Critical detail missed by Unsolved Mysteries in death authorities say was suicide
Topics: True crime, Netflix, US News
Gabriella Ferlita
Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: True crime, Netflix, US News
Trigger warning: References to suicide
Series 3 of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix already has viewers hooked - and that doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon.
But it seems that several details were omitted from the first episode, Mystery at Mile Marker 45.
The primary episode of the latest series details the tragic death of Tiffany Valiante, an 18-year-old athlete who died in 2015 after attending her graduation party in her hometown of Mays Landing, New Jersey.
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After she disappeared from the party and her loved ones began to look for her, the graduate was apparently tragically hit by a train around four miles from her last known location.
As the episode detailed, investigators believed that Tiffany sadly took her own life but her family believed that she was the victim of a murder.
In Unsolved Mysteries, her parents said: "I was devastated. I couldn't understand how they could come up with that. My daughter wasn't depressed. She wasn't suicidal. Tiffany was happy!
"She was making plans to go to college, she was making plans with her roommate, she was making plans to play softball that Wednesday. She had plans to go to Great Adventure the next morning with friends."
While her ‘happiness’ didn't seem to suggest suicide, the true crime show did not even support the possibility that either situation could have occurred.
It instead seems to support the parents’ murder theory, especially as the police behind the case turned down an interview for the episode.
The series explored a detailed investigation into Valiante’s case, but there were still a few details which were missed out in Unsolved Mysteries.
One of the most compelling arguments which was skimmed over is that one member of the police force actually lost evidence - a potential murder weapon.
As per NJ.com, an axe with ‘red markings’ was located near the area in which Tiffany’s body was found.
Her family hoped that forensic tests could be undertaken on the potential weapon, which could have led to further answers into the death of their daughter. But their attorney, Paul D'Amto, claimed that the axe mysteriously went 'missing'.
The series also detailed how Tiffany could have stolen her friend’s bank card before her disappearance, but they also omitted a finding by the Daily Beast that Tiffany had also stolen money from her parent’s bank account just months before she died.
Another key detail missed out was a dog handler from the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office who was sent to the site to see if they could gather any further information on the case.
The test was undertaken around four days following her death and took the handler along a 3.2-mile stretch, which led to the general area of Tiffany’s death, but this wasn’t included in the documentary either.
UNILAD has contacted a representative of Netflix for comment.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.