7 Years Ago, This 18-Year-Old Was Struck And Killed By A Train In A Case Declared Suicide, But Her Family Says There Are Too Many Strange Details That Point To Foul Play
In 2015, Tiffany Valiante of Mays Landing, New Jersey, was only eighteen years old. She was a star athlete who had just graduated from Oakcrest High School and accepted a volleyball scholarship to attend Mercy College in New York.
During the summer of that year, though, Tiffany would ultimately lose her life and leave her future dreams behind.
It all began on July 12 when she attended her cousin’s graduation party. Her cousin had lived right across the street, so following the event, Tiffany returned home on foot at about 9:30 p.m.
Then, after arriving at her house, she reportedly got into a brief argument with her mother, Diane, outside the front of their home.
Apparently, the mother of Tiffany’s best friend had contacted Diane and told her that Tiffany made an eighty-six dollar purchase on her friend’s debit card without asking for permission.
The argument was short-lived, though, and afterward, Diane went back inside, and Tiffany remained in the front of the house. Once Diane returned to the yard to check on Tiffany, though, she discovered that her daughter was nowhere to be found.
So Diane, Tiffany’s other family members, and friends all began searching for her. Then, just two hours later, they learned that a tragedy had occurred.
At approximately 11:15 p.m. that evening, Tiffany was struck and killed by a train that was traveling eighty miles per hour through a wooded and secluded area about four miles from her home.
Facebook; pictured above is Tiffany
The medical examiner quickly ruled her death a suicide– a conclusion that was mainly based on the train conductor’s recollection of events. The conductor claimed to have seen Tiffany diving onto the tracks right as the train approached, even though he reportedly blared the train horn.
However, the Valiante family does not believe that Tiffany’s death was a suicide– and are now fighting to have her case reopened through a civil lawsuit and her manner of death switched to “undetermined.” According to the family and an independent medical examiner who reviewed the case, there are too many pieces of evidence pointing toward foul play.
First, according to the investigators in Tiffany’s case, she had left her cell phone near the bottom of her driveway following the argument with Diane. Then, a deer camera set up on Tiffany’s property showed her walking away from her house wearing a white headband, white shorts, a t-shirt, and beige slip-on shoes.
Following Tiffany’s death, scent-tracking dogs were able to trace her scent along much of the four-mile route from her home. But, the dogs lost Tiffany’s scent numerous yards away from where she had been hit by the train.
And several weeks after Tiffany’s passing, Diane discovered her daughter’s headband and shoes along the same route in the woods– about one mile from her home. This means that Tiffany would have had to walk the remaining three miles to the train tracks while barefooted.
But, the family’s lawsuit alleges that the autopsy photos of Tiffany’s feet show no abrasions or damage– which would have likely occurred if Tiffany had walked so far through the woods, over gravel, and onto the tracks.
Other issues with the autopsy report also confused or angered the Valiante family. For instance, toxicology revealed that Tiffany was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol. Additionally, the medical examiner did not check to see if she had been assaulted.
Finally, there are numerous other inconsistencies in Tiffany’s case that the Valiante family pointed out. Apparently, phone records revealed that her cell had been used over an hour after she allegedly left it at the end of her driveway.
Also, the four-mile route to the train tracks was pitch black, and tree cover did not allow much moonlight in. Tiffany was deathly afraid of the dark– a fear that both her family and friends knew much about.
Near the scene of Tiffany’s death, there was also an axe discovered as well as signs of drug use– which the Valiante family suspects belonged to squatters or young people who hung out in the area.
Perhaps most bizarrely, though, is the fact that the train conductor’s story later changed. At first, he claimed to have seen Tiffany jump onto the tracks clearly. Afterward, the conductor admitted it was difficult to see exactly what had happened.
So now, the Valiante family has taken to Change.org to share these discrepancies with the community in hopes of getting Tiffany’s case reopened and further investigated.
“Several experts agree there was a rush to judgment that led to the rapid, unsupported Medical Examiner’s Office ruling of death by suicide– though independent investigators would later lean towards homicide as the cause,” the petition began.
“The facts didn’t add up in 2015, and they don’t today. That is why there’s an appeal to NJ Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and his Criminal Division to order the case reopened. Classifying her death a suicide was in itself an injustice.”
The petition has since gained just over five thousand signatures from Tiffany’s family members, friends, and the greater New Jersey community.
“I am signing because I have known Tiffany since she was three years old. She had the most amazing plans for her future, and she would have never left her family– especially her young nieces and nephews at the time. We love and miss her every day,” wrote one petitioner, Linda Summerville.
“This is my youngest little sister! This should have been done a long time ago! Tiffany, we love you and miss you every day of our lives. Justice will come!” wrote another petitioner, Jessica Vallauri.
To learn more about Tiffany’s case and support her family’s petition directed toward New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, you can visit the Change.org link here.
“Tiffany’s family and friends refuse to write her death off as an unsolved mystery, let alone give up. They will persist until there is #JusticeForTiffany.”
If true crime defines your free time, this is for you: join Chip Chick’s True Crime Tribe
She Says Her Spirit Guide Saved Her Life After She Almost Fell Out Of A Window
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
More About:True Crime
Read This Next
