Jasmine Joseph, the 22-year-old college student from Long Island who has been missing since February, was found dead in her car. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death but since there is no evidence of foul play, her death is currently being ruled as a suicide.
Police confirmed the identity of the missing student, whose body was found in her Nissan Altima on Tuesday. The car was parked in a lot in Syosset less than half a mile from home. The parking lot had previously been searched by the police but the car was not reported to be present then.
Joseph was last seen on the 24th of February leaving her home. She informed family members that she was going to attend a class at the Old Westbury campus of the New York Institute of Technology where she was taking up nursing. When her mother called in the afternoon, she said she was in the campus library. She never came home and calls to her phone went straight to voicemail. Her parents then decided to go to the campus to look for her, fearing that she may have been kidnapped. They saw no signs of her or her car.
BODY FOUND in Syosset car. Is it missing 22 yr old Jasmine Joseph? @ErinColton http://t.co/MoYNjK0kjp pic.twitter.com/BY0To86krs
— Carol Silva (@CarolSilvaNews) March 11, 2014
This prompted her family to contact the police. During the investigation, they found out that the last time Jasmine went to class was May last year.
Joseph’s parents were shocked to learn of this, because their credit card was charged for the Fall 2013 semester. Her mother Lovely Joseph said that she was a straight-A student, but when the Fall semester came and they asked to see her report card, Jasmine said that the computer had technical problems. Mrs. Joseph also noticed her daughter wasn’t bringing textbooks home, to which Jasmine replied that she was doing her reading online.
According to her family, Joseph was obedient and didn’t have a boyfriend. They didn’t even have strict rules that may have been difficult for her.
After she disappeared, her family set up a page on Facebook to help with the search effort. Joseph’s parents also offered a $5,000 reward for her return.
On behalf of NYIT, President Edward Guiliano offers condolences and sympathy to family and friends of Jasmine Joseph. http://t.co/p1saoP9j70
— NYIT (@nyit) March 11, 2014
Image via YouTube
