The morning of March 3, 1999, began like any other for 36-year-old Dominick A. Pendino in the town of Newburgh, New York. At approximately 5:50 a.m., he was seen by his wife in the driveway of their home, preparing to leave for his job at the Newburgh Auto Auction. He was dressed for work in blue jeans, a blue 'Auto Auction' t-shirt, a green waist-length coat, and black sneakers. Pendino was a 5'8', 180-pound Caucasian male with hazel eyes, a mustache, and a shaved head. He had a pierced left ear and had previously lost the use of one of his arms in a motorcycle accident. But Dominick would never make it to his workplace that day.
A little over an hour later, around 7:00 a.m., his wife noticed that his car was still parked in the driveway and contacted the authorities. A grim discovery was made at the scene; a trail of blood was found leading away from Pendino's vehicle, but there was no sign of Dominick himself. The amount of blood found in the driveway was significant, leading investigators to believe he could not have survived the injury. An extensive search for Pendino was launched, but it yielded no clues as to his whereabouts. The community was shaken by his sudden and violent disappearance, with hundreds attending a prayer vigil for the well-liked man who came from a respected local family. His wife was left to raise their children, including a son who was born just two months after he vanished.
Two months after Pendino's disappearance, Town of Newburgh police arrested two of his friends, Gregory Chrysler and Larry Weygant. In 2000, both men were convicted of murder and conspiracy to sell marijuana. The trial revealed that Chrysler mistakenly believed Pendino had informed police about his marijuana business, leading to his own arrest. Authorities asserted that Chrysler and Weygant beat Pendino to death with a baseball bat near his home. After the murder, trial records indicated that Chrysler took his vehicle to a tire shop to have blood spots cleaned from the interior. Both men were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Despite multiple searches by police over the years in Marlboro and Montgomery, Dominick Pendino's body has never been located, as Chrysler and Weygant have refused to disclose what they did with his remains. The case is a story of a life cut short by a misplaced belief and a family left without answers, forever waiting to bring their loved one home for a proper burial.
Last Seen: Mar 03, 1999
