SAUGUS — State police on Wednesday renewed a call for information regarding the brutal murder of a Saugus woman whose body was found in the trunk of her car outside an auto repair shop here 31 years ago.
Susan Taraskiewicz was 27 when she was found beaten and stabbed on Sept. 14, 1992. The day before, she left her shift as a ramp supervisor at Logan Airport to pick up sandwiches for her co-workers. She never returned to Logan or her home. State police noted that the killing has now remained unsolved longer than Taraskiewicz was alive, but said investigators remain undeterred in their quest for justice.
“The passage of nearly a third of a century … has not tempered one bit our desire to bring her killer or killers to justice,” state police said.
Taraskiewicz grew up in Saugus with her brother and sister, going on to study at Salem State College, North Shore Community College, and then MA College of Art, according to the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance. She also received high marks on the firefighter placement exam, which positioned her eighth on the reserve list for the Swampscott Fire Department.
Investigative work remains ongoing through street-level investigative tactics, consideration of new forensic evidentiary capabilities and their potential application to the case, and continued outreach to those who may know something about Taraskiewicz’s killing.
As part of that effort, state police last year created a deck of playing cards made up of unsolved murders, including Taraskiewicz, which show a victim’s photo, details about their case, and a number to call with information. The creation of playing cards is a tactic gaining popularity with departments worldwide, state police said.
Those efforts led to Taraskiewicz’s case being featured on an episode of the podcast, “The Deck,” this week. Taraskiewicz’s mother, Marlene, and retired Massachusetts State Police Detective Lieutenant Robert Murphy, who worked the case for two decades, both appeared on the podcast episode.
Investigators know a “good deal” already about the case, but said there is more information needed to secure justice. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the state police Detective Unit for Suffolk County at (617) 727-8817.
“There are people walking around today, going about their lives, who have that information,” state police said. “Whatever reason you had for remaining silent until now doesn’t matter to us. Time passes, people and things change. It’s a long time past Sept. 14, 1992, but not too late to do what is right.”
