Possible Victim: Valerie Mack, 24, Manorville Jane Doe #6, missing 2000, found Nov 2000 & Gilgo Beach Apr 2011

[eagleyeseymour]

I wouldn't mistake missing persons reports as an indication of closeness. I've heard of parents who were deluded into believing their child was a runaway and will return to them when they're good and ready even if it's been 30 years because they don't want to contemplate foul play involved in their child's sudden absence. I think it was the Tammy Jo Alexander case where the only reason a missing persons report was filed in 2014 was because a high school friend and half-sister made it happen. Her mother never filed one because her mother was a mess. Totally possible they assumed she left town for a "better life somewhere else," as cliched as that belief is, or they tried to file and just got no traction from cops who didn't want to listen. Who knows?

Fair point, however, these instances where beloved family members do not file a missing persons report are the anomaly. Often unreported missing persons are people who are estranged from their families or in the foster care system.

Curious to learn more about Mack and what the circumstances were surrounding her disappearance. If she was last seen in "Spring" or "Summer" by her family, that indicates to me they couldn't have been very close. I know if any of my loved ones disappeared without a trace, I'd remember when I last saw them.

 

[eagleyeseymour]

So why do you feel he felt the need to spread the parts out like that ? Why not just dump them on the parkway, or Manorville area ? Why travel such a distance with body parts in your vehicle? We know the risk of that from another famous LISK. I also think this person doesn't own a boat (or at least not a lifetime, avid boater) as some are so certain of. If there were a boat available, I would think a watery grave would be far more permanent. Remember early on when so many were insisting the bodies were placed on the parkway via boat ? That was the most ridiculous assertion I remember. Anyone guessing that has clearly never been to Ocean parkway

The primary reason for dismemberment is to delay or prevent identification of the victim. So scattering ALL the remains in one area is counterproductive. If I put all of the pieces of a puzzle on the table for you, it's easier for you to complete the puzzle. Now if some of the pieces are under the sofa, behind the cabinet, in your neighbors bushes, it's much harder to put the puzzle together.

 

[jollyjustice]

Valerie Mack went missing in 2000, Jessica Taylor went missing a few weeks before her body was found in July 2003.

This would have been before websites like Craigslist were a thing, so if they both have prostitution records in AC it’s quite possible that they frequented the same places while working and possibly knew each other.

Then again Taylor is an extremely common last name. Jessica was 20 when she went missing in 2003 and Mack went missing in 2000, so for them to have known each other Jessica Taylor would have to have been working as a prostitute until she was at least 17 years old, probably earlier.

 

[Blueeyedbrowngirl]

Rest in peace, Valerie. Her photo haunts me but I’m glad that we have her name. Say their names and keep telling their stories; do it for Valerie, Jessica, Maureen, Megan, Melissa, Amber, and Shannan, and let’s return their given names to Peaches, Cherries, and the other Does.

Just thinking about the precious time and years James Burke wasted by not allowing the FBI to participate in the case is infuriating. I’m hopeful that the new administration in concert with strides in DNA technology will solve this case. At least the wheels appear to be turning these days.

Valerie was 5 feet tall and 100 lbs. so she’s definitely a part of the victim profile type/pattern. While I get that some killers have a definite type/look (think Ted Bundy), I wonder if LISK sought petite women because they were easier to handle/carry; maybe he’s a small guy and/or handicapped in some respect.

 

[Sallyla]

This is so sad. Her son must have only been 8 or 9 when she disappeared. She wasn’t reported missing so he must have spent 20 years thinking she didn’t care. He seems to have lost his Gran and Great Aunt recently too.

Interesting that there is another Melissa and another Taylor involved as victims seeing as she worked as Melissa Taylor.

Her size, looks, profession all seem to dovetail in with the preferences of the killer of the GB4.

Philadelphia though? I wonder if she had moved on to NY at the time she disappeared? And if the police are going to start looking at missing women or unidentified bodies in Pennsylvania too?

 

[weegee]

Just a thought and I may have got some details wrong so excuse me in advance. It looks like the three victims bittrolff was convicted of killing were killed early 90s and disposed of whole, so to speak. Could it be that as these victims were identified once they were found he changed his mo to dismember the early 2000 victims and spread the remains, to hinder identification. Obviously the torso remains were found fairly soon after, but the head and hands lay undiscovered on gilgo beach. Perhaps this made him think that gilgo was somewhere that bodies wouldn’t be found so he reverted back to his old mo of disposing of the bodies whole, but this time on gilgo not manorville as his experience told him they would not be discovered there. May explain the mo change over the years.

 

[jollyjustice]

Just a thought and I may have got some details wrong so excuse me in advance. It looks like the three victims bittrolff was convicted of killing were killed early 90s and disposed of whole, so to speak. Could it be that as these victims were identified once they were found he changed his mo to dismember the early 2000 victims and spread the remains, to hinder identification. Obviously the torso remains were found fairly soon after, but the head and hands lay undiscovered on gilgo beach. Perhaps this made him think that gilgo was somewhere that bodies wouldn’t be found so he reverted back to his old mo of disposing of the bodies whole, but this time on gilgo not manorville as his experience told him they would not be discovered there. May explain the mo change over the years.

I don’t think Bittrolff is responsible for the gilgo4. The other dismembered bodies were pretty much just thrown there, not much of an attempt made to hide them. Jessica Taylor’s torso was found on top of a pile of wood for example. They were also mutilated so yes the dismemberment was in an effort to disguise victims identities, one of the victims tattoos (possibly Jessica’s) was also mutilated in an effort to disguise her identity so that was definitely the purpose of this particular killer. No attempt to hide them, so it’s safe to say he probably didn’t plan on revisiting the bodies either as they could quickly be found.

With the gilgo4 the suspect went above and beyond to hide the bodies, they were all intact and not mutilated, their identities left intact. That possibly suggests the suspect might have been revisiting the bodies and reliving what he did to them, the gilgo4 were sort of his “trophies.” There were reports in the media that the gilgo4 were also buried but I don’t know if that’s true as I found some sources that say they weren’t and some that say they were.

Change in MO is possible and happens but a change as huge as what I stated further up doesn’t seem to be likely to me at least.
Bittrolffs victims were also found intact from what I remember. They were missing their left shoes and their bodies posed in very sexual manners.

This is all just my opinion obviously.​

 

[PreciousDust]

Almost against all odds, IMO, Valerie not being one of Bittrolff’s victims.

Yes, this ID didn't move the needle either way. There's still two bodies found near Bittrolff's stomping grounds and Gilgo, but now we know the name of one of them. Would've helped if she was a Long Island woman, but we'll see if anyone she knew comes forward with anything helpful.

 

[jessr927]

I was typing faster than I was thinking. I don't think necessarily that Valerie knew Jessica Taylor, but I do think they knew the same people, connected to Atlantic City and NY.

 

[PreciousDust]

I don’t think Bittrolff is responsible for the gilgo4.

​

I agree with this, the Gilgo 4 seem like a local did it, somehow. And, if there was any connection between Shannan and a serial killer, it was the Gilgo 4 serial killer, not Bittrolff.

With the gilgo4 the suspect went above and beyond to hide the bodies...

Here I don't agree...in fact, I think those bodies were thrown as far as possible from a pick-up truck that parked right alongside the brush on the side of the road. There was no revisiting to be done there, you'd be covered with ticks if you tried to battle two feet into it. Maybe the killer drove by that area later to get his jollies, but I doubt it <modsnip>.

 

[SharD]

She surely looks like this type, and quite a bit like ms. Brainard-Barnes.

And, surprisingly, not at all like the composition drawing. No wonder it took so long to identify her.

 

[jollyjustice]

I agree with this, the Gilgo 4 seem like a local did it, somehow. And, if there was any connection between Shannan and a serial killer, it was the Gilgo 4 serial killer, not Bittrolff.





​

Here I don't agree...in fact, I think those bodies were thrown as far as possible from a pick-up truck that parked right alongside the brush on the side of the road. There was no revisiting to be done there, you'd be covered with ticks if you tried to battle two feet into it. Maybe the killer drove by that area later to get his jollies, but I doubt it<modsnip>

By revisiting I meant driving by, or walking along the area. I know the bodies were dumped in an extremely harsh environment, the brambles, the ticks, the poison ivy. Which I think shows that he wanted to make sure those bodies weren’t going to be found easily because I mean, who’s going to be walking around in that just because? Not to mention pulling over your vehicle and throwing them out, there’s not really much cover there.

 

[SharD]

More pictures of Valerie in this article;

Investigators use DNA, genetic genealogy to ID another victim of Long Island serial murders

 

[SharD]

More pictures of Valerie in this article;

Investigators use DNA, genetic genealogy to ID another victim of Long Island serial murders

Poor girl, I can clearly see she did not have an easy life. And no one reported her missing.

 

[Manwel]

Fair point, however, these instances where beloved family members do not file a missing persons report are the anomaly. Often unreported missing persons are people who are estranged from their families or in the foster care system.

Curious to learn more about Mack and what the circumstances were surrounding her disappearance. If she was last seen in "Spring" or "Summer" by her family, that indicates to me they couldn't have been very close. I know if any of my loved ones disappeared without a trace, I'd remember when I last saw them.

Sure, but every family is different. The NY Daily News article says she was never reported as a missing person but her family and friends were "left searching for answers." I mean, it might also be that they assumed she was dead since she disappeared without a trace. Instead of filing a report, they just assumed the worst. Depending on education level and background, they may not have considered what value there would be in filing that report. Especially if they knew what work she was engaged in. They never would have imagined their relative would receive publicity as a victim of an unnamed serial killer 20 years later, or that a missing persons report would have made this process easier. It just depends on the family and what they think they'll get from it. Unfortunately they made that call for some reason.

If we go back to assuming she was close with the family and she visited the Port Republic area frequently, then yeah, I would definitely look at the hours and days after she left as an indication of her abduction. But given the profile on this killer—picks up women in the sex industry—he's not likely to have found her near her parents' house in Jersey. She probably returned to Philadelphia and then did a job in NYC. That adds to the theory that the killer works or even lives in NYC, at least part-time, given that she was found in Manorville/Gilgo. I find it hard to believe that a Philadelphia-based escort would travel to NYC and then even further out onto Long Island for a job. Coming into NYC from Philly is easy, but then traveling out to Long Island? Waste of train time.

 

[Angela_Beckett]

she was so young, also petite and that article says she was a Craigslist escort just like the G4.

More pictures of Valerie in this article;

Investigators use DNA, genetic genealogy to ID another victim of Long Island serial murders

 

[eagleyeseymour]

Sure, but every family is different. The NY Daily News article says she was never reported as a missing person but her family and friends were "left searching for answers." I mean, it might also be that they assumed she was dead since she disappeared without a trace. Instead of filing a report, they just assumed the worst. Depending on education level and background, they may not have considered what value there would be in filing that report. Especially if they knew what work she was engaged in. They never would have imagined their relative would receive publicity as a victim of an unnamed serial killer 20 years later, or that a missing persons report would have made this process easier. It just depends on the family and what they think they'll get from it. Unfortunately they made that call for some reason.

If we go back to assuming she was close with the family and she visited the Port Republic area frequently, then yeah, I would definitely look at the hours and days after she left as an indication of her abduction. But given the profile on this killer—picks up women in the sex industry—he's not likely to have found her near her parents' house in Jersey. She probably returned to Philadelphia and then did a job in NYC. That adds to the theory that the killer works or even lives in NYC, at least part-time, given that she was found in Manorville/Gilgo. I find it hard to believe that a Philadelphia-based escort would travel to NYC and then even further out onto Long Island for a job. Coming into NYC from Philly is easy, but then traveling out to Long Island? Waste of train time.

Agree with you that for a lack of better terms, Mack was imported/transported to LI by someone who was very local to the area. This is also pretty consistent with Maureen and Melissa's disappearances. Theres also Jessica Taylor as well who disappeared from NYC, according to her bf/pimp he believed she actually disappeared from Queens Plaza.

I still believe that the guy responsible for this is not driving the ~5o miles out to the city to get them and bring them back, I believe he is already in the city and has a reason to be there (likely work or maybe even recreation) and it is very convenient for him to find prey and bring it back to his comfort zone. I'm not ruling out the possibility of her being picked up in AC either. AC is notorious for this kind of activity and as I mentioned, an extremely popular destination for people on Long Island.

It's no coincidence to me that the later victims (Amber & Megan) both disappeared from Suffolk County. This to me says that the rising popularity of the websites enabled the killer to find suitable victims that were more geographically convenient. I know these sites were around for sometime but it is possible the LISK wasn't used to navigating them and using them to find girls in Suffolk County until the later years.

 

[Sallyla]

I haven’t seen the Atlantic City links Jessr. Would you mind pointing me in the right direction? If there’s a solid link to AC, that could blow the whole think wide open.

 

[Fabra]

Why Macks region of origin is significant is because the Killer likely picked her up there and then brought her back to LI. Atlantic City is a popular destination for many along the eastern seaboard, and also happens to be where there is another unsolved case of 4 Sex Workers being dumped side by side, see: Eastbound Strangler.

Revisiting an old detail that might be relevant, considering: The AC4, for lack of a better term, were allegedly found in proximity to a copy of James Patterson's "Beach Road"--a murder mystery set in the Hamptons.


"The area where the women were found is strewn with trash. On Tuesday, the litter behind the Golden Key near the spot where the first body was found included an empty vodka bottle, a pair of black Jockey undershorts, a used condom wrapper and a battered copy of the James Patterson novel “Beach Road.”"

One of Four Women’s Bodies Identified in N.J.

A pointed taunt for LE?

.

 

[Arz]

This identification made me really believe the theory that there are 2 different killer. Does it make others feel like me too?
Valerie seems just like Jessica Taylor most likely they both were street walkers also they way they were killed and dismembered ...
I hope other details from Valerie life will come to life,i hate that we know so little about Jessica i hope this won't be the case for Valeria.