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A mother’s search
Woman won’t give up on finding answers in death of daughter 24 years ago
Taraskiewicz wore a pin with a photo of her daughter Susan, who was killed 24 years ago Wednesday.
Marlene Taraskiewicz with Robert E. Murphy of the State Police. (photos by David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)
David L. Ryan/Globe Staff
By John R. Ellement
Globe Staff

Maybe it will be the sound of a grandchild’s laughter or a hug from a daughter just before she leaves for work one day.

Marlene Taraskiewicz is convinced some small act of domestic joy like a laugh or a hug will prompt someone to finally help solve the murder of her 27-year-old daughter, Susan, who was killed in Revere 24 years ago Wednesday.

“I know there are people out there who know about Susan’s murder,’’ she said in a telephone interview Monday while filming a video about her daughter’s death for use on the State Police Facebook page. “As the years go by and they have children and grandchildren . . . after a while, you just can’t live with it.’’

In the years since her daughter’s death, Marlene Taraskiewicz has also lost her husband, Ronald Sr., and her son, Ronald Jr., but has never veered from her goal of learning who killed her daughter.

“I know this is something that I have to do for Susan,’’ said Taraskiewicz, who has one surviving child, her daughter, Deborah. “I know that Susan’s murder can and will be solved. I want to bring peace to my family and all of her friends.’’

Susan Taraskiewicz was the boss of a ramp crew at Northwestern Airlines, where she had worked for five years before her death.

She was last seen on Sept. 13, 1992, when she took sandwich orders from co-workers and left for an early morning food run. Her body was discovered 36 hours later.

She was the first woman to be named a supervisor in a historically male environment and was subjected to a harassment campaign linked to some co-workers.

Also at the time of her death, federal authorities were investigating thefts of credit cards by some of her co-workers from packages being shipped via the airline. Eventually, 37 people were prosecuted for the credit card theft ring, but they denied playing a role in Susan Taraskiewicz’s death.

Taraskiewicz’s murder remains under investigation by Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office, which inherited the case, and by State Police assigned to Conley’s office. Jake Wark, spokesman for Conley, urged anyone with information to contact State Police detectives at 617-727-8817.

The circle of people involved in the credit card scam remains an area of intense interest to State Police, but Wark also urged people to share what they heard or saw around the time of Taraskiewicz’s death — in case the answer lies elsewhere.

“We are committed to finding the truth, wherever it might be,’’ said Wark. “Almost every open murder case is one witness away from being solved. We believe that someone out there knows what happened to Susan 24 years ago. Whoever that person might be, he or she can feel safe sharing it with us.’’

State Police spokesman David Procopio said investigators will leave no stone unturned in the case.

“No one in the State Police and Suffolk DA’s office has given up, or ever will,’’ he said. “This is what we want people to think about: Time passes. Lives change. People find themselves in different places in their journeys.

“Whatever reason they may have had for not coming forward with what they know about Susan’s homicide, they should consider that those reasons might not seem so daunting anymore.’’

“We know there are people who know what happened, and those people know the importance of what they know.’’

Marlene Taraskiewicz is now 74 years old and apparently was among the first people to use billboards to bring public attention to the violent killing of a relative, something she did in the 1990s, but which is now a familiar approach.

“I know they want to call, especially now that they have children and grandchildren,’’ she said.’’I am not going to stop. . . . As long as my health holds, I will be out there, fighting for Susan.’’

Procopio said ClearChannel Outdoor has agreed to donate electronic billboard space to the case.

John R. Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @JREbosglobe.