Skeletal Remains Unearthed In Southold Could Help Police Crack Decades-Old Cold Case

SOUTHOLD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – With the discovery of a woman's remains in Southold, police on Long Island may have cracked a cold case that's more than 50 years old.

As CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported, the suspected killer is a former police officer who died in 1982.

Inside a centuries-old farmhouse, within a burlap sack, buried six feet under the cellar, sonar equipment helped police unearth the bones that are believed to be those of young mother Louise Pietrewicz -- who disappeared in 1966, leaving behind an abusive relationship and an 11-year-old daughter, who now lives in Upstate New York.

"She was a lovely woman, she didn't deserve what she got," daughter Sandra Blampied told McLogan. "I've cried a lot of tears over this, believe me, and it's great finding her. I'm glad my uncle is still able to still be here."

"Very emotional, very emotional. I break down," brother Leon Jasinski said. "Thank God it's over."

For 52 years, Pietrewicz's family has been looking for her, unaware of a secret love affair she had with a married man.

"When she went reported missing, she had a relationship with a William Boken, who was, at the time, a Southold police officer," Suffolk County Police Chief Gerard Gigante said.

Southold Police, Suffolk County Police and New York State Police say they investigated, then the case went cold.

"They weren't able to locate her. William Boken, a few days after she was missing, resigned from the Southold Police and essentially disappeared," said Gigante.

The cold case recently reopened following an in-depth story by the Suffolk Times. Police received information from Boken's ex-wife, who told them where to dig in the home.

Boken died in 1982.

"Thanks, mom. You are back to me now," Blampied said.

Pietrewicz's family says finally she can have a proper funeral.

The family suspects that she was murdered because she was pregnant with Boken's child.

The recovered bones are now with the medical examiner's office, where they hope to make a positive ID and determine a cause of death.