Lynn woman's murder remains mystery to cops

The Daily Item of Lynn

By David Liscio
Friday, September 9, 2005

LYNN - Who killed Tina Louise Leone?

Two years have elapsed since the 39-year-old Lynn woman's battered body was discovered along a rural Maryland road.

According to police, Leone was killed by blunt trauma to the face and stab wounds to the neck. A passing motorist spotted her corpse about 20 feet into the woods on Stepney Road in Aberdeen, 30 miles northeast of Baltimore. It was Sept. 14, 2003, just after 7 a.m. Although she was abundantly tattooed, investigators were unable to learn her identity, so Leone was classified a Jane Doe.

A preliminary assessment by Maryland law enforcement authorities suggested the woman was killed elsewhere, her body dumped where in a remote place where witnesses would be unlikely.No weapons were found at the scene.

Edward Hopkins, a spokesman for the Harford County Sheriff's Office in Bel Air, Maryland, noted that Stepney Road is isolated, yet less than a mile from Interstate 95. As he put it, "She really was found in the middle of nowhere. A person getting off I-95 at the Aberdeen exit would have had to drive around for a while to find that particular road. They might have come across it after making several lefts and rights, unless, of course, they were familiar with the area and knew where they were going."

Hopkins said the area is also home to two sprawling military facilities and, as a result, countless transients. "Our detectives really don't know if she was killed by somebody from around here or from someplace else and brought here," he said, explaining that the Aberdeen Proving Ground, a test site for military ordinance, and the former Edgewood Arsenal, where chemical and biological weapons are developed, are both nearby.

Leone's murder was a cold case for 16 months, until last January, when an astute Connecticut woman and volunteer at the Doe Network - an organization devoted to helping law enforcement agencies solve cases concerning unexplained disappearances and unidentified victims - thought she recognized Leone from a Lynn Police Department website.Leone was listed as a missing person.

The Doe Network urged the Maryland sheriff's office to check out the resemblance between the crime scene victim's photo and the picture of the missing Lynn woman. There was a startling resemblance and, as a subsequent fingerprint comparison would reveal, a perfect match.

The victim's family had reported her missing in March 2004. They might have done so sooner, but Leone had a habit of disappearing for weeks or months. Foul play was suspected when relatives found two uncashed Social Security checks in her 81 Marion St. apartment.

Homicide detective Thomas Bradley of the Harford County Sheriff's Office has been the lead investigator on the case since the body was found. According to Bradley, how Leone ended up in Maryland remains a mystery, as does the identity of her killer.

Detectives are still hoping for a break in the case, perhaps an anonymous call from someone who saw Leone on Sept. 14, 2003 or shortly before that date, and those she may have been with.

Bradley said identifying Leone gave detectives a big break in the case. With her identity confirmed, police again began disseminating detailed information related to the woman's tattoos, which include a tiger, a Playboy bunny, an eagle, a parrot, a rose, a half heart, and a butterfly.

Leone was 5-feet-4, 110 pounds, with a petite build and brown hair. She also had a scar on her abdomen. She was known to frequent Lynn establishments such as the Arena Caf?, the Venice Caf?, and the House of Roast Beef. Before moving to Marion Street, she lived in apartments on Washington Street and Park Street.

"During the past two years, Harford County Sheriff's detectives exhausted every resource in trying to identify Leone," said Bradley. "We sent lookouts and teletypes to police agencies, and federal law enforcement agencies, issued news releases and searched missing person databases for anyone who resembled her."

Now, police hope that a description of Leone's distinctive tattoos might jog the memory of a potential witness who, in turn, may remember seeing her with others near the time of the murder. "It only takes one piece of the puzzle for the whole case to come together. It would not only bring closure to the case but closure for Leone's family, too," said Bradley, adding that the two-year anniversary of the crime might also spur someone to come forward with information.

Kylen Johnson, Maryland-area director at the Doe Network, theorized in a published report by the Baltimore Sun newspaper that "Leone may have been traveling with a carnival or living a drifter lifestyle, on the fringes of the law." According to Johnson, the victim was wearing a dolphin ring, a common trinket among carnival workers.

As Maryland police continue the investigation, they ask that anyone with information about the case call Detective Thomas Bradley the Harford County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division at (410) 836-5431 or his colleague, Detective Thomas Walsh at (410) 836-5408.

Lynn police are also anticipating any new leads. To reach Lynn's homicide investigators, call (781) 595-2000 and ask for the detective office. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

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