In the Norwood neighborhood of the Bronx, 61-year-old Mary Beal, a Yugoslavian native, was a familiar and well-liked figure. She was known for her kindness and the daily ritual of walking her six dogs. A translator and real estate broker by profession, her life took a dark turn when she vanished from her home on September 15, 1990. Her absence was immediately felt by neighbors who, knowing her unwavering routine with her dogs, quickly realized something was amiss and contacted the
authorities.
The initial search by the New York City Police Department yielded no immediate clues to her whereabouts. For three weeks, family and friends held onto hope, but a gruesome discovery shattered any chance of her safe return. A woman walking in the city stumbled upon a garbage bag leaking blood. This led to the discovery of two more bags containing human remains. Through DNA testing, the dismembered body, missing its head and hands, was identified as Mary Beal.
The investigation into her murder proved challenging, with no initial leads or witnesses. The case eventually led investigators to a man named Smail Tulja, a Montenegrin citizen who had been living in the U.S. under the name Smajo Džurlić. After the murder, Tulja fled the United States with his third wife. Years later, a series of similar dismemberment murders in Belgium and Albania, where victims were also found in garbage bags, drew the attention of international law enforcement. Though a conclusive link to all the murders was not established by Belgian and Albanian authorities, the investigation into these cases ultimately led back to Tulja.
In 2007, Smail Tulja was arrested in Montenegro. Due to the lack of an extradition treaty between the United States and the newly independent Montenegro, he could not be brought back to New York to face charges. Instead, he was tried in a Montenegrin court for the murder of Mary Beal. In June 2010, Tulja was convicted of her murder and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He died in February 2012. The FBI and NYPD suspect Tulja may have been responsible for at least eight murders across the United States, Belgium, and Albania.
