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

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.