New York State Police appeal for assistance in the cold case murder of a 31 year-old hair stylist and mother-of-two who was found dead at her salon.
Investigators have been unable to solve the 18-year-old murder. They claim they have tried hundreds of leads in their search over the years, but with no success. They described Yvonne Torch to be “a very interesting person.” “a loving mother and wife.”
A little before 11 a.m. on June 9, 2004, Torch’s battered body was discovered inside her shop, the His and Hers Salon in the upstate Hudson River town of Newburgh.
Police said this week they would reopen the cold case and issue a new appeal for public assistance.
“New advancements in science and technology have breathed new life into the case,”In a Facebook post, the state police stated that they were investigating.
Pierre Torch, Torch’s husband, claimed that they had made the decision to sell the shop to move to Florida, just days after she died.
“We had decided that we were going to pack up everything, sell our house, and move,” Pierre told “Dateline”This week’s segment. “We wanted to get jobs in Disney.”Yvonne started looking for homes in Florida after they returned to their home.
However, those hopes and dreams were crushed on June 9. Pierre Torch stated that his grandmother had gone to Yvonne’s salon in the morning and had her hair done. The stylist was dead when the next customer arrived.
New York State Police claims that Yvonne died in a 15 minute time period that began at 10.40 a.m.
He said that her husband was initially a suspect. “I spent the next three weeks going through sheer hell,” Pierre said. Investigators concluded that Pierre was exonerated.
Pierre claimed that his wife was well-liked by Newburghans, and that her funeral attracted large numbers of mourners.
According to the husband, he did not know of any person who wanted her to die. “I mean, the amount of people that showed up to her funeral says a lot,” Pierre told “Dateline.”According to the mortuary director, he was satisfied with his work. “never seen a turnout for a funeral like this,”Pierre retorted.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the New York State Police Department at (845) 344-5370 or e-mail crimetip@troopers.ny.gov.
