Cold-case investigators are ripping up the basement of a Queens plumbing-supply store in hopes of finding the remains of a Baruch College student who disappeared 12 years ago after her married chemistry professor got her pregnant. Cops received a tip a decade ago that Kristine Kupka might be buried beneath the Jamaica shop, but the man who managed the property—a cousin of professor and "prime suspect" Darshanad Persaud—wouldn't allow them to search. But according to the Post, after the building was leased to a new business, cops got permission and a "cadaver-sniffing dog" indicated the presence of human remains.
The tabloid reports that investigators also noticed one section of the concrete floor didn't match the rest of the flooring in the basement. They dug six feet yesterday and are expected to continue searching today. Police have not found enough evidence to arrest Persaud, who has since moved to Tampa, Florida, where he is a dentist. "No comment, I can't help you out," the 41-year-old said. Kupka was a 28-year-old undergraduate student at the time of her disappearance.
