Jupiter Joe, Amateur Astronomer, Sentenced for 1999 Murder of Teen Girl

Joseph Martinez set up telescopes on Bronx sidewalks and subway platforms for years, charming children and parents alike with free astronomy lessons under the alias "Jupiter Joe." On March 26, 2026, Bronx Supreme Court Justice Audrey Stone sentenced him to 25 years to life in prison for the 1999 rape and murder of 13-year-old Minerliz Soriano.

On February 24, 1999, Minerliz was last seen alive walking home from school in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx. She had vanished after leaving Junior High School 127 in the Eastchester section of the Bronx. Her body was found four days later inside a green garbage bag in a Co-op City dumpster, bound with green gaffer's tape. Prosecutors said Minerliz had been sexually abused and her neck was compressed, causing her death. Semen recovered from her sweatshirt would become the forensic thread that, more than two decades later, unraveled everything.

DNA found on the girl's sweater partially matched that of Martinez's deceased father, who was in a law enforcement database because of a years-earlier arrest. In April 2019, the NYPD and the Bronx District Attorney's Office submitted a joint application to get results from the familial DNA system. That lead pointed investigators toward Martinez. One detective reached out to Martinez, posing as a mom who was looking for an astronomy lesson for her daughter, and they set up a meeting at a diner in New Rochelle, where Martinez was then living. A discarded diner straw provided the DNA match to semen on the Bronx girl's clothes. Investigators then obtained a formal DNA sample from Martinez, which confirmed the match to the sweatshirt. This became the first case in New York City to be solved using familial DNA, a technique that enters crime-scene DNA into a database with the hope that a male relative of the suspect will surface to help narrow down the killer.

Martinez was arrested on November 29, 2021. He had been living on Memorial Highway in New Rochelle at the time. He faced trial in Bronx Supreme Court on two counts of second-degree murder, and jurors found him guilty of intentional murder in the course of sexual abuse and felony murder after a month-long proceeding that ended November 14, 2025.

Assistant District Attorney John Miras told the court that Martinez "thought he could outsmart those investigating this crime," and that Martinez believed his schtick as "Jupiter Joe" teaching children astronomy in public places would somehow prevent him from landing in the courtroom. In court at sentencing, Martinez offered condolences while maintaining his innocence.

Minerliz, a straight-A student, grew up wanting to be an astronaut. She would have turned 40 this year. Relatives and Minerliz's best friend Kimberley Ortiz told the court about the victim's shattered dream. "Minnie was more than just a victim," Ortiz said. "She's a daughter, a friend and a beautiful soul who deserves a full life. She had dreams, laughter and a future that was taken from her in an instant."

The irony of Martinez's public persona cuts deep for anyone who has followed this case. He had lived in the same apartment building as Minerliz and offered adults and children free astronomy lessons about the planets and stars. Neighbors expressed disbelief at the time of his 2021 arrest. "I cannot believe this," one told the New York Post. "I have known this man for 30 years and never once was he rude or mean or aggressive."

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark framed the conviction as a testament to what modern forensics and old-fashioned tenacity can accomplish together. "Bronx detectives and my ADAs never gave up in the quest to hold accountable the killer of this beautiful little girl. It was their relentless dedication and compassion, coupled with advanced technology in DNA, that led to the arrest and conviction." At sentencing, Justice Audrey Stone stated, "This was a girl who had a bright future, and it was stolen."

For the true crime community, this case has become a landmark reference point in discussions around familial DNA policy. The technique that cracked it, running a cold-case semen stain through a relative's criminal record entry, was not even applied here until April 2019, a full two decades after Minerliz disappeared. Martinez will be in his late seventies before he is eligible for parole.