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A man in Oregon has been handed a 20-year prison sentence following the resolution of a cold case from the 1980s involving the death of his former girlfriend, officials announced on Tuesday.
Seventy-three-year-old Marcus Sanfratello admitted to first-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of Teresa Peroni. The Oregon Attorney General’s office reported that he will serve a minimum of ten years before being eligible for parole.
Sanfratello’s lawyer, Elizabeth Baker, noted that her client was eager to settle the case due to a recently diagnosed complex health condition. “This outcome not only provides closure for the victim’s family but also allows my client access to much-needed medical care during his incarceration,” Baker explained in a text message.
Teresa Peroni vanished in 1983 at the age of 27 after attending a gathering near Selma, a small town in southern Oregon. Witnesses last saw her entering the forested area with Sanfratello, who was her boyfriend at the time. Despite initial investigations, authorities lacked sufficient evidence for prosecution until the case was revisited.
Peroni disappeared in 1983 at age 27 after attending a party in a rural area near the small town of Selma in southern Oregon. Authorities say she was last seen walking into the woods with Sanfratello, her boyfriend at the time. Authorities investigated, but there was not enough evidence to move forward with charges.
In 1997 a human skull was found on a nearby property and sent to the University of North Texas for examination, the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office said last year.
The sheriff’s office reopened the case in 2024, with investigators collecting new DNA evidence and using modern forensic testing. With the additional DNA, experts at the university were able to confirm that the skull was Peroni’s.
Sanfratello was taken into custody last year in Chico, California, before being extradited to Oregon, where he was initially indicted on a higher charge of second-degree murder.
“For Teresa Peroni’s family, this has been a 43-year wait for an answer they never should have had to wait for,” Oregon Attorney General Rayfield said in a statement. “Cases like this remind us of why we don’t give up.”