In 1999, 13-year-old Minerliz Soriano was found murdered in a Bronx dumpster. The case quickly went cold despite promising early leads, including DNA evidence from the crime scene. For two decades, detectives revisited the case periodically but hit dead ends, as the DNA profile matched no one in criminal databases. The brutal killing remained unsolved, haunting investigators and the community.

Detectives finally broke the stalemate in 2021 with an ingenious sting operation. They posed as a prospective client, luring the suspect—known as "Jupiter Joe"—to a New Rochelle Diner under the guise of astronomy tutoring. After the meeting, detectives collected his abandoned DNA from used straws, finally matching him to the crime scene evidence that had sat in storage for 22 years.

The suspect, Joseph Martinez, lived in Minerliz's building at the time of the murder. Detectives narrowed their investigation to 43 potential suspects from the apartment complex years earlier. The innovative DNA collection technique provided the breakthrough needed to close a case that had frustrated investigators since 1999, demonstrating how traditional methods combined with modern forensic science can solve even the oldest cold cases.