Case Profiles #77
Celeste Doghmi
On May 3rd, 2023, Auburn, Maine police knocked on the door of the last known residence of 29-year-old Celeste Doghmi to try to speak to her regarding an issue with the custody of her child. After no one answered the door and police tried to locate anyone who knew her, the officer who had gone to her door initiated a missing person report under a heading of “suspicious condition.” Police began looking into Celeste to find her whereabouts, and they learned something surprising. The last known trace of her was at the end of July of 2021 when Celeste was 27-years-old. There were no missing persons reports made for her.
Celeste’s mom, Stephanie, was able to tell the Sun Journal that Celeste was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States from Frankfurt with her in 1995 when she was 2-years-old. She spent some time in Florida before moving around the south, ending up back in Florida and Celeste eventually moving to Maine with a man she had met in Louisiana. A family friend named Melissa Bonacci met Celeste and her mom in 2001 when they moved to Florida as she and Stephanie were both single moms and lived close to one another. Melissa became almost like a second mom to Celeste, letting her stay with her off and on when Celeste needed a place to stay as a teenager. In 2020, Melissa’s mom called her saying Celeste was at the house and needed help. Melissa stated, “She started talking to my mom about how she was really trying to get her stuff together, but that she was in this relationship with this guy and he was super abusive to her, that she was pregnant, needed a place to stay and get out of the situation she was in.” Celeste eventually left Florida, saying she needed to return to Maine to work things out with her boyfriend, especially as her pregnancy progressed. Her mom returned to Germany to be with other family. Melissa and Celeste exchanged texts here and there and some photos of each of their families and Celeste’s new baby. Melissa stated, “Celeste was a fighter. She was a tiny little thing. She had the biggest smile you’d ever want to see. I mean, her face was angelic and would just light up when she smiled, and she did have a gleam in her eyes, and I could tell when he began to take that from her.”
On June 24th, 2021, Celeste was last visibly active on her social media. She posted a picture of her son, then 6-months-old. Celeste continued to post privately in July about enrolling in college, getting her GED transcripts and buying everything she needed for her classes as she was about to start nursing school. Celeste was excited, hopeful, and so proud of herself. She loved her son more than anything and was working on bettering herself for him. Her last post was on July 22nd, 2021. It is believed that the last person to have seen Celeste was her now ex-boyfriend, and a post on Facebook from Melissa’s mother Catherine Magee said that Celeste “went for a walk and never returned leaving her baby and all her belongings behind.” Celeste’s ex-boyfriend, John Alexander Benton, had moved with Celeste to Maine in 2018 and they lived with his family until early 2019. This is when the couple moved to an apartment at 85 Academy Street in Auburn, Maine, the same apartment police arrived at to do a wellness check on Celeste. Based on John’s criminal records, this was also his last known address as of August of 2022. After Celeste’s disappearance, John was arrested on multiple assault and domestic violence charges after he was abusive to at least one other partner.
Celeste’s longtime friend named Chris often video chatted with Celeste, and he urged her to leave her boyfriend and move back to Florida where she and her son would be safe. During a video chat on July 6th, 2021, Celeste showed Chris a bald spot where some of her hair had been ripped out. While on video chat, John came home and saw Celeste destroying some of the over 100 marijuana plants he was growing as she was growing concerned about authorities taking notice and them losing custody of their son. John began screaming and swearing at Celeste and then ended her call with Chris. That was the last time he heard from her.
Stephanie reached out to a Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Child and Family Services caseworker about Celeste’s child, and the caseworker showed up to the apartment to try and locate Celeste but instead came upon a scene she described as “living in a war zone.” Celeste’s son was seized and taken by the state when John was arrested. At the time of her disappearance, Celeste Doghmi was 5’2” and weighed 110 pounds. She is a Black woman with curly brown hair and eyes, has multiple ear and facial piercings and a large tattoo on her right leg of a dream catcher with feathers. Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of Celeste Doghmi is asked to please call Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit at (207) 624-7076 or the Auburn Police Department's anonymous tip line at 207-333-6653.
Israel Rosado
On May 13th, 2004, 20-year-old Israel Rosado and his girlfriend attended court together for a charge against Israel regarding possessing a stolen firearm. They returned to their Bristol, Connecticut home when Israel took a phone call from an unidentified person. Israel’s girlfriend then watched him walk outside and get in a pickup truck she did not recognize with a driver she did not know. That was the last time she, or anyone else, has ever seen Israel. He was reported missing 6 days later by his mother, who lived in New York City and spoke to her son often. By 3:00 p.m. on that May day, Israel’s phone stopped receiving and sending out calls and his cellphone plan was cancelled. Police began to investigate Israel’s disappearance and believed that it could be a potential homicide, as Israel was known to use his phone constantly up until that day. Israel had a small criminal history involving the possession of marijuana, and investigators are also wondering if this had anything to do with his disappearance. He was known to take weekly trips to the Bronx from Connecticut with large sums of money. At the time of his disappearance, Israel Rosado was 5’6” to 5’8,” weighed between 130 to 145 pounds, and had his hair in cornrows. He had brown eyes and brown hair. He also had a birthmark under his chin on his neck. Anyone who has any information regarding the disappearance of Israel Rosado is asked to please call the Bristol Police Department at 860-584-3011.
Image sources:
fbi.gov - “Celeste Diana Doghmi - Auburn, Maine”
fox61.com - “Cold Case: Israel Rosado”