Clark said, “The defendant allegedly killed 13-year-old, Minerliz Soriano, and then took her bound body in a garbage bag and left it in a dumpster in Co-op City near where a mall now stands. This beautiful little girl was treated as less than human. It has been 22 years since her life was cruelly taken, but detectives never gave up on finding justice for her and her family, and neither did my ADAs [assistant district attorneys].”

Clark said DNA science and technology has advanced over the years, and familial DNA was found to have been instrumental in linking the defendant, Joseph Martinez, AKA Jupiter Joe, to the murder. “But while the technology was vital, it really was the humanity, dedication and compassion of the investigators and their relentless drive to get justice in this case,” said Clark. “That is why we do this work. I hope today’s indictment brings some consolation to the victim’s family.”

For his part, Shea said, “Today’s indictment reflects the commitment of NYPD detectives to be the voice of victims who can no longer speak for themselves. In this case, they used the science of familial DNA searching, combined with dogged investigative work, to achieve a measure of closure for all who knew and loved 13-year-old, Minerliz Soriano.” He added, “Detectives, both active and retired, along with our forensic experts and partners in the Bronx District Attorney’s office never gave up in their work to ensure justice for this innocent child.”

Clark said Martinez, 49, of New Rochelle, N.Y., was arraigned on Nov. 30 on two counts of second-degree murder, felony and intentional, before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Efrain Alvarado and was remanded in custody.

According to the investigation, on Feb. 24, 1999, the victim walked home from school. Her body was later found, wrapped in a trash bag, in a dumpster behind a video store in Co-op City on Feb. 28, 1999. She had been sexually abused, and her neck had been compressed, causing her death.

In April 2019, the NYPD and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office submitted a joint application to obtain the results of a familial DNA system match search. A DNA sample, obtained from a semen stain on the victim’s sweatshirt, was submitted to the New York State convicted offender DNA database for male relatives. The results of this action led the investigation to Martinez’s father, who is deceased. Investigators then obtained a DNA sample from Joseph Martinez, which matched the DNA found on the victim’s sweatshirt, making the case the first in New York City to be solved using familial DNA. Joseph Martinez was arrested on Nov. 29.

Minerliz Soriano was just 13-years-old when she was murdered in 1999. Over the next 22 years, @NYPDDetectives never gave up on delivering justice for her & her loved ones. Today, thanks to familial DNA searching and old-fashioned investigative work, her killer has been indicted. pic.twitter.com/O2KATA55dE

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) November 30, 2021

The case is being prosecuted by assistant district attorney, John Miras, counsel in the homicide bureau, under the supervision of Christine Scaccia, chief of the homicide bureau, and under the overall supervision of James Brennan, deputy chief of the trial division, and Theresa Gottlieb, chief of the trial division. Clark thanked assistant district attorney, David Slott, chief of the forensic sciences unit, and Lindsey Cooper, forensic analyst, for their assistance in the investigation.

She also thanked Detective Dominic Robinson, Detective James Menton, Detective Patrick Sullivan, retired Detective Malcom Reiman, Sergeant Thomas O. McLaughlin and Lieutenant William S. O’Toole, all of the NYPD Bronx Homicide Task Force, as well as retired NYPD Detective Bernard Ryan of the 45^th precinct, the original case investigator. Detective Joseph Bello, Detective Joseph Rodriguez, Detective Martin Guilfoyle, criminalist supervisor, Melissa Huyck, all of the NYPD forensic investigation division and retired Detective Michael Lagiovane of Bronx homicide were also thanked for their work in the investigation.

Martinez is due back in court on March 7, 2022.

A person who is charged with a crime is innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.