Long Island serial killer

Long Island serial killer
Other names The Gilgo Killer
The Gilgo Beach Killer
The Seashore Serial Killer
The Craigslist Ripper
Killings
Victims 10–17
Span of killings
c.1996 c.2009 2013 (possibly)–
Country United States
State(s) New York
Date apprehended
Unapprehended

The Long Island serial killer (also referred to by media sources as the Gilgo Beach Killer or the Craigslist Ripper) is an unidentified suspected American 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 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 1st 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 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

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

Unidentified

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 clothes 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 five to 10 years.[18]

Other possible victims

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

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.[51] 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.[52] 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.[53]

References

  1. "8 Sets Of Remains Now Found On Beach". WNYW. Archived from the original on April 7, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  2. "3 More Sets of Human Remains Found on New York Beach". Fox News. April 4, 2011. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  3. "Cops Confirm New Remains Human; Skull Also Found Along Ocean Parkway". CBS New York. April 11, 2011. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  4. "Latest Remains Found on N.Y. Beach Could be Victims of Another Long Island Serial Killer", foxnews.com; retrieved April 13, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Goldstein, Joseph (May 9, 2011). "Identifying Another Victim, Officials Raise Possibility of a 2nd L.I. Killer". The New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  6. "Police suspect murder victims found on Long Island's Gilgo Beach were murdered by single serial killer", nydailynews.com; retrieved November 30, 2011.
  7. "NY beach community becomes dumping ground of death", Associated Press. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  8. Amy Brittain Jersey City prostitute still missing after 13 months of searching, New Jersey On-Line, June 12, 2011.
  9. Joel Rose, On Long Island, Police Search For Missing Woman, npr.org, April 10, 2011.
  10. 1 2 Michael Amon, Matthew Chayes, Chau Lam, Paul Larocco, Tania Lopez, Jennifer Smith & Andrew Strickler (April 30, 2011). "Gilbert vanishing reaches one-year mark". Newsday.com. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  11. "Officer and His Dog Play Key Role in Hunt for Remains", New York Times, April 18, 2011; retrieved April 23, 2011.
  12. "Long Island Serial Killer: Discovery of Three More Bodies on Beach Raises Number of Possible Victims to Eight". ABC News. April 4, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
  13. "Shannan Gilbert not among new LI bodies, police say". Abclocal.go.com. April 5, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
  14. "Police expand Gilgo probe into Nassau". Newsday.com. April 6, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
  15. "More remains found in serial killer investigation"; retrieved April 11, 2011.
  16. "Human teeth found in serial killer search in New York", reuters.com; retrieved April 23, 2011.
  17. "Police raise reward in Long Island serial killer case". CNN.com; retrieved June 17, 2011.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Algar, Selim (September 21, 2011). "Two More Faces of Death:LI detectives release new sketches of victims in hunt for serial slayer". New York Post. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  19. 1 2 3 "Suffolk Cops Getting Tips in LI Serial Killer Probe". LongIslandPress.com. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  20. 1 2 "Investigators Believe Single Serial Killer Behind Gilgo Beach Bodies", nbcnewyork.com; retrieved November 30, 2011.
  21. "FBI joins 'Long Island serial killer' investigation", Fox News; retrieved December 11, 2015.
  22. 1 2 Fernandez, Manny; Baker, Al (April 21, 2011). "Bright, Careful and Sadistic: Profiling Long Island's Mystery Serial Killer". New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  23. "Police say New York may have two serial killers" The Independent. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  24. 1 2 "Rifkin: 'I have nothing to do with' victims". Newsday.com. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  25. "Long Island serial killer? Medical Examiner to study unidentified beach-area remains", cbsnews.com; accessed April 12, 2011.
  26. Hawkins, Kristal (July 12, 2007). "Maureen Brainard-Barnes — The Long Island Ripper". Trutv.com. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  27. "Faces of the Gilgo victims". Newsday. April 30, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  28. "DA: Norwich woman likely a victim of serial killer", Norwichbulletin.com; retrieved April 27, 2011.
  29. "Three more human remains found on Long Island". WABC-TV. April 4, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
  30. "Drawn to city's glamour, cut down by serial killer". Wall Street Journal. January 24, 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  31. Rashbaum, William K.; Goldstein, Joseph (April 8, 2011). "Prostitutes' killer seen as versed in police techniques". New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  32. 1 2 "Police find more victims of suspected Long Island serial killer". BNO News. April 4, 2011. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  33. "Terror on Long Island" Newsweek; retrieved April 27, 2011.
  34. Pete Samson (February 11, 2012). "Call girl: I'll be the bait to lure my sister's killer". London, UK: thesun.co.uk. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  35. "Cops: Long Island Bodies May Be From More Than One Killer". ABC News. April 11, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  36. "Bodies found at LI beaches (map)". Newsday.com. April 11, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  37. Mead, Julia C. (14 December 2003). "4 Bodies Leave Hamlet On Edge". nytimes.com.
  38. Mead, Julia C. (February 8, 2004). "A Manorville Body Is Identified - NYTimes.com". nytimes.com.
  39. Long Island's Other Serial Killer, LongIslandPress.com; accessed April 9, 2016.
  40. 1 2 3 "Bodies found at LI beaches". Newsday. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  41. "'Craigslist Ripper' police reveal at least TWO killers dumped bodies on Long Island beach as new victim is identified", dailymail.co.uk; retrieved May 9, 2011.
  42. 11 Bodies 2 years later, LI Serial Killer Still on the Loose, Fox19.com; accessed April 9, 2016.
  43. "Among Bodies Discarded on a Beach, One That Doesn't Fit", New York Times; retrieved May 30, 2011.
  44. 1 2 3 Pursuing Identities, Police Disclose Details about LI victims, nytimes.com, September 21, 2011.
  45. 1 2 "Long Island Serial Killer: Two Ocean Parkway Bodies Still Await Identification". Long Island Press. May 11, 2011.
  46. "The Doe Network: 605UFNY". doenetwork.org. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
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  48. ""48 Hours" uncovers missing escort Shannan Gilbert's final minutes". cbsnews.com. July 20, 2013.
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  50. Shannan Gilbert's Cause of Death "Undetermined", nbcnewyork.com; accessed April 9, 2016.
  51. Algar, Selim (November 15, 2012). "Family of Gilgo Beach serial killer victim Shannan Gilbert files lawsuit against physician". New York Post.
  52. Cristina Corbin (September 18, 2014). "Famed coroner Baden seeks to autopsy remains of Craigslist escort". Fox News.
  53. Prostitute found dead near NY serial killer's dumping ground, foxnews.com, March 12, 2015.
  54. "Gold pig necklace key to revealing ID of remains found in Lattingtown, though serial killer connection undetermined". N.Y. Daily News (New York). Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  55. "Natasha Jugo Identified As Missing Queens Woman Whose Car Was Found Near Gilgo Beach". The Huffington Post. March 19, 2013.
  56. Timothy Bolger (March 18, 2013). "Gilgo Beach Missing Woman ID'd by Police". the Long Island Press. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
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External links

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