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The upcoming episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered on Oxygen is all set to shed light on the case of Timothy Wiltsey's murder, which started as a case of a missing child. During the time it happened, this case received media attention from across the country and shook the entire community of New Jersey. Timothy Wiltsey was only five years old at the time he was murdered.
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered will discuss this case in detail in its upcoming episode, titled The Blue Blanket Mystery, which premieres on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, on Oxygen at 8 pm EST. The synopsis for the episode reads:
"After New Jersey mother Michelle Lodzinski reports that her five-year-old son has vanished from a carnival, detectives embark on a decades-long investigation until a family member identifies a key piece of evidence pointing to a potential suspect."
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Michelle Lodzinski, his mother, was initially arrested and charged with the murder but her conviction was overturned. So technically, Timothy's murder remains unsolved as of today, and there are still some ongoing attempts to unearth this terrible mystery.
Who was Timothy Wiltsey and what happened to him?
Timothy Wiltsey was born on August 6, 1985, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to George Wiltsey and Michelle Lodzinski. Michelle was only 16 years old when she got pregnant with Timothy and soon moved out alone with her son as George did not play any part in his upbringing. George stayed absent from his son's life and did not pay child support.
Timothy was hence raised with the help of Michelle's relatives and friends. For a significant time, Timothy and Michelle lived with Michelle's sister in South Amboy while Michelle tried to make ends meet with any job she could find. She was described as a hard-working single mother and few could expect what was coming for Timothy.
On May 24, 1991, the Friday before that year's Memorial Day weekend, Michelle took her 5-year-old son shopping for new clothes and they were planning on visiting Michelle's sister in Florida and going to Disneyland after the school year. That evening, Michelle told her neighbor that she would take Timothy to the South Amboy Elks Club carnival in nearby Sayreville's Kennedy Park the next day.
The duo left the house at around 11 AM, as per a neighbor, and that was the last time Timothy Wiltsey was seen alive by anyone other than Lodzinski.
That evening, Michelle reportedly encountered Jennifer Blair, her niece, whom she told that she could not find Timothy. Michelle, Jennifer, and Jennifer's friend went to report the incident to a Sayreville auxiliary police officer. Michelle claimed that she left Timothy in a ride line to get a soda.
Who killed Timothy Wiltsey?
The investigation began immediately and the police committed a lot of resources to finding the 5-year-old alive but he was not found for another 11 months. When he was found, the body was so decomposed that even the cause of death could not be verified.
Only a blue blanket was found near the body that some claimed belonged to Michelle.
Michelle Lodzinski was seemingly the last person who was with him and she kept changing her account of what happened. She later also claimed he was kidnapped. She also staged a fake kidnapping of herself to clear her as a suspect. All these ultimately made her the most suspicious person around.
She was eventually arrested and charged with the murder. She was even sentenced to 30 years in prison, but the punishment was overturned in 2021 after an appeal, owing to only circumstantial evidence.
So, it is still a mystery as to who killed Timothy Wiltsey.
The upcoming episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered will cover this case in more detail.
