Long Island serial killer

Long Island serial killer (also referred to by media sources as the Gilgo Beach Killer or the Craigslist Ripper) is an American unidentified suspected serial killer who is believed to have murdered 10 to 17 people associated with the sex trade over a period of nearly 20 years and dumped their bodies along the Ocean Parkway, near the remote Long Island, New York beach towns of Gilgo Beach and Oak Beach in Suffolk County and the area of Jones Beach State Park in Nassau County.

The remains of four victims were found in December 2010, while six more sets of remains were found in March and April 2011.^[1][2][3] Police believe that the latest sets of remains predate the four bodies found in December 2010.^[4]

On May 9, 2011, authorities surmised that two of the newest sets of remains might be the work of a second killer.^[5] On November 29, 2011, however, the police announced that they believe that one person is responsible for all 10 deaths and that they did not believe that the case of Shannan Gilbert, an escort who was missing when the first set of bodies were found, was related.^[6] "It is clear that the area in and around Gilgo Beach has been used to discard human remains for some period of time," said Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota.^[7]

Police investigation

Police were initially searching for Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old woman from New Jersey, who went missing on May 1, 2010 working as an escort.^[8][9] She was reported missing in May 2010. She was last seen in the area after she ran from, rather than to, her driver, Michael Pak,^[10] who was waiting for her outside a client's house in nearby Oak Beach.^[10]

Exit for Robert Moses Causeway on the Ocean Parkway, near where the first body was found

In December 2010, a police officer and his dog on a routine training exercise discovered the first body – "the skeletal remains of a woman in a nearly disintegrated burlap sack".^[11] This discovery led to three more bodies being found two days later in the same area on the north side of the Ocean Parkway. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said "Four bodies found in the same location pretty much speaks for itself. It's more than a coincidence. We could have a serial killer."^[12]

A few months later, in late March and early April 2011, four more bodies were discovered in another area off the parkway. Suffolk Police expanded the search area up to the Nassau County border, looking for more victims.^[13]

On April 6, 2011, Detective Lt. Kevin Smith of the Nassau County Police Department said that his office will "further explore and investigate any criminal activity which may be in close proximity to the recently discovered human remains found in Suffolk." Smith also said that Nassau County Police will be coordinating with Suffolk County and New York State Police on the investigation.^[14] Five days later, the search for more bodies began in Nassau County. Local media reported that an additional set of partial human remains was found, as well as a separate skull, bringing the potential total number of victims found since December to ten.^[15]

On April 22, 2011, two human teeth were found about a foot from the skull.^[16] On June 16, 2011, Suffolk County police raised the reward from $5,000 to $25,000 (the largest ever offered in the county's history) for information leading to an arrest in the Long Island murders.^[17]

On September 20, 2011, police released composite sketches of two of the unidentified victims whose remains were found in March and April 2011 (an Asian male and Jane Doe No. 6), as well as photos of jewelry found on the remains of a female toddler and her mother, found on April 4 and 11, 2011, respectively.^[18] The toddler's mother was also revealed as one of the sets of remains found in Nassau County on April 11.^[18] Also on September 20, police revealed that the second set of remains found in Nassau County on April 11, 2011, matched two legs that were found in a garbage bag that had washed up on Fire Island in 1996.^[18][19] As of September 22, 2011, the police had received over 1,200 tips via text, email and phone since the beginning of the investigation.^[19]

On November 29, 2011, police announced that they believe one person is responsible for all 10 murders, and that the person is almost certainly from Long Island.^[20]

On December 13, 2011, the remains of Shannan Gilbert were found in a marsh about half a mile from where she disappeared, and a week after some of her clothes and belongings were found in the vicinity. Police believe that Shannan accidentally drowned after stumbling into a swamp, a view not shared by her mother. She had last been seen banging on a resident's door and screaming for help before running off into the night. A panicked 911 call from Gilbert that night revealed her saying that "they were going to kill her."

On December 10, 2015, (the evening before the 5 year anniversary of the discovery of the first four sets of remains) the Suffolk County Police Department announced that the FBI had officially joined the investigation. A spokesperson for the FBI confirmed the announcement. The FBI had previously assisted in the search for victims, but was never officially part of the investigation until this announcement.^[21]

Identity of the killer

There has been much speculation in the media concerning the identity of the killer, currently known as "Unsub" – unknown subject. It has been suggested that the serial killer is most likely a white male in his mid-20s to mid-40s who is very familiar with the South Shore of Long Island and who has access to burlap sacks which he uses to contain the bodies.^[22] He may have a detailed knowledge of law enforcement techniques and perhaps even ties to law enforcement which have thus far helped him avoid detection.^[22][23]

Some have speculated that serial killer and former Long Island resident Joel Rifkin may have been responsible for some of the older remains found in March and April 2011, as four of the victims' bodies were never found.^[24] In an April 2011 prison interview with Newsday, Rifkin denied having anything to do with recently discovered remains.^[24]

Victims

Bodies discovered in December 2010

Of the ten bodies or sets of remains found since late 2010, the four discovered in December 2010 have been identified as missing prostitutes who all advertised their services on Craigslist. They had all been strangled and their bodies wrapped in burlap sacks before being dumped along Gilgo Beach.^[25] All are believed to have been killed elsewhere.

Identified

• Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, of Norwich, Connecticut, was an escort who advertised her services online. Maureen, who was only four feet eleven inches tall and one hundred five pounds, went to Long Island, New York, "to spend the day in New York City," and was never seen again.^[26] Maureen, a struggling mother, worked as a paid escort off Craigslist to pay the mortgage on her house, but after successfully leaving the sex industry for seven months, Maureen eventually returned to the work in order to pay her bills after receiving an eviction notice.^[27] She was last seen on July 9, 2007, when she left Norwich for New York City.^[28] Her body was found in December 2010.^[29]
• Melissa Barthelemy, 24, of Erie County, New York, went missing on July 10, 2009. She had been living in the Bronx and working as an escort through Craigslist.^[30] On the night she went missing, she met with a client, deposited $900 in her bank account, and attempted to call an old boyfriend but did not get through. Beginning one week after her disappearance, and lasting for five weeks, her teenage sister, Amanda, received a series of "vulgar, mocking and insulting" calls from someone who may have been the killer using her sister's cell phone.^[31]
• Megan Waterman, 22, of South Portland, Maine, went missing on June 6, 2010, after placing advertisements on Craigslist as an escort. The day before, she had told her 20-year-old boyfriend that she was going out and would call him later. At the time of her disappearance, she was staying at a motel in Hauppauge, New York, 15 miles northeast of Gilgo Beach. Her body was also recovered in December 2010.^[32]
• Amber Lynn Costello, 27, of North Babylon, New York, a town ten miles north of Gilgo Beach. She was a prostitute and a heroin user who went missing on September 2, 2010.^[32] On the night she disappeared, she went to meet a stranger who had called her several times and offered $1,500 for her services.^[33] As of 2012, Costello's sister, Kimberly Overstreet, a call girl, has vowed to use the same Craigslist booking system as her sister in an effort to lure the killer.^[34]

Remains discovered in March and April 2011

The four sets of remains discovered on March 29 and April 4 were all within two miles and to the east of those found in December. They included two women, a man, and a toddler.^[5] A skull and a partial set of remains were found on April 11 after the search expanded into Nassau County.^[35] They were found about one mile apart, approximately five miles west of those found in December.^[36]

Identified

• Jessica Taylor, 20, most recently of Manhattan, went missing in July, 2003. On July 26, 2003, her naked torso, chopped in pieces and missing its head and hands, was discovered 45 miles east of Gilgo Beach in Manorville, New York;^[37] these remains were identified by DNA analysis later that year.^[38] On May 9, 2011, it was reported that the remains of a skull, a pair of hands, and a forearm found on March 29 at Gilgo belonged to Taylor.^[39][40] She had worked in Washington, D.C., and Manhattan as a prostitute.^[5][41] The remains of "Jane Doe No. 6" were also found both in Manorville (torso) and on Gilgo Beach (head, hands and foot).^[42]

Unidentified

• "Jane Doe No. 6": A human head, right foot, and hands, found on April 4, were determined to have belonged to an unidentified victim, the rest of whose body was found on November 19, 2000, in the same part of Manorville where most of Jessica Taylor's remains were discovered. The dismembered remains of Jessica Taylor and "Jane Doe No. 6" were both disposed of in a similar manner and in the same town, suggesting a link. In September 2011, police released a composite sketch of "Jane Doe No. 6": she was about 5' 2" and was between 18 and 35-years old. It is likely that she worked as a prostitute.^[18]
• "John Doe": Also discovered on April 4 at Gilgo Beach, very close to where the first four were discovered in December 2010, was the body of what appeared to be a young Asian male who died from blunt-force trauma.^[5][40] In September 2011, Police released a composite sketch of the victim and stated that he had likely been working as a prostitute and was wearing women's clothing at the time of his death.^[18] He was between 17 and 23 years of age, 5' 6" in height, and missing four teeth; he had been dead for between 5 and 10 years.^[18]
• "Baby Doe: The third body found on April 4, about 250 feet away from the partial remains of "Jane Doe No. 6," was that of a female toddler between 16 and 24 months of age.^[43] The body was wrapped in a blanket and showed no visible signs of trauma. DNA tests determined that the child's mother was "Jane Doe No. 3", whose body was found 10 miles east, near Jones Beach State Park.^[44] She was reported to be "non-Caucasian" and was wearing earrings and a necklace.^[19]
• "Jane Doe No. 3": On April 11, police in Nassau County discovered dismembered skeletal human remains inside a plastic bag near Jones Beach State Park. DNA analysis identified this victim as the mother of "Baby Doe." ^[44] She was found wearing similar jewelry to "Baby Doe." ^[18]
• "Jane Doe No. 7": Also on April 11, at nearby Tobay Beach, a separate human skull and several teeth were recovered.^[20][40] These remains were linked by DNA testing to a set of severed legs found in a garbage bag on Fire Island on April 20, 1996.^[44]

Other possible victims

These additional cases have not been officially linked to the other 10 bodies, but are being considered by police:

• On June 28, 1997, the dismembered torso of an unidentified young African-American female was found at Hempstead Lake State Park, in the town of Lakeview. The torso was found in a green plastic Rubbermaid container, which was dumped next to a road along the west side of the lake. Investigators reported that the victim had a tattoo of a heart-shaped peach with a bite out of it and two drips falling from its core on her left breast. Her head and limbs were never found, the identity of the victim was never determined, and she is referred to as "Peaches" by investigators.^[45]
• On March 3, 2007, a suitcase containing the dismembered torso of an unidentified Hispanic or light-skinned African-American female washed up on a beach at Harbor Island Park, in the town of Mamaroneck. The victim had a tattoo of two cherries on her left breast that was similar in appearance to the tattoo found on Peaches, and was determined to have been stabbed to death. Never identified, the victim is referred to as "Cherries" by investigators. One of her dismembered legs washed up at Cold Spring Harbor on March 21, and her other leg washed up at Oyster Bay in the village of Cove Neck the following day. Both "Peaches" and "Cherries" were dismembered in a fashion similar to that of Jessica Taylor and "Jane Doe No. 6," and both are possibly linked to the other 10 official victims.^[45][46]
• On May 17, 2011, the New York Post reported that Long Island police are now revisiting at least two other similar unsolved murders of prostitutes. The only victim named in the article was Tanya Rush, 39, a mother of three from Brooklyn whose dismembered body was found in a small suitcase in June, 2008 on the shoulder of the Southern State Parkway in Bellmore, New York. Police refused to reveal information about the other case.^[47]
• Shannan Maria Gilbert (October 24, 1986 – May 1, 2010) was an escort who may have been a victim the Long Island serial killer. She left for a client's residence in Oak Beach after midnight on May 1, 2010. At 4:51 in the morning, 911 dispatchers received a panicked phone call from Gilbert who can be heard saying that there was someone "after her" and that "they" were trying to kill her. She was last seen a short time later banging on the front door of a nearby Oak Beach residence and screaming for help before running off into the night.^[48] After nineteen months of searching, police found Gilbert's remains in a marsh, half a mile away from where she was last seen.^[49] In May 2012, the Suffolk County medical examiners ruled that Shannan drowned while she ran through the marsh in a drug induced panic, ruling her death as "death by misadventure" or "inconclusive." Her family believes she was murdered.^[50] On July 23, 2016, Gilbert's mother, Mari Gilbert, was murdered in her home in Ellenville, New York. Later that day, Shannan's younger sister, Sarra Elizabeth Gilbert, was arrested and charged with the murder of her mother.^[51] On November 15, 2012 a lawsuit was filed by Mari Gilbert (Shannan's mother) against the Suffolk County Police Department in the hopes of getting more answers about what happened to her daughter the night she went missing.^[52] Due to controversy surrounding the cause of Gilbert's death, in September 2014, famed forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden agreed to conduct an independent autopsy of Shannan Gilbert's remains in hopes of determining a clear cause of death.^[53] Upon examination of Gilbert's remains, Baden found damage to her Hyoid bone, suggesting that strangulation may have occurred. Baden also noted that her body was found face-up, which is not common for drowning victims. Despite this, her death is still officially listed as an accident.^[54]

• On January 23, 2013, a woman walking her dog found human remains intentionally buried in a small piece of brush in a sandy area along the shore at the end of Sheep Lane in Lattingtown, near Oyster Bay. The remains are believed to be of a woman between the ages of 20 and 30, possibly Asian. She was wearing a 22 karat gold pig pendant which may be a reference in Asian culture to "The Year of the Pig." This leads some to believe she died at the age of 29. There was trauma caused to her bones; investigators believe she was buried before Hurricane Sandy in late 2012. Her case may be connected to the other 10 bodies found 32 miles away in and around Gilgo Beach.^[55]
• On March 16, 2013, a 31-year-old woman, later identified as Natasha Jugo, was last seen leaving her home near Alley Pond Park, Queens. Her car was found along Ocean Parkway and some of her clothes and belongings were found in the sand near Gilgo Beach the following day. Jugo was described as 5-feet, 7-inches tall, 120 pounds with brown eyes and blonde hair. She was last seen wearing a black robe, pink pajamas, gray hooded sweatshirt, black coat, and black boots. Police are unsure whether the case is connected to the victims of the Long Island Serial Killer. Jugo's family mentioned that she had "a history of problems in which she thought people were following her." ^[56][57] On June 24, 2013, Jugo's body washed up on Gilgo Beach.^[58]

See also

• The Killing Season (A&E 2016)

References

External links

• Hannaford, Alex. Who will catch the Long Island Serial Killer?. GQ Magazine, November 18, 2011.
• Kolker, Robert. A Serial Killer in Common, Nymag.com, May 29, 2011.
• Gallucci, Jaclyn. Girls Disappearing: Behind The Headlines Of The Long Island Serial Killer Case Long Island Press, July 12, 2012.
• Gallucci, Jaclyn. Lost Girls: When Women Go Missing, Some Matter, Prostitutes Don't Long Island Press, October 21, 2010.
• Google (January 20, 2015). "Locations and dates of remains' discoveries on Long Island" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 20, 2015.