On a cool spring evening, March 25, 1996, 15-year-old Joseph Patrick Martin slipped out of his bedroom window into the night. The Rondout Valley High School student, known as Joe or Joey to his friends and family, was leaving his home on Samsonville Road in Kerhonkson, New York, around 10:40 p.m. He had plans to meet two friends, Daniel L. Malak and Alexander R. Barsky, at the nearby Schwabie Turnpike to watch the Hyakutake comet pass through the sky. At the time, Joseph was a slim, athletic young man with blond hair and hazel eyes, who participated in track, football, and wrestling. He was last seen wearing a green and blue flannel shirt over a hooded green sweatshirt, blue jeans, and dark-colored sneakers. When his mother realized the next morning that he hadn't gotten on the school bus, she reported him missing.
His friends told investigators that they waited for him until midnight, but he never showed up.
For years, Joseph's disappearance remained a painful mystery for his family and community. The initial investigation explored several possibilities, including that he may have run away from home, with some speculation about a difficult relationship with his stepfather. There were unconfirmed sightings of a person resembling Joseph in the New Paltz, New York area in 1999, but these leads never resulted in any concrete answers. Over time, various rumors circulated, but none could be substantiated, and the case grew cold. Joseph’s family held onto hope, keeping their home in Kerhonkson so that if he ever returned, he would know where to find them. The lack of answers was a source of continuous pain for his loved ones as the years passed without any sign of him.
The case took a dramatic and dark turn more than a decade later. In May 2008, investigators re-interviewed one of the friends Joseph was supposed to meet that night, Alexander Barsky. During the interview, Barsky confessed to his involvement in Joseph's death. He revealed that the meeting was a setup; he and Daniel Malak had planned to attack Joseph in retaliation for a supposed petty theft. According to Barsky's account, the three teenagers went to a makeshift fort in the woods, where they smoked marijuana and drank beer before Malak and Barsky attacked Joseph with a metal pipe. After he died, they concealed his body in a cave-like rock indentation. Barsky further confessed that several years later, fearing discovery, he returned to the location, collected Joseph's remains, and disposed of them in various trash cans throughout New York City. Authorities found forensic evidence at the fort that supported his confession, including a tooth and a piece of bone. Following his confession, Barsky pleaded guilty to manslaughter. In 2010, Daniel Malak was convicted of second-degree murder after Barsky testified against him. Despite the convictions that brought a resolution to the case, Joseph's body has never been recovered.Last Seen: Mar 25, 1996
