Queens man Martin Motta pleads guilty to WWI vet cold-case slaying

A Queens man pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the killing and dismemberment of a World War I veteran more than 45 years ago.

Martin Motta, 75, entered a guilty plea Tuesday in the gruesome cold-case slaying of George Clarence Seitz, whose partial remains were discovered in the backyard of a Richmond Hill home in March 2019, the Queens District Attorney’s office announced.

Prosecutors said Motta fatally stabbed Seitz in the head after stealing approximately $7,000 to $8,000 from him in 1976.

Seitz’s body had been dismembered at the neck, shoulders and hips, according to the Queens DA’s office.

Investigators spent two years working to identify the skeletal remains — a pelvis and partial torso — that were buried under concrete before they were able to positively identify Seitz as a match through DNA tests with the help of the FBI.

“This long-cold case marks the first successful application in New York City of forensic genetic genealogy,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “No matter how much time has passed, we will use every tool at our disposal to achieve justice.”

Seitz, who was 81 at the time of his death, had gone missing on the morning of Dec. 10, 1976.

He was last seen leaving his home in Jamaica, Queens to go get a haircut. Investigators learned that Seitz was a regular customer of Motta at the barbershop and linked him to the murder through witness interviews and record searches across five states, according to the Queens DA.

Motta, of Jamaica, is expected to be given 20 years in prison at his sentencing on Nov. 7, according to the Queens DA.

“For the gruesome murder of a World War I veteran, the defendant eluded arrest for more than 46 years,” Katz said.  “Now he is headed to prison thanks to the collaboration between the NYPD and our Cold Case Unit.”