Tammy Sue Lynn Passineau

Passineau, circa 2004; Nicholas Wiley

  • Missing Since 04/11/2004
  • Missing From Syracuse, New York
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 01/08/1986 (38)
  • Age 18 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'5, 160 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A rugby t-shirt with wide blue and white horizontal stripes, blue jeans or blue denim overalls, and black and white sneakers.
  • Medical Conditions Passineau has been diagnosed with an unspecified mental illness. She requires medication to treat it. She is classified as disabled.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Red hair, blue or brown eyes. Passineau has a Cesarean section scar on her abdomen and a Y-shaped scar on her upper arm.

Details of Disappearance

Passineau was last seen on April 11, 2004, in the vicinity of the 100 block of west Water Street in Syracuse, New York. She has never been heard from again.

Her family did not report her missing until May, as Passineau has a reputation as a drifter who changed residences frequently and would sometimes drop out of sight for a few days at a time. Her loved ones say she would never go this long without contacting them, however.

Passineau has not cashed any of her benefit checks since April 2004, or refilled her prescriptions. She has also not been seen at Syracuse University Hospital since then.

Prior to her disappearance, she came to the pediatric emergency room at least twice a month, seeking help for herself or sometimes simply asking for food. She visited the emergency room thirty times in 2003, but none of the staff there have made contact with her since her disappearance.

Nicholas Lee Wiley, who has a long criminal record and had been charged with murdering two Syracuse women, told police he had killed seven people in total. He said one of his victims was "a red-haired girl named Tammy." Passineau is the only missing person in the Syracuse area who fits that description.

A photograph of Wiley is posted with this case summary. Investigators searched through local landfills for the bodies of his alleged other victims, but found no evidence. Area missing persons reports do not match Wiley's descriptions of the other people he says he killed.

In December 2004, Wiley was linked to Passineau through DNA; dried blood found on a box cutter belonging to him turned out to be hers. He has been charged with second-degree murder in Passineau's case in March 2005, although her remains have not been found.

In October 2006, Wiley was convicted of all three murder counts against him and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Passineau is the mother of a son who was an infant at the time of her disappearance. He was in foster care when she vanished. She frequented the Clinton Square area of Syracuse prior to her disappearance. She resided on Bellevue Avenue in Syracuse. Foul play is expected in her case due to the circumstances involved.

Updated 4 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated January 22, 2007; details of disappearance updated.