‘Girl With The Scorpion Tattoo’ Finally Identified, Now Police Search For Her Daughter

After over 30 years, police have identified the body of a young woman found murdered in New York. Now, they have a new mystery to unravel.

March 27, 2023
Christine Belusko [left] was recently identified as a murder victim found in 1991. Now police are searching for her daughter, Christa Nicole Belusko [right].

Authorities in Staten Island have identified the body of a young woman that washed ashore on Sept. 20, 1991 as 29-year-old Christine Belusko. Now, police are searching for her daughter, who would be 33 years old today.

Photo by: Staten Island District Attorney

Staten Island District Attorney

Authorities in Staten Island have identified the body of a young woman found murdered on Sept. 20, 1991.

Through genetic genealogy, police recently learned the woman was 29-year-old Christine Belusko. Her case has been cold since her body was found in the woods along Seaview Avenue in Staten Island, one of the boroughs of New York City. According to reports, Belusko’s address was in Morris County, New Jersey.

According to the New York Times, Belusko was found in a wooded area by two psychiatric hospital workers on a walk. She was laying face up with her hands cuffed in front of her. She had been bludgeoned — likely by the hammer found underneath her body — and her body burned. The hammer, reportedly common in auto body shops, was crudely inscribed with “Lloyd L.”

Belusko was wearing a black dress with pink accents, and wore two gold chains around her neck, as well as a ring. Later, authorities noted a crude tattoo on her right buttock, which earned her the moniker “the girl with the scorpion tattoo.”

Investigators later learned that the dress she wore was from Rainbow Shops, a clothing chain where Belusko worked.

After Belusko was identified, police attempted to track down her family, but they learned her parents died in the early 00s. They learned from her brother that she had a daughter, Christa Nicole, who would have been 2 at the time Belusko died. There was no sign of Christa Nicole at the scene of the murder, and they had no idea she existed until they spoke with Christine’s brother. Christa Nicole is considered to be an endangered missing person.

Christa Nicole was born Aug. 1, 1989, and would be 33 years old today. Authorities hope to find her and tell her about her mother. It is unknown who the child’s father is. According to the Charley Project, the last reported sighting of Christine and Christa was about a week prior to Christine’s Death when they’d been seen at the Mount Airy Lodge in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania.

The case is eerily similar to the Long Island Serial Killer murders, in which a series of bodies were found near Gilgo Beach in Long Island beginning in 2010, though murders as far back as 1996 were linked to the killer. The identity of the Long Island Serial Killer is still unknown.

If you have any information about Christine’s daughter, Christa Nicole, please call the Staten Island District Attorney’s Office at (718) 556-7085, or email info@rcda.nyc.gov. The NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline is 1-800-577-TIPS.

Next Up

Woman Who Once Said She Was Arrested For Being ‘Good-Looking’ Now Accused Of Mother’s Murder

28-year-old Hend Bustami is accused of stabbing her 62-year-old mother to death after the two got into a verbal argument.

Transgender Teen Gwen Araujo ‘Has Literally Saved Thousands Of Lives’ Since Her 2002 Murder, Mother Says

Her daughter’s death “was the beginning of a life sentence for me and my family,” Sylvia Guerrero recalls.

Police Identify Remains Of Murdered California Woman After More Than 30 Years

Marina Ramos and her two small children disappeared in the late 1980s. Police finally identified a body found in Mohave County as Ramos, but her two daughters remain missing.

The Mysterious Murder Of Syracuse Teen Remains Unsolved

While the nation was focused on The New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens playing in Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa, Florida, a young woman in Syracuse, New York, met a violent end.

Man Manipulated Teenage Foster Daughter To Fatally Stab His Wife

“I can't explain how much remorse I have and how much sadness I deal with,” Sabrina Zunich says of committing murder.

1986 Cold Case Murder Victim Identified As California Woman After Nearly Four Decades

In February 1986, the body of a woman was found near campsites in San Diego County. 37 years later, thanks to advances in DNA technology, she was finally identified as Claudette Jean Zebolsky Powers.

Missing and Murdered: Can You Help Police Solve 4 Mysterious Deaths In This Small Kentucky Town?

It started with the ambushed police officer, and then there was the double murder of a mother and her teenage daughter. A young woman in the prime of her life disappeared, and her father was later shot dead on his property after a year of searching for his missing daughter. It all happened within just a few square miles along Kentucky’s Bluegrass Parkway. What is going on in Bardstown?

New Jersey Kindergarten Teacher Found Buried In Shallow Grave After Failing To Report To Work

The estranged husband of Luz Hernandez was recently arrested in Miami in connection with the case.

Police Are Still Baffled By The Vicious Unsolved Murders Of Jane Kuria And Her Daughters

The only two survivors of a Powder Springs, Georgia triple homicide were so brutally injured they cannot remember the attack.

A Fitness Tracker Helped Police Pinpoint An Unlikely Killer in California

Police in San Jose, California, got help from a fitness tracker when a woman was found beaten and dead in her home.