Left and Center: Kelly circa, 1984
Right: Age Progressed to age 49
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: June 12, 1984
Missing From: Lynbrook, Nassau County, New York
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: August 22, 1968
Age: 15 years old
Height and Weight: 5’6″ and 130 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian Female, Blonde hair, Blue eyes, Kelly has a scar on her forehead and her ears are both pierced, some agencies refer to her eye color as brown
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A pink sleeveless sweatshirt, a pair of jeans, white sneakers, Kelly was wearing a gold chained necklace with a charm on it
NCMEC Number: 603372
Details of Disappearance
Kelly Morrissey was last seen in Lynbrook, New York on June 12th 1984. She disappeared while walking to a video parlor known as “Captain Video”. Kelly has left a female friends residence at some point between 9:00 and 9:30 pm that night and was last seen walking west on Earl Avenue and Merrick Road afterwards. Kelly has not been seen or heard from since.
Before she started to walk the parlor, Kelly met her friend at a gas station on Merrick Road and spoke with her. The friend said that she and Kelly were waiting for two men to show up. They waited for more than an hour before going to talk with their other friend who was a gas station attendant for approximately 45 minutes. The friend decided to leave Kelly and she said she would stay behind to see if the men would show up. She headed for the Parlor when they didn’t.
Kelly’s mother was initially unconcerned when Kelly didn’t return home. She assumed that Kelly went to stay with a friend due to thunderstorms that occurred that night. She reported her missing at some point afterwards.
While Kelly was somewhat rebellious at the time of her disappearance and was known to experiment with drugs and alcohol, authorities do not believe she ran away. She was known to associate with men much older than she was and had sometimes missed her curfew but her family stated she was not as rebellious as most girls her age at the time.
Kelly had also laid out clothing for the next day and had left her clothing and personal belongings behind at home. She also never even picked up her last paycheck from her pace of work which was a shade and Venetian blinds packaging factory. She was meant to pick it up the next day after her disappearance. She also had an important exam which she was meant to take for her summer social studies class.
Authorities believe that Kelly was murdered the night she disappeared and believe her case might be connected to the murders of two other females from the area after she disappeared.
On November 10th 1984, 16 year old Theresa Fusco disappeared after leaving her job at the local roller rink at approximately 9:45 pm. Her body was discovered on December 5th 1984 in a wooded area of Lynbrook. She was found completely nude and was killed by ligature strangulation. Her murder remains unsolved. She was friends with Kelly at the time she disappeared.
Then on March 26th 1985, 19 year old Jaqueline Martarella disappeared from Oceanside after leaving a friends house to go to her work place of Burger King. Jacqueline’s naked body was found on April 22nd 1985. She was discovered by a local resident who was hunting for gold balls in a marshy area off a fairway of the Woodmere Country Club Golf Course.
Authorities believe that Jacqueline was murdered elsewhere before being dumped in the marshy area. She was strangled to death and her body was identified through dental records.
Authorities have noted that the Fusco and Martarella murders are similar in both location and detail. Both women were found without any trace of their clothing and were sexually assaulted. They were also found in open areas. Kelly, Jaqueline, and Theresa were all Caucasian females who were last seen walking by themselves in the evening and dark hours.
Authorities were able to recover a semen sample from the Fusco murder. In the 1990s, three men were charged and convicted of killing her. They served a total of 17 years in prisons before the DNA was compared to there’s and showed no match, proving that they had not killed Theresa.
The three men were Dennis Halstead, John Restivo, and John Kogut. Kogut was the only one who confessed to killing Fusco and was retried after the original conviction was overturned. He was later acquitted by a judge.
Kogut was known to Kelly. The two had dated prior to Kelly’s disappearance but had broke up beforehand. She also knew Halstead and had visited his apartment with her friends previously.
At the time of Kelly’s disappearance, she lived with her mother, stepfather, siblings, and her step siblings. Morrissey’s biological father and she had rarely seen each other.
Kelly’s disappearance remains unsolved and it’s unknown if her disappearance is connected to the two murders. She is believed to be deceased by both police and her family. Her mother was last known to be living in Vermont.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Nassau County Police Department 516-573-5336
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children