NEED TO KNOW
Over 40 years after 27-year-old Teresa Peroni went missing — there’s finally been an arrest in her case.
The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon announced on Monday, June 30, that they arrested Peroni’s then-boyfriend Mark Sanfratello in connection with her 1983 disappearance and murder after reopening the investigation in February 2024.
Police shared that Peroni was last seen on or around July 4th, 1983, walking into a wooded area with Sanfratello — who had been 29 years old at the time — while attending a party in the 1000 block of Illinois River Road. Shortly after, her family reported her missing, and police launched their investigation.
Police noted that during their initial investigation, they deemed Peroni’s disappearance to be suspicious in nature. However, the department along with the Josephine County District Attorney’s Office determined that “there was not enough probable cause to move forward with criminal prosecution.”
The investigation into Peroni’s death would go quiet for over a decade until 1997 when a human skull was located by “individuals on a nearby property.” Police then conducted a search with personnel and a cadaver dog, but were unable to find any other remains.
The skull was sent for examination and DNA testing through the University of North Texas (UNT) — and was eventually determined to have belonged to Peroni. Authorities determined this after re-opening her case in February 2024 and collecting additional DNA samples.
During their latest investigation, police said they made contact with “known individuals still alive that had some type of involvement with the cold case” and knew the details of the initial investigation. This went on for a couple of months before a breakthrough was made.
“On June 27th, 2025, after locating multiple individuals associated with Peroni, DNA results and the original case/investigation, a Josephine County Grand Jury indicted Sanfratello on the charge of Murder,” the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
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The following day Sanfratello — who was now 72 — was “located and taken into custody without incident” with the assistance of the Chico Police Department, according to police. He was then questioned by investigators about his “involvement with the disappearance and murder of Peroni.”
Police did not say whether Sanfratellom, who had been living in California, admitted to the crime. However, authorities noted that he remained in custody and was set to be extradited back to Josephine County.
The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office said Peroni’s family has been updated on this case and that no further details would be released at this time.
