green checkmark Google Screened

Tiffany Valiante’s Unsolved Case

It has been more than seven years since Dianne and Stephen Valiante were told by authorities that their 18-year-old daughter, Tiffany, had taken her own life, struck and killed by a New Jersey Transit (NJT) Atlantic City Rail Line (ACRL)  train, close to midnight on July 12, 2015,  near mile marker 45, five miles from their Mays Landing home.  Law enforcement officials believe Tiffany walked the five miles over roadways that had no street lights and for most of it in her bare feet. Tiffany suffered from nyctophobia…a fear of the dark. The parents, along with numerous forensic experts, have consistently labeled the suicide determination the product of an investigatory rush to judgement. And they’ve appealed, through their attorney Paul R. D’Amato and his law firm, to have the case reopened. To no avail. But the Valiantes, Attorney D’Amato, and many others in and beyond New Jersey believe there’s still hope for #JusticeForTiffany and that the new Unsolved Mysteries (Netflix) episode – Mystery At Mile Marker 45 – will be a catalyst for new information leading to answers the lingering troubling questions about Tiffany’s death: Was she the victim of murder? Was her death an accident, the victim of a prank that got fatally out of hand? Why was her death so quickly ruled a suicide without first conducting a full-scale autopsy? Why? Why? Why?

Can you help solve this suspicious death?
Updated reward information.

 

News Releases

 

Who Killed Tiffany Valiante? Family Marks Eighth Anniversary of The Beloved Teen’s Mysterious Death

6 p.m., July 12th, Mays Landing Candlelight Remembrance Mays Landing, New Jersey (July 11, 2023) – Eight years ago, near midnight on a steamy summer night, 18-year- old Tiffany Valiante, barefoot and partially clothed, was mysteriously struck and killed by an Atlantic City-bound New Jersey Transit train less than five miles from her house. Without conducting an autopsy, let alone a psychological autopsy, a rape kit, or DNA analysis, investigators quickly labeled her death a suicide. Her family is not[…] Read More

Petition to Reopen Tiffany Valiante Investigation Promoted by Retired FBI Agent

A recent online petition requesting that the New Jersey Transit Board reopen the investigation into Tiffany Valiante‘s death in 2015 has received more signatures following the added statement of Robert Turkavage, a former FBI agent. In the statement, issued on February 8, Turkavage expounds on the mishandling of evidence, mismatched witness accounts, and the train’s “black box” data that conflict with the Medical Examiner’s ruling that Tiffany’s death was a suicide. The petition has accumulated nearly 10,000 signatures. Full statement[…] Read More

WWW.CHANGE.ORG PETITION ASKS N.J. ATTY. GEN. TO REOPEN VALIANTE CASE

FAMILY/SUPPORTERS PETITION  N.J. ATTORNEY GENERAL  TO REOPEN TIFFANY VALIANTE CASE WWW.CHANGE.ORG PLATFORM HOSTS GRASSROOTS PETITION Tiffany Valiante was 18 when on July 12, 2015, she was struck by a New Jersey Transit, Atlantic City Rail Line train bound for Atlantic City from Philadelphia. Shocking to this day is that police and the N.J. medical examiner, without conducting a complete investigation (a full autopsy was never conducted; a rape test kit never administered; her parents, years later, had to pay the cost[…] Read More

Reward Doubled to $40,000 in 2015 Tiffany Valiante Suspicious Disappearance, Death

Netflix announces case will be featured in new ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ season starting Oct. 18th Egg Harbor Township, NJ (October 11, 2022) – More than seven years after her highly suspicious death, and the controversial investigation that followed, Tiffany Valiante’s parents remain hopeful there finally will be #JusticeForTiffany. Stephen and Dianne Valiante, of Mays Landing, said today they have renewed confidence their daughter’s case will be reopened and that those responsible for their daughter’s death will be held accountable. Effective today,[…] Read More

Tiffany Valiante Case Highlighted on Netflix Unsolved Mysteries

On October 18, 2022, Netflix will start streaming the new season of Unsolved Mysteries, a popular series that documents the circumstances surrounding mysterious deaths, disappearances, and situations. The 2015 death of Hamilton Township, New Jersey teenager Tiffany Valiante is one of the cases that will be featured on the show this season in an episode titled ‘Mystery at Mile Marker 45,’ reports The Press of Atlantic City. Tiffany, who had just graduated from high school and was planning on attending[…] Read More

D’Amato Law Firm Continues Its Fight for Answers in Case of Teen Girl Killed by Speeding Train; New Press Coverage Highlights Forensic Mishandling in Initial Investigation

Though it has been seven years since Dianne and Steve Valiante of Mays Landing were informed that their 18-year-old daughter Tiffany had intentionally jumped to her death in front of a New Jersey Transit Train, the mystery surrounding Tiffany’s tragic death remains a point of contention and interest for the media, as the publication of a new article on The Daily Beast takes a closer look at the mishandling of the case by investigating authorities. The idea that their daughter[…] Read More

Press of Atlantic City Covers Mishandling of Evidence in 2015 Valiante Case

The gross mishandling of evidence in the suspicious 2015 death of Mays Landing teen Tiffany Valiante has gained media traction, with the Press of Atlantic City picking up the story of evidence misconduct and contamination. A discovery motion was finally granted to Valiante family attorney Paul D’Amato in late 2020, which ordered the DNA testing of key evidence collected at the time of Valiante’s death. A March 2022 DNA test found that the key evidence was so grossly mishandled as[…] Read More

Mishandling Key Evidence In 2015 Tiffany Valiante Suspicious Death Case Impeded Independent Forensic DNA Analysis, Reports Renowned Lab

TRENTON, NJ (March 29, 2022) – The highly regarded forensics lab, hired with New Jersey court approval to analyze key evidence linked to the 2015 suspicious death of 18-year-old Tiffany Valiante, has just concluded that the items – including a blood-stained towel and a T-shirt – were so poorly handled by investigators that they were “of no scientific probative value”, according to the final report of the Ohio-based DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC) released today by Paul R. D’Amato, the Valiante[…] Read More

DNA Evidence Tested for the First Time After Valiante Death

On March 1, the New Jersey Transit Police Department was ordered by Atlantic County Superior Court Judge, John C. Porto, to hand over several pieces of evidence to help solve the death of Tiffany Valiante, an 18-year-old resident of Mays Landing who was struck by a train less than a mile from her home in July 2015. Her death was ruled as a suicide, but the Valiante family strongly believes that foul play contributed to her passing. A DNA card,[…] Read More

Paul D’Amato Wins Discovery Motion in Tiffany Valiante Case

Paul D’Amato of the D’Amato Law Firm has been working on Tiffany Valiante’s case since 2015 when Tiffany was killed by a moving train just two hours after leaving her parents home. Her death was ruled a suicide, but the Valiante family and attorney Paul D’Amato reject this theory. It has been confirmed that Tiffany was not suffering from depression and did not die due to suicide. The train that struck her was not a scheduled train, making suicide very[…] Read More

New Jersey’s Unsolved Murders Blamed on Sloppy Police Work

There are many unsolved murders throughout New Jersey, especially in the southern part of the state. Unfortunately, there are many unexplained and unresolved investigations by police forces who are known to be excellent in their fields. Many victims of violent crimes in New Jersey have been forgotten about and law enforcement has stopped searching for answers. Attorney Paul D’Amato represents the family of Tiffany Valiante, whose case is still unsolved. Tiffany’s case is considered a questionable suicide, but family and[…] Read More

Justice for Tiffany Valiante

Five years ago, 18-year-old Tiffany Valiante was struck and killed by a New Jersey Transit train. Investigators ruled the incident a suicide despite the insistence by Tiffany’s family that murder was the actual cause of death. The D’Amato Law Firm has been working with the Valiante family to prove that Tiffany’s death was an intentional act done by another person. Tiffany’s parents will continue to fight for the justice of their daughter. Read this article for more information on Tiffany’s[…] Read More

Fifth Anniversary of Tiffany Valiante’s Unresolved Death

On July 12, 2015, 18-year-old Tiffany Valiante was struck and killed by a New Jersey Transit train, leaving investigators to label her death a suicide. An autopsy, rape kit, and DNA test were never conducted despite the lack of clothing and shoes on her body when she was found. Tiffany’s family has been working for five years to prove that her death was not a suicide, but that she was murdered. With the help of independent pathologists and the D’Amato[…] Read More

D’Amato Law Firm Files Suit Seeking Justice for Tiffany Valiante

Today Paul D’Amato of the D’Amato Law Firm filed a complaint in the Superior Court of New Jersey seeking release of DNA evidence that could finally answer questions about the suspicious death of star teenage athlete Tiffany Valiante. Tiffany’s body was found on the railroad tracks in Galloway Township in 2015. In less than 24 hours her death was ruled a suicide without benefit of a full autopsy, rape kit analysis or analysis of DNA evidence. The lawsuit is asking[…] Read More

Justice for Tiffany

The Justice for Tiffany movement just took a major step forward with the publication today on NJ.COM of ‘Death & Dysfunction’, an investigative report based on an 18-month examination of the New Jersey State Medical Examiner’s Office, including its handling of the of the suspicious death of Tiffany Valiante. The D’Amato Law Firm, which has been pro bono counsel of record for the family and friends of the late Tiffany Valiante, strongly encourages everyone concerned about the justice system in[…] Read More

Who Killed Tiffany Valiante? Questions Persist as Family Marks the Third Anniversary of Her Mysterious Death

Egg Harbor Township, N.J. (July 12, 2017) — Three years ago today 19-year-old Tiffany Valiante, the college-bound Mays Landing star volleyball player, was struck by a commuter train about five miles from her home. But was she already dead when the New Jersey transit train hit her? Was she first kidnapped and then fatally shot, tossed in front of the train to conceal the crime? And why has the state Medical Examiner , which quickly ruled her death a suicide,[…] Read More

D’Amato Law Firm Challenges Teen’s Suicide Ruling

A medical examiner’s ruling that Tiffany Valiante committed suicide when a NJ Transit train struck her last year never made sense to her family. ‘Happy’ N.J. Woman Didn’t Walk 4 Miles Into Train, Family Argues Family of N.J. teen killed by train disputes suicide ruling, sues to prove kidnap-murder plot Star New Jersey Teenage Athlete Was The Victim of a Kidnapping-Murder Conspiracy Could South Jersey Woman Have Been Kidnapped Before She Died? Family challenges suicide ruling in death of teen hit[…] Read More

Supporting Documents

Related Photos & Videos

Tiffany’s College Volleyball Recruitment Video

News Coverage