Missing
Tammy Sue Lynn Passineau
Passineau, approximately 2004; Nicholas Wiley
Date and time person was reported missing : 04/11/2004
Missing location (approx) :
Syracuse, New York
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 01/08/1986 (35)
Age at the time of disappearance: 18 years old
Height / Weight : 5'5, 160 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A rugby t-shirt with wide blue and white horizontal stripes, blue jeans or blue denim overalls, and black and white sneakers.
Medical conditions : Passineau has been diagnosed with an unspecified mental illness. She requires medication to treat it. She is classified as disabled.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Red hair, blue or brown eyes. Passineau has a Cesarean section scar on her abdomen and a Y-shaped scar on her upper arm.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Passineau was last seen on April 11, 2004, in the vicinity of the 100 block of west Water Street in Syracuse, New York. She has never been heard from again.
Her family did not report her missing until May, as Passineau has a reputation as a drifter who changed residences frequently and would sometimes drop out of sight for a few days at a time. Her loved ones say she would never go this long without contacting them, however.
Passineau has not cashed any of her benefit checks since April 2004, or refilled her prescriptions. She has also not been seen at Syracuse University Hospital since then.
Prior to her disappearance, she came to the pediatric emergency room at least twice a month, seeking help for herself or sometimes simply asking for food. She visited the emergency room thirty times in 2003, but none of the staff there have made contact with her since her disappearance.
Nicholas Lee Wiley, who has a long criminal record and had been charged with murdering two Syracuse women, told police he had killed seven people in total. He said one of his victims was "a red-haired girl named Tammy." Passineau is the only missing person in the Syracuse area who fits that description.
A photograph of Wiley is posted with this case summary. Investigators searched through local landfills for the bodies of his alleged other victims, but found no evidence. Area missing persons reports do not match Wiley's descriptions of the other people he says he killed.
In December 2004, Wiley was linked to Passineau through DNA; dried blood found on a box cutter belonging to him turned out to be hers. He has been charged with second-degree murder in Passineau's case in March 2005, although her remains have not been found.
In October 2006, Wiley was convicted of all three murder counts against him and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Passineau is the mother of a son who was an infant at the time of her disappearance. He was in foster care when she vanished. She frequented the Clinton Square area of Syracuse prior to her disappearance. She resided on Bellevue Avenue in Syracuse. Foul play is expected in her case due to the circumstances involved.
Other information and links : ncy
Syracuse Police Department
315-442-5111
September 2021 updates and sources
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
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