A retired NYPD detective who worked tirelessly on the "Baby Hope" investigation from 1991 till his retirement this past summer is hoping to solve one last murder case.
“Sonia Hidalgo," Jerry Giorgio told PIX11. "Sonia worked at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital. She was stabbed at her apartment, probably by someone she knew. Stabbed 56 times, I believe it was."
In 1995, The New York Times reported on Giorgio's commitment to solving the murders of both Hidalgo and "Baby Hope."
His dedication to solving the Hidalgo murder is another outgrowth of his debt to Columbia-Presbyterian. Ms. Hidalgo was a patient-relations worker at the hospital when she was stabbed 20 to 30 times at her 164th Street apartment building.
"I knew Sonia from the hospital," the detective said. "She was there to be helpful."
Giorgio's willingness to find Hidalgo's killer follows the end to the "Baby Hope" murder investigation, 22 years after the body of a young girl, recently identified as Angelica Castillo, was found in a cooler alongside the Hudson River Parkway.
"This case really touched us, because she was just an innocent child, we all have kids or know them," he said upon the investigation's closure. "I know it haunted me."
The NYPD recently relaunched efforts to solve the "Baby Hope" murder and received a huge break after a tipster said they knew where Castillo's mother might be.
On Saturday, Castillo's cousin came forward, admitting to sexually abusing and raping the girl.
Giorgio has long been heralded for his steadfastness. Assistant Chief John Hill and commander of Manhattan Detectives told The New York Times, "Jerry Giorgio is a legend. If there were 1,000 Jerry Giorgios, there would be no need for the city's 29,000 other policemen."