Suvechha Sarkar
In March 1985, 19-year-old Jacqueline Martarella, lovingly known as Jackie, was on her way to work in Nassau County, New York, when she unexpectedly went missing. Authorities and her loved ones conducted an intensive search, and her remains were eventually discovered in April 1985. CBS’ ’48 Hours: The Killing of Theresa Fusco’ and ABC’s ‘Impact X Nightline: The Last Straw: Solving Theresa Fusco’s Murder’ briefly dive into the circumstances of Jackie’s death, along with an exploration of the details regarding the disappearance of 15-year-old Kelly Morrissey and 16-year-old Theresa V. Fusco. Additionally, the episodes feature emotional interviews with their loved ones and the officials who likely cracked one of the cases after four decades.
Jackie Martarella’s Life Was Filled With Her Dreams and Hopes For the Future
Jacqueline Martarella arrived as a ray of sunshine in the lives of Rosalino and Charlotte Martarella sometime in 1965. She grew up in a loving household, and her family affectionately called her Jackie. She had always maintained a close relationship with her brother, Marty Martarella. According to Marty, although Jackie might have seemed shy and withdrawn in front of others, she was quite outgoing with her family and friends. He remembered her playing music and dancing around with her friends in their house in Lindenhurst, New York. Unfortunately, the family experienced an unimaginable tragedy when Charlotte passed away after losing her battle with cancer on October 8, 1980. Shortly after, Rosalino left their home in Lindenhurst, which changed the lives of Jackie and Marty.
According to Marty, he and Jackie then went to live with Rosalino. While Marty began his career as a construction and roofing worker, Jackie reportedly became withdrawn. She focused on her studies at Oceanside High School, where she was a member of the concert choir. Ultimately, Jackie graduated from high school in 1984 and began her professional trajectory. She began working at fast-food restaurants, and by April 1985, she was serving part-time at the Burger King in Oceanside. Through her work, Jackie was saving money to buy the vehicle she wanted. Reports state that she occasionally hitchhiked to Lynbrook to meet her friends. Everything was going perfectly until Jackie’s life came to an abrupt halt on March 26, 1985.
Jackie’s Remains Were Discovered Near a Golf Course Almost a Month After She Disappeared
On that fateful day, Jackie had visited a friend’s home in the evening and left for her shift at the local Burger King on foot around 7:30 pm. She was scheduled to begin working at 8 pm, but she never arrived. When Rosalino learned about it, he promptly called Marty. However, Marty grew concerned since it was unlike Jackie not to show up at work without any notice. After the 19-year-old was reported missing, authorities launched an intensive search. On April 22, 1985, a local resident was searching for golf balls near the 17th hole of the Woodmere Country Club golf course.
In that marshy area, the resident discovered the remains of a woman disposed of in the 10-foot-high reeds. When officials arrived at the scene, they discovered that the remains were badly decomposed. Hence, the forensic experts were unable to extract any DNA evidence from the remains. Investigators reportedly noted that the remains were unclothed. Experts ultimately identified the remains as Jackie’s through her dental records. The autopsy reportedly uncovered that she was sexually assaulted, and her cause of death was determined to be strangulation. Jackie’s manner of death was determined to be a homicide.
Jackie’s Murder Remains Unsolved After More Than 40 Years Since Her Death
After the discovery of Jackie’s remains, the authorities were unable to recover much evidence from the scene. According to police records, they reportedly deduced that the 19-year-old was likely kidnapped while walking to work before she disappeared on March 26, 1985. Investigators reportedly believed that Jackie was sexually assaulted and killed, and then the assailant disposed of her remains near the golf course. As per investigative reports, officials also turned their attention to two other similar cases. The first happened on June 12, 1984, when 15-year-old Kelly Morrissey went missing, but her remains have never been found.
In another case, 16-year-old Theresa V. Fusco had disappeared on November 10, 1984, and her remains were uncovered from nearby rail tracks on December 5, 1984. Although three convictions reportedly occurred in relation to Theresa’s case, they were overturned in June 2003. Kelly and Jackie’s case eventually went cold due to a lack of evidence and leads. On February 2, 1987, Jackie’s family reportedly offered a $5,000 reward in return for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for her untimely demise. Decades passed until a breakthrough arrived in Theresa’s case on October 14, 2025. Genetic genealogy reportedly linked the DNA recovered from Theresa’s remains to a man named Richard Bilodeau.
Richard was indicted on two counts of second-degree murder and currently remains in custody awaiting trial. The new development in Theresa’s murder case provided new hope to Marty, as he refuses to move on and expects that Jackie will receive justice. However, according to an official, due to the rate of decomposition of Jackie’s remains by the time they were uncovered, no DNA had been recovered from the scene. Marty later revealed that after the death of Jackie, their father completely broke down. Unfortunately, Rosalino passed away on May 16, 1989, without ever learning who killed his daughter. To this day, Marty wishes nothing more than to learn who was responsible for the death of his beloved sister, Jackie.
Read More: Kelly Morrissey: What Happened to Her? Was She Found?
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