Suffolk County police are expanding their investigation into accused serial killer Rex Heuermann to determine whether he may have been involved in the deaths of two additional female sex workers, whose bodies were found scattered on Long Island.
Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison assigned two additional investigators to the Gilgo Beach task force to prioritize work on the backgrounds of suspected victims Valerie Mack and Karen Vergata, he told Newsday.
Additional officers are also working to check “numerous” tips, while others are trying to identify the bodies of three other bodies found near Gilgo Beach.
“I think it’s a good idea to bring in some people from the outside to look at other possible things, potentially attached to Rex Heuermann,” Harrison said.
“This is something that I need – a team of dedicated investigators to prioritize, come to work – will not do anything, but look to see if you can attach them to their place of origin,” he added.
“Once we get that, then maybe we’ll move on either [the bodies] be something that Rex Heuermann might be involved in or identify other subjects that might be involved.”
Karen Vergata, 34, was identified as the alleged victim of Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann in August. Suffolk County Police are investigating the whereabouts of Valerie Mack in the days leading up to her disappearance. Investigators are working to determine a possible connection between the woman and Heuermann.AP
Harrison said two additional officers assigned to the task force were investigating the activities of sex workers Valerie Mack and Karen Vergata before their deaths.
Mack, 24, went missing from her New Jersey home in the summer of 2000, and her dismembered body was found in two different locations across Long Island — including along Ocean Parkway, which borders Gilgo Beach.
In recent weeks, Tricia Hazen, Mack’s younger sister, said task force detectives asked her about Mack’s family history, since he was adopted, and collected copies of letters Mack sent to different family members.
Investigators told him they were trying to build a timeline showing where Mack went, Hazen said.
“This is not going to be solved overnight,” he told Newsday, adding: “I’m grateful for the deep dive into Valerie and the other women killed.”
Valerie Mack’s half-sister said investigators have contacted her in recent weeks as they try to build a timeline showing where she traveled. Facebook / Remembering Valerie Mack Mack’s dismembered remains were found in two different locations across Long Island — including along Ocean Parkway, which borders Gilgo Beach.AP Karen Vergata’s body was found on Fire Island in April 1996, but her skull will be found several years later along Ocean Parkway.AP
Harrison also said the task force was trying to determine how the dismembered body of Vergata, 34, was found on Pulau Api in April 1996.
His skull would be found years later, in April 2011, along Ocean Parkway.
Two sets of Vergata’s remains were linked by DNA analysis in July 2011, and later definitively identified thanks to genetic genealogy and relative buccal swabs in October 2022, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said at an August news conference.
He is believed to have disappeared around February 14, 1996, but was never reported missing.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney identified Vergata as a potential victim of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann in August. Kevin C. Downs for the NY Post Tierney said Vergata disappeared on February 14, 1996, but was never reported missing.AP
“We have to look at what happened on Fire Island and see the investigation and how it went from Fire Island to Ocean Parkway,” Harrison told Newday.
“We will continue to work hard to see if we can attach the other unidentified bodies found on Ocean Parkway, so it is still a work in progress,” he added.
Who are the victims of Gilgo Beach?
Suspected serial killer Rex Heuermann – a New York City architect and married father of two – has been arrested in connection with the long-unsolved Gilgo Beach murders. The arrests are tied to the so-called “Gilgo Four,” women who were found wrapped in burlap within days of each other in late 2010.
The years-long investigation that led to the arrests revolved around the discovery of more than 10 sets of human remains along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach in Suffolk County between December 2010 and April 2011.
Most victims are petite female sex workers with green or hazel eyes. But there are also two exceptions: a 2-year-old girl and a young Asian boy.
Melissa Barthelemy, 24
- Barthelemy is a sex worker who lives in the Unionport section of the Bronx and dreams of one day opening her own beauty salon. He was last seen alive in his basement apartment on Underhill Avenue on July 12, 2009.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25
- Brainard-Barnes had lived in Norwich, Connecticut. He disappeared after boarding an Amtrak train from New London, Connecticut, to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan on July 6, 2007.
Amber Lynn Costello, 27
- Costello, 27, was a sex worker and heroin addict who lived in West Babylon, New York, in a house with a woman and two men. He advertised on Craigslist and Backpage to support his and his roommate’s drug habit. Costello was found in December 2010 after last being seen leaving his home in September.
Megan Waterman, 22
- Waterman, a 22-year-old mother of one, was last seen on June 6, 2010. She lives in Scarborough, Maine, and makes a living as an escort. He was last seen by his family on a Concord Trailways bus bound for New York in Maine. Her body was found on December 13, 2010, on the north side of Ocean Parkway, near Gilgo Beach.
Jessica Taylor, 20
- The remains of Jessica Taylor, a 20-year-old woman who worked as an escort in New York City, were found in a wooded area in Manorville on July 26, 2003. Additional remains – initially labeled “Jane Doe No. 5” – were found on March 29, 2011, along Ocean Parkway.
Valerie Mack, 24
- Valerie Mack was 24 years old and living in Philadelphia when she disappeared. She works as an escort, using the alias “Melissa Taylor.” Relatives last saw Mack in the spring or summer of 2000 in Port Republic, New Jersey, but he was never reported missing to police. Her partially skeletal remains were found in Manorville in September 2000 but were initially identified as “Jane Doe No. 6.”
Unidentified Asian man
- The skeletal remains of an unidentified Asian man were found along Ocean Parkway on April 4, 2011. The man is believed to be between 17 and 23 years old at the time of his death. He was about 5 feet 6 inches tall with bad teeth.
‘Peaches’ and her daughter
- The partial body of an African American woman was found in Hempstead Lake State Park in 1997, and she was known as “Peaches” because of a peach-bitten tattoo on her left breast. On April 4, 2011, police found the body of a small child, who was about 2 years old at the time of his death. DNA testing confirmed that one of the skeletons was that of the 2-year-old girl’s mother, “Peaches.”
Karen Vergata
- A victim previously referred to as Jane Doe No. 7 has been identified as 34-year-old Manhattan woman Karen Vergata. Vergata is believed to have disappeared around February 14, 1996, two months later her foot was found in a plastic bag in a park near Blue Point Beach on Fire Island. At the time of her disappearance, Vergata was believed to be working as an escort.
Shannan Gilbert, 23 years old
- Gilbert is a Craigslist escort living in Jersey City, traveling with her driver Michael Pak from Manhattan to meet a client, Joseph Brewer, at his home in Oak Beach Association on the morning of May 1, 2010. She spoke with two neighbors before disappearing. Her body was found in a marsh near Oak Beach — about half a mile from where she was last seen alive — on December 13, 2011.
Three unidentified bodies found near Gilgo Beach included a woman referred to as “Peaches” because of the tattoos she had, a small child identified as her son, and an Asian man.
Officials say genetic genealogy is being used to identify victims – particularly in the case of Peaches, who they say may have relatives in Alabama.
The Post has reached out to Heuermann’s attorney for comment.
Heuermann has already been charged in the deaths of (counterclockwise from top left) Amber Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy. He is also considered the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25.
He had previously been arrested and charged with murder in the deaths of three women found dumped along Gilgo Beach in December 2010: Megan Waterman, 22, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Amber Lynn Costello, 27.
Heuermann, 59, is also considered the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25.
He has pleaded not guilty, but prosecutors say a DNA sample he was ordered to take matched DNA from a pizza crust found outside his office in Midtown Manhattan in July — which, in turn, matched hair found on Waterman’s body in 2010.
Heuermann is due back in court on November 15.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
