DNA Evidence Leads to Murder Charge After Four Decades

A 72-year-old man has been arrested and accused of murdering his girlfriend over forty years ago, based on new DNA evidence. Mark Sanfratello was apprehended in Chico, California, on Saturday. The arrest is related to the 1983 disappearance of his then-girlfriend, Teresa Peroni. He was indicted on a murder charge on Friday.

Sanfratello is currently awaiting extradition to Josephine County, Oregon, according to the local sheriff’s office. Peroni vanished around July 4, 1983, at the age of 27. She was last seen at a party, entering a wooded area with Sanfratello, who was 29 at the time. The couple had reportedly argued shortly before her disappearance, stemming from Peroni dating someone else.

Peroni's family has stated that the couple had other disagreements. Her brother, Russell Neill, mentioned that their aunt witnessed Sanfratello becoming very angry with Peroni because she joined a church. Peroni had joined the church to improve her life after a previous divorce.

After Peroni disappeared, her family reported her missing. The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office considered the disappearance suspicious but lacked sufficient evidence to proceed with an indictment. The case remained unsolved for 14 years.

A human skull was discovered on property near where Peroni disappeared. The skull was sent to the University of North Texas for examination and DNA analysis. The sheriff’s office reopened the case last year and sent new DNA evidence to the University of North Texas, which confirmed the skull belonged to Peroni. Investigators used the DNA results and information from the original case to indict Sanfratello on a murder charge.

Sanfratello has a prior criminal record. In 1985, he was charged with attempted murder, rape, and burglary in Yreka, California, in connection with the stabbing of his ex-wife and her daughter. He was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to over 15 years in prison. In 1999, he was also convicted of theft or embezzlement of U.S. property, receiving two years of probation and being ordered to pay restitution.