Barbara Waldman, 31, was found murdered inside her residence on Sally Lane in Oceanside around 9 a.m. on Jan. 11, 1974, the Nassau County Police Department announced at a joint press conference Wednesday, March 11.
"I've had the image of my mom in my head since I'm 5, and it won't go away until I die," said Barbara's son, Eric Waldman.
The case remained unsolved for decades until investigators recently used investigative genetic genealogy to identify the suspected killer as Thomas Generazio of Oceanside, police said. Generazio died of cancer in 2004 at the age of 57.
The breakthrough came through a joint effort involving the Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad, the FBI, and the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
Investigative genetic genealogy — a technique that combines DNA evidence with public genealogy databases — helped identify Generazio as the person responsible for the killing, police said.
Because Generazio is deceased, no criminal charges will be filed.
Police did not release additional details about the circumstances of Waldman’s death or what evidence connected Generazio to the crime.
The case had remained one of Nassau County’s long-running cold cases before the recent forensic breakthrough.
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