Uncle was found dead 15 years ago, NY officials say. Nephew’s fork leads to an arrest
Rosario Prestigiacomo’s neighbor called police in February 2009 after hearing a struggle at the New York home.
An officer entered the Ridgewood home through a first-story window and found the 64-year-old man dead in a hallway, “face down in a pool of blood,” the Queens County District Attorney’s Office said in a May 30 news release.
Prestigiacomo had 16 stab wounds, prosecutors said.
In addition to knife punctures, prosecutors said he had blunt force injuries.
For the next 15 years, his death would remain a mystery.
But now, thanks to DNA technology and a discarded fork, Prestigiacomo’s nephew has been indicted in his killing, according to prosecutors.
Anthony Scalici, 41, of Boynton Beach, Florida, was indicted Thursday, May 30, on a second-degree murder charge in his uncle’s death, prosecutors said.
Scalici has pleaded not guilty, The New York Times reported.
“All this time he was right beneath us, we didn’t know it,” Prestigiacomo’s daughter, Rosa Adele, told the New York Daily News. “Nobody had the right to kill my father.”
DNA collected at crime scene
At the time of Prestigiacomo’s death, New York police detectives collected blood swabs from the home, prosecutors said.
The medical examiner found not just a DNA profile for Prestigiacomo but also that of an unknown man, suggesting the assailant was injured during the assault and bleeding, prosecutors said.
Although the unknown man’s DNA profile was entered into multiple databases, prosecutors said no match was found.
Genetic genealogy leads to ID
Two years ago, investigators turned their efforts to forensic genetic genealogy and partnered with Othram Inc. in hopes of moving the case forward.
Genetic genealogy uses DNA testing coupled with “traditional genealogical methods” to create “family history profiles,” according to the Library of Congress. With genealogical DNA testing, researchers can determine if and how people are biologically related.
As of November, genetic genealogy has been used by authorities to solve more than 400 crimes across the nation, NewsNation reported.
Using “advanced DNA testing,” prosecutors said Othram created a genealogical profile for the unknown man, which was uploaded to public databases.
Linda Doyle, who works with NYPD’s forensic investigations division, used information gleaned from these databases to build “a family tree to identify possible suspects, or relatives of a suspect,” prosecutors said.
She turned over an investigative lead to authorities in December 2023, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said they worked with NYPD’s cold case squad and identified Scalici as a possible suspect.
In January and February, prosecutors said NYPD and Boynton Beach police detectives watched Scalici on multiple occasions in an effort to get “a discarded DNA sample from him.”
On Feb. 17, prosecutors said Boynton Beach police detectives got a fork used by Scalici.
The medical examiner obtained a DNA profile from the fork, which matched the unknown man’s profile at Prestigiacomo’s home and under his fingernail, according to prosecutors.
Scalici, the son of Prestigiacomo’s ex-wife’s brother, was arrested on May 14 and extradited to New York on May 29, prosecutors said.
“What (Scalici) did was disgusting,” Adele told the New York Daily News. “He should live a life of torment. I can’t forgive it. I can’t. It’s a bad dream, and we want to wake up and have my dad back.”
Scalici’s indictment marks the first time a New York City homicide suspect was identified and arrested using public genealogy databases, prosecutors said.
“I formed a cold case unit to bring closure to grieving families and seek justice on behalf of victims,” District Attorney Melinda Katz said in the release. “Defendants should not be able to evade justice no matter how much time has passed.”
Scalici, who if convicted could face 25 years to life in prison, is expected to appear in court again on July 8, according to prosecutors.
This story was originally published May 31, 2024 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Uncle was found dead 15 years ago, NY officials say. Nephew’s fork leads to an arrest."
