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Sanfratello is being held without bail, according to online
court records. His defense attorney, Elizabeth Baker, said he is
“claiming all the rights afforded him under the law.”
Peroni disappeared in 1983 at age 27 after attending a party in
a rural area near the small town of Selma. Authorities say she
was last seen walking into the woods with Sanfratello, her
boyfriend at the time. Authorities investigated, but there was
not enough evidence to move forward with charges.
In 1997 a human skull was found on a nearby property, which was
then searched with the use of a cadaver dog, according to the
Josephine County Sheriff’s Office. The skull was sent to the
University of North Texas for examination.
The sheriff’s office reopened the case in 2024, with
investigators collecting new DNA evidence and using modern
forensic testing. With the additional DNA, experts at the
university were able to confirm that the skull was Peroni's.
Sanfratello was taken into custody last month in Chico,
California.
Investigators are still seeking information from anyone who
attended the party.
“What happened to Teresa Peroni left her family with decades of
uncertainty and grief,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield
said. “While the legal process is now underway and it’s
important not to prejudge its outcome, this arrest reflects the
progress that’s possible when law enforcement agencies persist
and evolve with new tools. It’s a powerful reminder that time
doesn’t erase the need for answers.”
It is the second recent Oregon cold case that has been linked to
someone in California. State police said in May that a man who
was found dead along Interstate 5 in Oregon had been identified
after nearly 45 years and that notorious California serial
killer Randy Kraft was the only person under investigation for
the 1980 killing.
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