Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann issued a statement Friday to assure the public that his office and police investigators remain committed to pursuing the Julie Monson murder case.
The statement was issued in response to media reports on the request of Auburn resident Robert Schillagi that DNA testing be done on human hairs found where Monson's skeletal remains were located about two years after the 18-year-old Cayuga County resident disappeared in 1981.
Budelmann said his office, state police and the Auburn Police Department at the beginning of this year began a complete review of the unsolved case. He did not, however, respond to Schillagi's specific question on the testing of hair.
“Because this is an open homicide investigation, we will not comment on any specific details of the investigation,” he said. “However, due to recent reports in the news media, as law enforcement officials, we feel the need to reassure the public that this important matter has not been forgotten.”
Schillagi has been intensely researching the Monson case since 1991. That was two years before the conviction of Thomas Bianco, the man originally charged in Monson's murder, was thrown out based on the discovery of deleted lines from a police report pointing to a different suspect.
That person, John Grossman, was identified by former DA James Vargason as the primary suspect in the case. Grossman is in state prison on an unrelated conviction.
Schillagi has questioned the likelihood that Grossman was the killer, and has said new DNA technology could help lead to the truth in the case.
Budelmann did say his office has reviewed all physical evidence and case reports. “We are continually assessing the value of new information as it is received by law enforcement,” he said. “We are aware of the continually advancing technology available to us, as well as its limitations, and are taking advantage of them in any way available to us.”
Budelmann encouraged anyone with information that could help the investigation, to call his office at 253-1493 or state police Senior Investigator David Stebbins at 255-2767.
Budelmann said his office, state police and the Auburn Police Department at the beginning of this year began a complete review of the unsolved case. He did not, however, respond to Schillagi's specific question on the testing of hair.
“Because this is an open homicide investigation, we will not comment on any specific details of the investigation,” he said. “However, due to recent reports in the news media, as law enforcement officials, we feel the need to reassure the public that this important matter has not been forgotten.”
Schillagi has been intensely researching the Monson case since 1991. That was two years before the conviction of Thomas Bianco, the man originally charged in Monson's murder, was thrown out based on the discovery of deleted lines from a police report pointing to a different suspect.
That person, John Grossman, was identified by former DA James Vargason as the primary suspect in the case. Grossman is in state prison on an unrelated conviction.
Schillagi has questioned the likelihood that Grossman was the killer, and has said new DNA technology could help lead to the truth in the case.
Budelmann did say his office has reviewed all physical evidence and case reports. “We are continually assessing the value of new information as it is received by law enforcement,” he said. “We are aware of the continually advancing technology available to us, as well as its limitations, and are taking advantage of them in any way available to us.”
Budelmann encouraged anyone with information that could help the investigation, to call his office at 253-1493 or state police Senior Investigator David Stebbins at 255-2767.
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