What Happened to Corinna Slusser?

Corinna Slusser was last seen in the early morning hours of September 20, 2017 at the Haven Motel in Rego Park, Queens, NY.

In the beginning of that summer, 19-year-old Slusser, from Bloomsburg, PA, told her mother that she wanted to leave Bloomsburg, and that she had met someone who would give her a place to stay in the Bronx in New York City. Her mother, Sabina opposed this; Corinna was just one class shy of graduating high school, but she felt that she could not legally prevent her from moving, considering she was over the age of 18. Slusser kept in routine contact with her friends and family via text.

In early August 2017, Sabina received a letter at her Bloomsburg residence in the mail from the NYPD, addressed to Corinna. According to Corinna's aunt Julie, who spoke to Dateline, it was a letter of protection notifying Corinna that her attacker was incarcerated. Neither Sabina nor Julie had never heard anything about this from Corinna. Concerned, Sabina called the NYPD.

According to an article from Oxygen, the order of protection named 32-year-old Yhovanny Peguero as the defendant. It stated that the attack on Corinna occurred on August 25 around 1:00 p.m. in Harlem, New York. Peguero was charged with assault in the third degree and criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation.

The officer who responded to the complaint said that Corinna was hysterically crying and speaking very fast. In the complaint, “the defendant placed his hand around [her] neck and slammed her against the wall, making it difficult for [her] to breathe and causing substantial pain to [her] neck.”

According to Julie, a year prior to her disappearance, Corinna attempted suicide and was placed in a hospital. This is where she first met Peguero, who police believe became one of her pimps.

A temporary order of protection was put in place after this attack. This worried Sabina and other family members, which led them to take a closer look at Corinna's social media pages.

In the beginning of September 2017, Corinna's grandfather passed away. She agreed to attend his funeral in Florida. However, the next day, Corinna told her mom that her license and social security card was stolen so she couldn't board the flight, but expressed that she wanted to come home to PA. Sabina left for the funeral just a few hours before Corinna was set to return to PA. From FL, she tried repeatedly to get in contact with Corinna, but was unable to do so. The family then filed a missing person’s report.

Although Corinna's friends and family last heard from her on September 10, a press release from the NYPD states that she was last seen on September 20, at the Haven Motel in Queens.

Corinna’s family believes that Slusser was held against her will in a sex trafficking ring. This belief was echoed by investigators after they began looking into Slusser’s disappearance.

Then, in 2018, their suspicions were confirmed when a 23-year-old man named Ishi Woney was arrested for sex trafficking and exploiting young women, including Slusser.

In a press release following the arrest, FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. stated that “Woney compelled his victim to engage in prostitution through force and coercion, and he used both this victim and Corinna Slusser, who has been missing since September 2017, in online advertisements promoting prostitution.  Human trafficking is a top priority for the FBI, and, as today’s charges demonstrate, we will continue to aggressively pursue justice for the victims of these heinous crimes.”

In 2019, Woney was sentenced to 15 years in prison. In the courtroom, Slusser’s mother Sabina begged Woney for answers, pleading for him to tell her where her daughter was. Woney responded by saying he didn’t know where Slusser was.

 There are still many questions as to Slusser’s fate; Is she alive? What is the relationship between Yhovanny Peguero and Ishi Woney?

Investigators are still searching for answers, and the case remains open and active.