Two Putnam County Schoolgirls Vanished in the ’90s. Decades Later, Their Cases Remain Unsolved
Robin Frances Murphy; Josette Wright.Credit: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; ABC 20/20
Robin Murphy and Josette Wright’s disappearances are the subject of an ABC 20/20 episode, which aired on Nov. 13
The 17-year-old and 12-year-old were both Putnam County, New York, school girls
Investigators arrested the wrong men for the murder and rape of Wright
In 1995, one Putnam County, N.Y., schoolgirl went missing and another was pronounced dead.
The girls’ disappearances are spotlighted in an episode of ABC’s 20/20, which aired on Nov. 13. 12-year-old Josette Wright vanished in 1994, while Robin Murphy, who was 17 years old, went missing in 1995. Wright’s remains were found several months after Murphy went missing.
In 1996 Andrew Krivak and Anthony DiPippo — who were 17 and 18 at the time of Wright’s slaying — were arrested for her rape and murder, per Rolling Stone. Although they were found guilty and received prison sentences, they were eventually acquitted of the crimes years later.
Detectives and others have pointed to Howard Gombert as a potential suspect, but he hasn’t been charged in either case.
Here’s what to know about the disappearances of the Putnam County, N.Y., schoolgirls in the mid-1990s.
Robin Murphy went missing in April 1995Robin MurphyCredit: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
On April 9, 1995, Murphy went missing after she met a friend at the shopping center in which she worked at the grocery store ShopRite, per ABC News.
A few days after her disappearance, her loved ones organized a civilian search of the woods behind the ShopRite during which they found a work schedule and paystub belonging to her, per the outlet. Murphy’s wallet and ID were also found in a dumpster behind the shopping center, according to ABC News.
In the more than 30 years since Murphy vanished, no one has been arrested or charged in connection with her disappearance. She has still not been found.
Josette Wright’s remains were found in November 1995Josette Wright.Credit: ABC 20/20
Nearly a year before Murphy disappeared, Wright went missing in October 1994, per local New York newspaper The Highlands Current. Her mother reported her missing on Oct. 4 after she didn’t return home the night before, per The National Registry of Exonerations.
According to a private investigator who spoke with 20/20, nothing came of the searches for Wright. Then, in November 1995, her remains were found by a hunter in the woods, per Rolling Stone.
Wright’s skeleton was found unclothed under a coat covered with leafy debris on it, per The National Registry of Exonerations. A pair of underwear, nylon rope with knots and a tied-up bra, along with other items including a hologram eye pendant, were found at the scene, per the registry.
When her case was later brought to trial, a forensic pathologist testified that the remains were consistent with death by asphyxiation, which could have come from the underwear that was seemingly stuffed in her throat, per the registry. However, he testified that a cause of death could not be determined because the remains were skeletal, according to the registry.
Additionally, an anthropologist testified that her hands and feet were bound together behind her back and her body was face down, per the registry.
Anthony DiPippo and Andrew Krivak were convicted of crimes in Wright’s case in 1997
On July 1, 1996, DiPippo and Krivak were arrested and charged with the rape and murder of Wright, per Rolling Stone.
According to The Marshall Project, the two had been arrested previously for lesser crimes. After they were arrested for possessing drugs, shortly after Wright’s remains were found, Dominic Neglia, a friend they were arrested with, suggested to police that the two had intel on Wright’s death, per The National Registry of Exonerations.
Police allegedly pushed Neglia to falsely claim the two committed the crime, while another friend, Adam Wilson, also reportedly implicated the two in a statement, per the registry. They claimed they were with DiPippo and Krivak at the time of the crime, along with another friend, William MacGregor, and DiPippo’s then-girlfriend, Denise Rose, per the registry.
Rose also gave statements to detectives, but they were conflicting. She first claimed she didn’t see the rape and murder, then later claimed she did and DiPippo threatened to kill her if she spoke of the crimes, per the registry.
Before Wright’s remains were found, Krivak’s van was searched by police, and they found rings that witnesses identified as belonging to Wright, per the registry. However, Krivak’s father claimed the van was not operational and that he cleaned it out before the van was searched and saw no rings.
During the investigations, Krivak confessed to raping but not killing Wright, per the registry. Court filings revealed Krivak asked to take a polygraph test and he was told he failed, per The Marshall Project. Krivak’s defense claimed he was falsely told he failed the test to get him to sign a confession written by the police after seven hours of questioning, per the registry and The Marshall Project.
DiPippo denied any involvement in Wright’s death and claimed he was living in Connecticut with his girlfriend at the time of the crimes, per the registry.
Before the trials, Wilson recanted his statement implicating the two men, per the registry. Neglia later recanted his statement in a sworn affidavit by the time of the convictions, saying that officers allegedly showed up at his school and job multiple times to threaten him with prosecution for drug crimes.
“I started with a small story and dug myself a grave,” he said, per the registry.
In the summer of 1997, Krivak and DiPippo were convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree rape in separate trials and each sentenced to 25 years to life.
DiPippo was acquitted in 2016, while Krivak was acquitted in 2023
Andrew Krivak and Anthony DiPippo in 2023Credit: USA TODAY Network/Reuters Connect
Krivak appealed the conviction in 1999, but it was upheld.
DiPippo went to trial for a second time in 2012, because the court found DiPippo’s original trial lawyer to be ineffective, as he also represented Howard Gombert on an unrelated rape charge, per the registry.
Gombert was also suspected in Wright’s murder, according to evidence presented at an evidentiary hearing. At the time, Gombert was serving a total 30-year prison sentence for raping a 7-year-old girl in Connecticut and for sexually assaulting his former girlfriend, per ABC News.
During the trial, MacGregor recanted the statement from the first trial that he was in the van when the crimes took place, per The National Registry of Exonerations. Rose testified she was present for the crimes. Ultimately, DiPippo was convicted again and received the same sentence of 25 years to life.
In 2016, DiPippo’s case was tried for a third time. In the second trial, his defense had testimony from an inmate, Joseph Santoro, whom Gombert was incarcerated with, per the registry. Santoro claimed Gombert admitted police were trying to “get him” for the crimes and that he allegedly told him he committed them, per the registry.
The defense was barred from presenting Santoro’s testimony in the second trial, but Santoro testified in the third trial, per the registry. DiPippo was acquitted of the crimes that year.
New York state paid DiPippo $2.9 million for wrongful imprisonment, and Putnam County settled his lawsuit for $12 million, according to Rolling Stone.
Krivak was eventually granted another trial in 2019, in which the judge allowed the defense to present evidence related to Gombert, per the registry. The trial began in 2023 and Krivak was acquitted.
Putnam County reached a $20 million deal with Krivak in his wrongful conviction lawsuit, per The Highlands Current. He also settled a court of claims case for $5.72 million, per the registry.
Witnesses have pointed to Howard Gombert
Howard GombertCredit: Connecticut Department of Correction
In Murphy and Wright’s cases, Gombert has long been on police’s radar.
Gombert worked at the laundromat in the same shopping center where Murphy worked, per ABC News. Murphy’s coworkers and friends reportedly told police she and Gombert became acquainted through Gombert’s then-girlfriend, per the outlet.
When police interviewed Gombert in 1995, he claimed he briefly met with Murphy the night she disappeared and last saw her walking toward the restaurant where her boyfriend worked, per the outlet. He claimed he didn’t know anything else about what happened to her, per the outlet.
Police searched Gombert’s residence in 2000 when he was arrested for sexually assaulting his girlfriend, per ABC News. They found bags of underwear in his home, and DNA testing revealed a match for Murphy, per the outlet. Gombert gave varying explanations as to where he got the underwear, including from a thrift store, per the outlet.
In Wright’s case, the 12-year old was allegedly seen by a witness in Gombert’s car on the day she disappeared, per The Highlands Current.
In Santoro’s affidavit, he claimed Gombert told him he met Wright at his former girlfriend’s house and allegedly convinced her to get in his car by asking her to babysit for him, per the registry. Santoro alleged Gombert admitted to needing to “persuade her” to have sex.
Gombert has been accused of several rapes, according to Rolling Stone. He’s never been charged for crimes in connection to Murphy or Wright.
In an email to 20/20, Gombert denied any involvement in Murphy’s disappearance. He is scheduled to be released from prison by January 2027.
Source: Crime
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