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Joseph Belstadt found guilty in 1993 murder of Mandy Steingasser in Niagara County

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Posted at 1:57 PM, Nov 16, 2021
and last updated 2021-11-16 14:01:38-05

LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WKBW) — A jury in Niagara County has found Joseph Belstadt guilty of second degree murder in the 1993 killing of Mandy Steingasser, bringing a nearly three-decade-long investigation to its end.

Mandy Steingasser, 17, was last seen alive getting into Belstadt's 1984 Pontiac in the early morning hours of September 19, 1993. Belstadt had offered Steingasser a ride after seeing her walking along Oliver Street in North Tonawanda. Steingasser had become separated from her friends. Her body was found five weeks later in Bond Lake County Park in Lewiston. She suffered from a fractured skull, and her bra was found tied around her neck.

Belstadt insisted that he gave Steingasser a short ride in his car, dropping her off near a church at Oliver Street and First Avenue in North Tonawanda.

More than two decades later,Belstadt was arrested in 2018,following a break in the case that tied DNA evidence found in Belstadt's car to Steingasser. Fibers from the carpet of Belstadt's car were also found in Steingasser's underwear.

The trial against Belstadt started shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020.

Joseph Belstadt will be sentenced on January 10, 2022 at 9:30 a.m.