Smail Tulja

Serial Killer

Smail Tulja: Convicted Murderer and Suspected International Serial Killer

Background

Smail Tulja, born Smajo Džurlić in approximately 1940 or 1941, was a Montenegrin man whose name became associated with a series of exceptionally brutal murders committed in the United States and Europe. He was convicted of one murderthe 1990 killing and dismemberment of Mary Beal in New York Citybut investigators also examined him as a possible suspect in seven additional killings in Belgium and Albania. Those suspected connections were never proved in court, and the Belgian murders remain officially unsolved. Tulja was born in Plav, then part of Yugoslavia and now located in Montenegro. He later immigrated to the United States and worked as a taxi driver in New York. He used several variations of his name, including Smajo Džurlić, Smail Dzulric and Smailj Tulja. His changes of name, frequent movement between countries and ability to disappear into immigrant communities made him difficult for investigators to trace.

The Murder of Mary Beal

Mary Beal was a 61-year-old Yugoslavian immigrant who lived in the Norwood section of the Bronx. She worked as a translator and real estate broker and was known in her neighborhood for regularly walking her six dogs. Beal had been involved in a relationship with Tulja, and some accounts described her as his wife or partner. Beal disappeared from her Bronx home on September 15, 1990. Her unexplained absence immediately concerned neighbors because she had abandoned her dogs and failed to follow her familiar daily routine. Approximately three weeks later, sanitation workers discovered portions of a woman's body inside two garbage bags near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The victim had been decapitated and dismembered. Her head and hands were missing, making immediate identification extremely difficult. The removal of the hands appeared designed to prevent fingerprint identification, while the missing head concealed dental records and facial features. Investigators nevertheless determined that the remains belonged to Mary Beal. The dismemberment displayed a deliberate attempt to conceal the victim's identity and transport the body without detection. Investigators believed Beal had been killed elsewhere before her remains were placed in the bags and abandoned. Tulja emerged as a principal suspect, but he left the United States before New York authorities could arrest and prosecute him. ...

Confirmed Victims: (1)

Mary Beal Age: (61), Date of Death: 1990-09-15

Suspected Victims:

Carmelina Russo Age: (42), Date of Death: 1996-01-21

Martine Bohn Age: (43), Date of Death: 1996-07-21

Jacqueline Leclercq Age: (33), Date of Death: 1996-12-22

Nathalie Godart Age: (21), Date of Death: 1997-03

Begonia Valencia Age: (37), Date of Death: 1997

Smail Tulja - Wikipedia