Tiffany Valiante: what the laboratory letter does and does not show (2015)

A death and a continuing challenge

Tiffany Valiante, eighteen, died after being struck by a train in Galloway Township in July 2015. Authorities ruled her death a suicide. Her family disputes that ruling and has pursued records, additional testing and litigation.

The original laboratory letter

A March 3, 2022 letter from DNA Diagnostics Center forensic director Julie Heinig identifies concrete problems with material submitted for testing: missing dates and initials on evidence seals, repeated tape over earlier seals, and a shirt stored in plastic that appeared mold-covered. The laboratory said its testing produced no evidence of probative value.

The letter was addressed to the family’s lawyer and is published by his firm. It is direct evidence of the laboratory’s assessment, not an independent judicial finding of misconduct. Failed or compromised testing does not establish that Valiante was murdered, identify another person or reconstruct her final movements.

The later legal position

April 2026 reporting describes dismissal of another family lawsuit brought under the Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights. The official suicide classification remained in place; the family continued seeking review. The court’s full opinion was not obtained here, so its reasoning is not paraphrased beyond that reported disposition.