Roseanne Spina, often spelled Rose Ann Spina, was 17 years old when she was murdered. Her body was found near a parking lot in Syracuse, New York, more than 50 years ago, and the person responsible for her death has yet to be brought to justice.
On the night of Sept. 22, 1967, Roseanne, a senior at Corcoran High School, told her mother that she was going to hang out with her friend, who was also 17.
Her mother thought she was going to her friend’s house, but Roseanne and her friend were actually going bar-hopping in the area.
They were kicked out of one of the bars when employees found out that they were underage, but that didn’t stop them from going to another bar.
At around 3 a.m. on Sept. 23, 1967, Roseanne, who was described as “very bright” by the people who knew her, left Rinaldi’s bar in the 300 block of Burnett Avenue and was never seen alive again.
When her mother awoke around 5 a.m. and realized that Roseanne Spina hadn’t returned home, she contacted the Syracuse Police Department and reported her missing.
Her mother told a reporter that after contacting the police department, she was told that it “was the weekend and they were short handed,” according to the Daily News.
On Sept. 25th, 1967, Roseanne was found dead. A passerby discovered her partially nude body in tall weeds near a parking lot in the 700 block of Canal St., which was located near an abandoned railroad gravel bed.
Officials said her slip had been twisted around her neck, and an autopsy revealed that Roseanne had been brutally beaten and strangled to death.
According to the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office, Roseanne had been dead for 24 hours before her body was found.
When the police questioned Roseanne’s friend, she told them that she left the bar around 3 a.m. when she found a ride home.
She last saw Roseanne standing on a street corner, confabulating with four boys, whom witnesses said may have been college students.
Investigators wanted to question more teens who may have been in contact with Roseanne on the day she went missing, but they were unsuccessful in doing so, according to The Evening Times.
Anyone with information regarding the unsolved murder of Roseanne Spina is encouraged to contact the Syracuse Police Department’s Cold Case Homicide Squad at (315) 442-5234 or by e-mail at coldcasesquad@syracusepolice.org.
Tipsters can remain anonymous.