Justina Morales Missing Person Case

Jan 27, 2026

Jan 27, 2026

Justina

Morales

38

8

Unknown inches

Hispanic

Female

In the autumn of 1995, eight-year-old Justina Morales was living in a Halsey Street apartment in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. A student at Public School 1, she was last officially seen sometime in November of that year. Justina's life was marked by frequent absences from school, a pattern that had concerned at least one relative enough to report her truancy to the Bureau of Child Welfare. In November 1995, after Justina had been absent for three consecutive months, her mother, Denise Solero, withdrew her from the school, claiming the family was moving and that she would enroll Justina in a different school. However, Justina was never registered in a new school, and when neighbors inquired about her, Solero told them she had sent Justina to live with her father out of town. For more than a year, Justina's absence went largely unnoticed by the systems designed to protect children. The Bureau of Child Welfare, despite the prior truancy report, closed her file in February 1996 without confirming her well-being or whereabouts. It wasn't until February 1997 that a friend of the family approached the police, reporting that they believed Justina had been killed. This report launched an investigation that would uncover a history of abuse and neglect. Investigators learned that Solero's live-in boyfriend, Luis Santiago, had been physically and sexually abusing Justina for years. Solero, who portrayed herself as a terrified victim of Santiago's abuse as well, was living in a shelter for battered women around the time Justina was reported missing. The investigation culminated in the arrest of Luis Santiago. According to both Santiago and Solero, Justina died on December 31, 1995. Santiago confessed that he had beaten the eight-year-old to death after she refused to take a bath before a New Year's Eve party. In exchange for a sentence of probation, Solero pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution and agreed to testify against Santiago. Santiago was ultimately convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to six to nineteen years in prison. Justina's body was never recovered; her mother and Santiago stated they had wrapped her in a trash bag and left her in a vacant lot, from where it is believed her remains were taken away with the garbage. The case highlighted significant shortcomings in the New York City child welfare system, as numerous opportunities to intervene and potentially save Justina's life were missed.

Nov 01, 1995

Brooklyn

New York

Brooklyn

New York Police Departmen

212-694-7781

09/11/2026