Staten Islanders familiar with the history of the island, including its haunted happenings, will recognize the name Donna Cutugno. Back in the 1980s, a serial kidnapper roamed the streets and woodlands of Staten Island. 

After the closure of the Willowbrook State School, where disabled children were housed in atrocious conditions as uncovered by Geraldo Rivera, children on the island started going missing. Nearly every one of them was intellectually or developmentally disabled, and one of the first to disappear was Jennifer Schweiger, of the Willowbrook neighborhood. 

Jennifer had been staying at her relatives’ house when she disappeared, which was near where Donna lived.  Ms. Cutugno organized search teams, and every day they combed through the woods looking for a camp or the missing girl.  Early on, the person suspected of her kidnapping was brought in for questioning, but it wasn’t until her body was found that he was arrested and charged with her murder.  

Long after Jennifer was found, Donna and others continued searching for the other children who had similarly disappeared.  Despite searching, none of the other children were ever found.  Interested readers can learn all about this from the documentary released in 2009, Cropsey. The award winning true crime movie follows the story of all the kids who were abducted by this modern day real life bogeyman.  Andre Rand was eventually convicted of the kidnapping and murder of Jennifer, and years later he was convicted for the kidnapping of Holly Ann Hughes, who to this day has never been found.  Andre Rand spent the rest of his days in jail, and in subsequent years, there were fewer publicized disappearances. 

Donna was also instrumental in organizing Fleet Week every year, ensuring that the visiting sailors and other military members had suitable accommodations. She was essential in creating a fully wheelchair accessible playground on Staten Island in Graniteville, dedicated as Jennifer’s Playground in Jennifer Schweiger’s memory. 

After the World Trade Center tragedy on 9/11, she helped organize a respite area for rescuers combing through the wreckage seeking survivors. 

Below is the obituary created by her family: 

Obituary of Donna R. Cutugno