Man arraigned on murder charge in Oregon for death of his then-girlfriend in 1980s cold case

This undated photo released by the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System shows Teresa Peroni before her disappearance in 1983. (NamUs via AP)

Warning: The following story may contain graphic details.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A man who is suspected in the disappearance of his then-girlfriend in the 1980s and was recently extradited from California to Oregon has been arraigned on a murder charge stemming from the cold case.

Mark Sanfratello, 72, was arraigned Wednesday in Josephine County Circuit Court in southern Oregon after a grand jury indicted him for second-degree murder in the death of Teresa Peroni, the Oregon attorney general’s office said in a statement.

Sanfratello is being held without bail, according to online court records. His defence attorney, Elizabeth Baker, said he is “claiming all the rights afforded him under the law.”

Peroni disappeared in 1983 at age 27 after attending a party in a rural area near the small town of Selma. Authorities say she was last seen walking into the woods with Sanfratello, her boyfriend at the time. Authorities investigated, but there was not enough evidence to move forward with charges.

In 1997 a human skull was found on a nearby property, which was then searched with the use of a cadaver dog, according to the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office. The skull was sent to the University of North Texas for examination.

The sheriff’s office reopened the case in 2024, with investigators collecting new DNA evidence and using modern forensic testing. With the additional DNA, experts at the university were able to confirm that the skull was Peroni’s.

Sanfratello was taken into custody last month in Chico, California.

Investigators are still seeking information from anyone who attended the party.

“What happened to Teresa Peroni left her family with decades of uncertainty and grief,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said. “While the legal process is now underway and it’s important not to prejudge its outcome, this arrest reflects the progress that’s possible when law enforcement agencies persist and evolve with new tools. It’s a powerful reminder that time doesn’t erase the need for answers.”

It is the second recent Oregon cold case that has been linked to someone in California. State police said in May that a man who was found dead along Interstate 5 in Oregon had been identified after nearly 45 years and that notorious California serial killer Randy Kraft was the only person under investigation for the 1980 killing.