On October 12th, 1981, Julia Kaufman kissed her mother Sally goodbye in her Commack home. She headed to the Grant Campus, where she had an afternoon psychology class. She had promised her mother that she would be home in time for dinner. It was a big shock for Sally Kaufman when her daughter did not return for dinner that night, nor the next night, or the night after that.
Julia stopped attending her classes and stopped showing up for work. She contacted nobody about her whereabouts, which was unusual for her according to her mother. It was clear that Julia was missing.
Julia was described as a kind, attractive, and outgoing young woman. Her boss simply described her as a “Happy-go-lucky kind of girl.” A graduate of Commack High School South, she was a good student who cared about her education. According to her high school guidance counselor, she was “a very principled girl, tenacious, and capable.” She was studying business at Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) and seemed to be enjoying school, according to her mother. She never stayed out overnight and had a clean record. All the descriptions about her made it unlikely that Julia Kaufman ran away from home.
Her mother placed flyers of her missing daughter around the vicinity of her home. The police interviewed over 100 of Julia’s friends from high school and college. The police piloted a helicopter above the Grant campus and the surrounding areas in search for any sign of Julia Kaufman or what happened to her. Local newspapers reported her disappearance after Sally Kaufman went to the police, further increasing awareness across Suffolk County. The investigation got even stranger when Julia’s 1969 Green Ford Mustang was found on October 20th, not in Commack or Brentwood, but in Manhattan.
On Sunday, November 1, 1981, three weeks after Julia went missing, two duck hunters discovered the decomposing body of a woman in a woody patch off the Sagtikos Parkway in Brentwood. She was fully clothed, gagged, with her hands tied behind her back. The cause of death was deemed asphyxiation due to the gag in her mouth, along with bruising around her neck and body. She was not sexually assaulted. The body belonged to Julia Kaufman. Her death sent shockwaves across the county and the college.
The perpetrator would be revealed as Raymond O’Connor, a 20-year-old Deer Park resident who was Julia’s ex-boyfriend. They were together in Julia’s Green Mustang when they began to have a heated argument. He was distraught over Julia desire to marry her current boyfriend who was a marine stationed in North Carolina. They stopped on the Sagtikos Parkway, and O’Connor began to senselessly beat her with his hands and feet. He then tied up her hands, gagged her, and left her face down. She would die in that position.
O’Connor then took her car to Manhattan, where he had a job at a construction site. He showed up to work the next day, and then left for a Florida vacation with his family, leaving the car in Manhattan. The police picked up O’Connor on November 16thfor questioning. After making several incriminating statements during interrogation, police would charge O’Connor with the murder the same day, three weeks after Julia’s body was found.
O’Connor pleaded guilty to the crime of second-degree murder. He had a prior criminal history, once striking a woman with a wrench. Because O’Connor spared Julia’s family the trauma of a murder trial, the judge sentenced him 20 years to life. The judge wanted O’Connor to stay in prison until he was older than the 55-year old judge. O’Connor would be 59 when he was paroled in 2021.
Last month marked the 43rd anniversary of Julia Kauffman’s murder and her story remains a heartbreaking reminder of a young life taken too soon. She would have turned 61 this year, had she been allowed to pursue her dreams and enjoy her future. We should all remember Julia Kauffman’s life across the college community, as the tragic memories still echo for her loved ones.
Photo Caption: Photo of Julia Kaufman.
