Charlotte Sena's alleged kidnapper Craig Ross Jr. faces scrutiny in unsolved murders

The man accused of abducting 9-year-old Charlotte Sena from an upstate New York campground last weekend will be probed for any potential links to the unsolved murders of two young women who vanished from the region 20 years ago, authorities said.

Explore More

The man accused of abducting 9-year-old Charlotte Sena from an upstate New York campground last weekend will be probed for any potential links to the unsolved murders of two young women who vanished from the region 20 years ago, authorities said.

Craig N. Ross Jr., 46, was charged earlier this week with kidnapping the little girl after SWAT teams found her hiding in a closet inside the suspect’s trailer in Ballston Spa — two days after she went missing during a family camping trip.

As the Sena investigation continues to unfold, Ross is set to be scrutinized for possible connections to any other major cases in the vicinity — including the decades-old abduction and slayings of 18-year-old Jennifer Hammond and 19-year-old Christina White.

“At this time, we have no information to indicate that he was or was not involved,” Saratoga County Sheriff’s Investigator Matthew Robinson, who is the lead investigator on the women’s unsolved murders, told the Times-Union.

“There’s no, like, hot lead that says he’s our guy or anything like that.”

But Robinson said the department was probing any “association [Ross] has with any major case in the area” as part of a “standard investigative step.”

Craig N. Ross Jr., 46, was charged earlier this week after he allegedly kidnapped 9-year-old Charlotte Sena from an upstate New York campground. Saratoga County Jail

“And that is something that we are actively working on,” Robinson added.

The Hammond and White cases, which authorities have long said are likely linked, have been under investigation ever since the two young woman vanished in 2003 and 2005, respectively, near mobile home parks in Milton — the same upstate town where Ross has lived for decades.

Robinson, whose department is also assisting state police on the Sena case, wouldn’t say if Ross was ever interviewed in connection to the Hammond or White cases.

Asked if Ross’ name ever came up in either investigation, Robinson said: “Not with any kind of significance.”

Hammond, who was working for a magazine sales company, was reported missing by her employer back on Nov. 2, 2003, after she was last seen being dropped off at the Creek and Pines Trailer Park to try to sell mags, cops said.

Christina White, 19, was reported missing after she was last seen by her family the evening of June 30, 2005. Her remains were discovered a year later. Saratoga County Sheriff
Jennifer Hammond, 18, was reported missing by her employer back on Nov. 2, 2003, while selling magazines. Her remains were found in 2009. Saratoga County Sheriff

All of her belongings were later discovered inside the Albany hotel room where she’d been staying with her co-workers.

Two years later, White was reported missing after she was last seen by her family the evening of June 30, 2005.

Witnesses told investigators they had spotted her walking alone on a road about 3 miles from her home.

White’s skeletal remains were discovered by a hunter in March 2006 in the Daketown Forest in Greenfield — some 10 miles from where she was last seen alive.

An autopsy found she had been fatally stabbed in the chest and abdomen.

Charlotte Sena, 9, was found when SWAT teams raided the suspect’s trailer. Facebook / Jené Sena

Meanwhile, Hammond’s remains were found a few miles away in October 2009.

Details on Hammond’s suspected cause of death haven’t been released.

Investigators have previously said there’s a strong possibility Hammond and White may have been killed by the same perp due to the proximity of where they were abducted and where their remains were found.

“At this time, there is no direct evidence or information that links Ross to the White or Hammond cases,” Robinson said.

Ross was arraigned overnight Monday on a charge of first-degree kidnapping in relation to the Sena case.

Police said more charges are expected.

The little girl was found hiding in a cupboard inside the trailer. New York Post

His alleged victim, Charlotte, was initially reported missing Saturday evening when she vanished while riding her bike around Loop A at Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County.

It is unclear if Ross allegedly targeted Charlotte specifically or went after her at random when she was alone for just a few minutes.

The 6-foot-4 suspect’s plan was thwarted when his DNA was matched to fingerprints on a ransom note he left in the Sena family’s mailbox in the hours after she vanished.

“He literally drove up to the family’s mailbox, assuming they were not home [at] 4:20 in the morning, opens the mailbox and inserts the ransom note leaving the critical piece of evidence behind — his own fingerprint,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said earlier this week.

Ross is being held without bail at the Saratoga County Correctional Facility.

ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlf3R7kGlmaW5fmLWivsuoq62dXaiyr63SZpilpJWcsqV5yqKbp5mgpbKzecKrmKKfXae8tL%2BMo6lmnpGYtq%2BzjKyaq62knru6ecinZK2vn2LCr7%2FOpa2enF2iwrOwxKuqZpufpcBw

 Share!