaw, a convicted killer who is serving a sentence of 20 years to life in upstate Sullivan County, didn’t reveal the dead woman’s full identity and after her remains were exhumed no useful leads were developed. In late 2001, Suffolk detectives sent the woman’s skull to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, where artists rendered a sketch of what they believed the woman looked like in life in the hopes of discovering her identity. Still, even after the sketch was publicized, the dead woman wasn’t identified, authorities said.
The genealogy method involves comparing unknown DNA to genetic profiles of people who have submitted their DNA to commercial ancestry services like 23andme.com. Genealogists then look for close comparisons in the DNA and then construct family trees that might reveal familial relationships. Investigators then do additional work to zero in on family relationships and identity.
Colleen Fitzpatrick, a forensic genealogist with the firm Identifinders International, said there was a good chance experts could get viable DNA from the Bellport remains, depending on the moisture content and condition of the soil.
“We have got DNA from remains from the 1800s,” Fitzpatrick noted.
Used successfully in identifying Gilgo Beach murder victim Valerie Mack in 2020, genetic genealogy is becoming a viable option in a growing number of cases to identify unknown crime victims and murder suspects.
Valerie Mack, who also used the name Melissa Taylor, went missing in 2000 at age 24. Credit: SCPD
One of the more recent and widely publicized genetic genealogy cases involved Dawn Olanick, who grew up in West Babylon and attended Connetquot Central School District until 1982, when she disappeared at age 17. In April of this year, a woman’s body found in a New Jersey cemetery back in 1982 was identified through DNA analysis and genealogy as being that of Olanick.
New Jersey police said Kinlaw had made a number of admissions in prison that linked him to the Olanick killing since about 2005. But investigators had not been able to corroborate Kinlaw’s confession. Until now.
After Olanick’s remains were identified publicly earlier this year, Warren County, New Jersey, prosecutor James L. Pfeiffer charged Kinlaw, now 68, with Olanick's murder. The investigation of Kinlaw found that he tried to recruit Olanick for prostitution, as he did with other victims, officials said.
Olanick's relatives could not be reached for comment.
It was during his guilty plea on two earlier New York murder cases that Kinlaw admitted that he had killed the Bellport woman, known to some by the name "Marie," and buried her in a small grave on Michigan Avenue, Newsday reported at the time.
Kinlaw’s wife, Donna, told police and a Newsday reporter that the couple put the victim in the grave and then covered the area with cement. [Donna Kinlaw separately pleaded guilty in a Bronx homicide case, got a prison sentence of 3 to 7 years and agreed to cooperate against her spouse. Donna Kinlaw, now 64, was released in February 2005.]
As reported previously in Newsday, neighbors of the Michigan Avenue address described the woman as being heavyset and walking with the aid of crutches or a walker. She sometimes babysat for local families, the neighbors recalled.
Property records show that the Michigan Avenue address is currently owned by a limited liability corporation. No contacts are listed for the entity.
Arthur Kinlaw is coming up for a parole hearing in February 2024, according to state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision records. But even if he is paroled, Kinlaw will likely remain in custody as the murder case against him in Olanick's killing makes its way through court, officials said.
"Princess Doe" is publicly identified as Dawn Olanick, 17, of Long Island at a news conference on July 15, 2022, 40 years after her body was discovered in a Blairstown, N.J., cemetery. Credit: lehighvalleylive.com / Steve Novak
In the "Marie" case, officials say they can't tell how long it will take for results to come back. It's not unusual to take months or even years to get results, experts say.
Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.
