Mother of worker killed in 1992 believes there was cover-up

By Mike Sullivan

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    BOSTON, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Thirty-two years ago, a worker at Logan Airport was murdered. The images from the crime scene look grainy compared to present-day video, but they are clear in Marlene Taraskiewicz’s mind. It was the day her daughter was killed, and so far, no one has been arrested for it.

“I am not going away. As long as I can speak, I will be here,” said Marlene Taraskiewicz. “I could talk about Susan every day to make sure it stays out there.”

Susan Taraskiewicz was killed on September 13, 1992. At the time she was a ramp crew chief at Logan Airport for the now defunct Northwest Airlines.

“She loved her job, especially de-icing the plane,” said Taraskiewicz.

Body found in trunk outside auto repair shop

She was found beaten and stabbed to death. Her body was stuffed into the trunk of a car that was left outside of an auto repair shop on Route 1A in Revere. Police believe she was killed somewhere else, and her body was driven to the shop. They also say she left to get sandwiches for her co-workers and never came back to the job or to her home.

“I know Susan never would have gone out and not come back. She worked hard to get that job for three years,” said Taraskiewicz.

When Marlene spoke to WBZ in 2017, she told us she believed her daughter was killed by a coworker because she knew about a credit card scam run by other workers.

“You took a life out of greed, for the big, beautiful home that you live in right now,” Taraskiewicz said in 2017.

For 15 of the last 32 years, Marlene stood outside Logan Airport every September 13 and 14 while holding a sign and asking people for information.

“I believe that there truly was a cover-up in it, and it took 13 years for anybody to get it going,” said Taraskiewicz.

She believes police have a suspect in mind, but that they need to gather more information before releasing it. She is hoping someone will finally come forward with information.

“Tell them no matter what it is you think it is. It could be the smallest thing, but it could be what we are waiting for,” pleaded Taraskiewicz.

$250,000 reward for information For years, Northwest Airlines was offering a $250,000 reward for information. Northwest merged with Delta in 2008, and Marlene thinks people assumed the reward was gone, but it’s not.

“I made sure I called Delta Air Lines, and they gave me a letter that it was still in effect from 1995,” explained Taraskiewicz.

The money is just sitting there, waiting for the right person with the right information.

“It’s so long. How do you live with this? How do you live with this on your conscious?” questions Taraskiewicz.

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