In the Season 2 premiere of Oxygen’s Fatal Family Feuds, relatives and members of law enforcement detail the hours surrounding one Long Island woman’s head-scratching disappearance.

Twenty-six-year-old Susan Ambrosino lived in Franklin Square, New York, a hamlet part of Long Island’s Hempstead area in Nassau County. It would also be the place where the young mother was last seen, according to retired New York Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) Detective Chris Bollerman.

Here’s what those closest to the missing persons’ case said about the hours leading up to when Susan Ambrosino vanished in the night.

About the 2005 disappearance of Susan Ambrosino

On February 22, 2005, at around 3:00 a.m., Ambrosino’s worried parents entered a police station to report their daughter missing. What retired N.Y.P.D. Commanding Officer Patrick Wing said of Ambrosino’s last-known movements was concerning, to say the least.

“Susan had gone out for dinner the evening before, and she hadn’t returned home,” said Wing. “At home was her 8-year-old daughter, Taylor.”

Now grown up, Taylor Ambrosino appeared on Fatal Family Feuds, describing the troubling moments leading up to her mother’s bizarre absence.

“I did not want my mom to leave that night,” she recalled. “I kept begging her, ‘Please don’t leave, I need you to stay here.’ Her response was, ‘I have to go out, I won’t be too long; you’re gonna stay with Aunt Debbie.’”

Taylor Ambrosino remembered a shift in mood when realizing her mother may not be returning home later that evening. “Then, as the night went on, I remember my aunt frantically calling my grandma: ‘Where is Susan? She’s not picking up her phone.’ I remember everybody on the phone trying to figure out where my mom was,” the daughter continued.

A brother worries about his sister

Ambrosino’s brother, Anthony Ambrosino, gave Fatal Family Feuds producers his version of events, explaining they expected Susan Ambrosino to come home at around 9:00 or 10:00 p.m.

When she failed to return, he immediately knew something was “very wrong.”

“We all know right away that’s very wrong of Susan to not have come home to her daughter,” the brother said. “We’re all searching for her in our cars. As time goes by and you don’t find her, you start to become more and more concerned.”

For Anthony Ambrosino, fear and panic over his sister’s wellbeing manifested into physical dread.

“It grew to the point where the not knowing where she is became a physical pain in my chest,” he continued.

As expected, relatives were “beside themselves,” as confirmed by Det. Bollerman.

“This was completely out of character for Susan,” Officer Wing added. “She was dedicated to her daughter; always would communicate and be home.”

It was all hands on deck for law enforcement, fearing things wouldn’t fare well for Susan Ambrosino and those who loved her the most. Anthony Ambrosino said the missing persons’ investigators “normally” took on cases only after a person was missing at least 24 hours, but started their work right away based on the “special circumstances” attached to Susan Ambrosino’s case.

“Look, we thought of the worst [that] could have happened because this woman leads a regular life and there’s no reason for her to be missing,” Bollerman said.

More about Fatal Family Feuds Season 2

Fatal Family Feuds returns for its second season on Oxygen Sunday, February 16, 2025, exploring how seemingly minor family disagreements could snowball into deadly altercations, as detailed in the series’ official description.

Susan Ambrosino’s case marks the season’s first episode, and all indications point to murder.

“When a missing young mother turns up murdered on the outskirts of New York, it confirms a close-knit family’s worst fears. The investigation is hindered by a series of lies before a secret affair is uncovered, turning brothers into adversaries.”

Watch the full episode of the Fatal Family Feuds Season 2 premiere on Sunday, February 16, 2025, at 7/6c on Oxygen and stream the next day on Peacock.