Shannan Gilbert Found, death declared an accident. #2

[PreciousDust]

I'm posting this because I'm interested in your comments about it; maybe you can help me add some pieces to a puzzle. I can't be too specific now, and I know that's frustrating - obviously it impedes your ability to assess my remarks; I hope I can be more forthcoming soon. Until recently, I was only peripherally aware of the Oak Beach killings, as I no longer live on Long Island. But a few weeks ago I did a sort of "where are they now" search on someone I once knew; he was sort of a scary person, and probably the first person I would've thought of if playing the "who from your hometown would you imagine to be a serial killer" game. When seeing that the internet info for this person (I'll call him POI from here on) showed an Oak Beach address for sometime after the period I knew him, I remembered the news stories about the serial killings. At which point I easily found a reference to the POI and burlap; he had access to plenty of it. Wondering if he might actually be a suspect in the case, on a lark I Google'd his name with the word "killer", immediately turning up a very odd claim by a blogger that my POI is the killer. I wrote the blogger twice, and he hasn't responded. My curiosity piqued, and already armed with my own knowledge of the POI, I continued to look into his activities over recent years, and he seems more and more like "a fit". Familiarity with the Oak Beach/Gilgo area? Check. Apartment in NYC? Check. Familiarity with police procedures (though he's not a cop or ex-cop), technologically savvy, independently wealthy, intelligent, persuasive and manipulative? "Checks" all around (the only major thing that differs from the standard LISK profiles I see is the age - this guy would have been slightly older). And, as I say, a bad apple, who was involved in two businesses (one illegal, one not) that are intrinsically related to the world that prostitutes live in. Another thing about my POI - he's dead, having passed away early last year. There are some odd things about that (the death, I mean, like no obits or funeral notices, but I guess I can understand that), and if I ever wrote a fictionalized novel of this I'd have all sorts of curious tangents to employ as plot lines.
Anyway, I looked into it for a couple of weeks (on the net, and by talking to other people who had known the POI); I was trying to stay objective about it even as my certainty that it was at least a "hot lead" grew. The POI would surely, I surmised, be someone the police were already looking at; he'd had run-in's with the law previously. Still, I gave the TIPS line a call, but decided not to give them my story because I wasn't particularly impressed with the person I spoke with (and that could just be my personal experience, they might be top-notch otherwise). I dug around online for a Suffolk homicide number, discovered that the ones I was dialing weren't working, and finally got a good number from the front-desk of my hometown's police department. I spoke to a homicide detective who assured me he'd relay the information to the proper department. After a week, when I discovered a new link that was probably more significant than anything I'd already described to the detective, I called that detective back; he suggested I email him some information, which I did. After about another week went by (with, obviously, no contact from anyone), I called someone who is not a policeman but who would know them, and who would have a professional interest in seeing that good leads are pursued; someone who is, from what I can see on the net, a respected and competent person. Well, my story pretty much blew him away; he said that he'd heard so many stories about the LISK, but that mine really had something to it. He said he knows all the people on the task force dedicated to this crime, and that he'd be able to find out right away if my POI's name was in the database being worked. So I sent him a long email with links and pics. He got back to me saying that he'd forwarded my info to a certain detective (so, by inference, perhaps that means that my POI's name was not being looked at), and that he considered it likely that the detective would contact me. More than a week has gone by, and I've not been contacted.
That's where it stands now. Maybe I'll be contacted next week, or maybe never. I can't very well keep prodding my recent contact, as he's done what he can to alert the police of my lead. In fact, other than write a fictionalized novel about it (and I'm only half-kidding there), I guess there's not much else I can do. To the extent that I can, I'd be happy to answer questions you might have about my POI, though I'm not about to name him here or privately at this time; he did have a family. I'll say (maddeningly!) that I can see this POI not being a serial killer proper, perhaps more driven by a "motive" for dumping bodies where he did.

 

[Seaslug44]

I'm posting this because I'm interested in your comments about it; maybe you can help me add some pieces to a puzzle. I can't be too specific now, and I know that's frustrating - obviously it impedes your ability to assess my remarks; I hope I can be more forthcoming soon. Until recently, I was only peripherally aware of the Oak Beach killings, as I no longer live on Long Island. But a few weeks ago I did a sort of "where are they now" search on someone I once knew; he was sort of a scary person, and probably the first person I would've thought of if playing the "who from your hometown would you imagine to be a serial killer" game. When seeing that the internet info for this person (I'll call him POI from here on) showed an Oak Beach address for sometime after the period I knew him, I remembered the news stories about the serial killings. At which point I easily found a reference to the POI and burlap; he had access to plenty of it. Wondering if he might actually be a suspect in the case, on a lark I Google'd his name with the word "killer", immediateWly turning up a very odd claim by a blogger that my POI is the killer. I wrote the blogger twice, and he hasn't responded. My curiosity piqued, and already armed with my own knowledge of the POI, I continued to look into his activities over recent years, and he seems more and more like "a fit". Familiarity with the Oak Beach/Gilgo area? Check. Apartment in NYC? Check. Familiarity with police procedures (though he's not a cop or ex-cop), technologically savvy, independently wealthy, intelligent, persuasive and manipulative? "Checks" all around (the only major thing that differs from the standard LISK profiles I see is the age - this guy would have been slightly older). And, as I say, a bad apple, who was involved in two businesses (one illegal, one not) that are intrinsically related to the world that prostitutes live in. Another thing about my POI - he's dead, having passed away early last year. There are some odd things about that (the death, I mean, like no obits or funeral notices, but I guess I can understand that), and if I ever wrote a fictionalized novel of this I'd have all sorts of curious tangents to employ as plot lines.
Anyway, I looked into it for a couple of weeks (on the net, and by talking to other people who had known the POI); I was trying to stay objective about it even as my certainty that it was at least a "hot lead" grew. The POI would surely, I surmised, be someone the police were already looking at; he'd had run-in's with the law previously. Still, I gave the TIPS line a call, but decided not to give them my story because I wasn't particularly impressed with the person I spoke with (and that could just be my personal experience, they might be top-notch otherwise). I dug around online for a Suffolk homicide number, discovered that the ones I was dialing weren't working, and finally got a good number from the front-desk of my hometown's police department. I spoke to a homicide detective who assured me he'd relay the information to the proper department. After a week, when I discovered a new link that was probably more significant than anything I'd already described to the detective, I called that detective back; he suggested I email him some information, which I did. After about another week went by (with, obviously, no contact from anyone), I called someone who is not a policeman but who would know them, and who would have a professional interest in seeing that good leads are pursued; someone who is, from what I can see on the net, a respected and competent person. Well, my story pretty much blew him away; he said that he'd heard so many stories about the LISK, but that mine really had something to it. He said he knows all the people on the task force dedicated to this crime, and that he'd be able to find out right away if my POI's name was in the database being worked. So I sent him a long email with links and pics. He got back to me saying that he'd forwarded my info to a certain detective (so, by inference, perhaps that means that my POI's name was not being looked at), and that he considered it likely that the detective would contact me. More than a week has gone by, and I've not been contacted.
That's where it stands now. Maybe I'll be contacted next week, or maybe never. I can't very well keep prodding my recent contact, as he's done what he can to alert the police of my lead. In fact, other than write a fictionalized novel about it (and I'm only half-kidding there), I guess there's not much else I can do. To the extent that I can, I'd be happy to answer questions you might have about my POI, though I'm not about to name him here or privately at this time; he did have a family. I'll say (maddeningly!) that I can see this POI not being a serial killer proper, perhaps more driven by a "motive" for dumping bodies where he did.

Interesting story. You might want to post it in the rumor mill or another thread. It will get lost posting it here since it is off topic and has nothing to do with SG's cause of death. Peter just started a "GB4 Only" discussion. That would be a better place for us to discuss your POI.

 

[PreciousDust]

It will get lost posting it here since it is off topic and has nothing to do with SG's cause of death.

Well, it might, actually, but you're right that it's better @ the "GB4 Only" thread - I've reposted it there, thanks.

 

[Mountain_Kat]

Why would a serial killer who has been so good at covering his tracks and making himself virtually invisible all of a sudden use his real name and home phone when calling a victim's mother and sister?


Panic? Drunk dialing? A combo of the two?

 

[Peter Brendt]

Why would a serial killer who has been so good at covering his tracks and making himself virtually invisible all of a sudden use his real name and home phone when calling a victim's mother and sister?


Panic? Drunk dialing? A combo of the two?

Only, MG said nothing about SG was drunk and he had to be hefty drunk to be so stupid if he would be the LISK. And why panic? Why would a guy panic who had at this time at least three already parked at the beach? And why would he have the number of a victim's mother on HIS phone, which would be prerequisite for drunk dialing in the first place? We know from the case of Melissa Barthelmy, he used the VICTIM's phone, not his own. So, no way!

 

[Emre E]

Thanks admins and hi everyone.

I am a newb. I've read a fair deal of posts but I haven’t come across with something like the below, I hope I don’t overlap with someone else's post. I will try to keep it to the point.

I always had the idea that SG should have been spotted much earlier, in several ways.

For this exercise, you should have Google Earth readily installed.

Google Earth free download page. (in case you don’t have it)

http://www.google.com/earth/download/ge/agree.html

Run the installed version of Google Earth and zoom in on the area where Shannan's body was recovered.

I wonder if anybody has the coordinates, more accurate than those Google Earth pushpin images provided by SCPD.

Zoom in as much as possible. Below an altitude of 150 meters (Around 165 yards/500 feet) the image will start to distort. So be careful not to zoom in excessively.

You can see the trails of tracks. These belong to the equipment used by SCPD to cut out the shrubs. Normally, the width of the tracks should be about 700 mm. But I have seen a close up image of the gear and seems the track width is about 1 meter. Slightly wider than 3 feet. (BTW, US people are comfortable with meters and kilometers?)

As you can see, the tracks are easily noticed.

If you look to the lower left corner you'll see the date on which the photo is actually taken.

It is 3/7/2012

Now I will show a feature of Google Earth, which some of you may not be aware of.

Right to the date I referred above there is a clock and right to the clock, you'll see a button (a year showing the first image of the place, which is 1994 for this case). Click on it.

At the upper left corner, a watermark-like slider bar will appear.

Using this, you can check the pictures of the area throughout a period of time in retrospect.

The first image you'll get when you click the button, belongs to year 1994. It is a dark very poor quality image. Using the slider bar (clicking the right slider) you can move forward in time. Please go to the date 9/20/2010. (There are not much dates to select from)

Now, you have the image of the area taken on Sep 20th, 2010 (Like 5 months after Shannan's disappearance. According to the official explanation SG is out in the open).

You basically have a aerial image from 100 meters or so. Can somebody spot her remains?

Remember, a decomposing body will cover a wider (and probable discolored) spot than the actual body.

Also note > Hurricane Irene, Formed August 20, 2011, Dissipated August 28, 2011.

There is another free map provider as you know, Bing Maps

You can access it online.
http://www.bing.com/maps/

Current image of Bing Maps don’t show the track trails, because the image is older. From what I understood it belongs to Mar 2011.

Please click the following link and zoom in on the discovery area. Get as closer as you can. You'll see dates.
http://mvexel.dev.openstreetmap.org/bing/

You can also try the following but I assume most of them use the same Digital Globe resources.
http://www.flashearth.com/
http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/maps
http://www.shambles.net/pages/school/satellite/

Also, please keep in mind, paid versions of Google Earth and Bing may provide further capabilities. Anybody has Digital Globe membership, access?

I have lots of questions on this case, but I think I should cut the very first message here.

Hope somebody will come up with some insight on the above.

 

[Justiceforever]

I believe that Shannon Gilbert may very well have died due to the elements...although I believe that she was running from a very real danger. She obviously didn't trust her driver (nor do I), She certainly didn't trust her client (were they in cahoots?) For a girl in her profession to feel as if the only people she could trust (as evidenced by her 911 call) where the police, tells me she was GENUINLY afraid for her life! what puzzles me is why she ran after the neighbor said he called the police (she wasn't afraid of the police...she had already called them!) I wonder if before calling the police the neighbor may have called the man whos house she was running from maybe to try to figure out what was going on without involving authorities. If so this may have been what caused Shannon to panic and run again getting hopelessly lost and succumbing to the elements. I do not believe it was a drug induced or psychological breakdown however that caused her to fear for her life. It would be too much of a coinky dink that bodies were found alover the area after she "freaked out" What are your thoughts on this? (please overlooks my typos...I tried my best but am typing on my phone...little bitty keys...not so little fingers!) ; )

 

[hawkshaw]

When you are in fear of your life and it is coupled with drug use anything can happen, and probably will. I had a female crack head I interviewed that saw one of the most celebrated murders in NYPD history. She was right on the money as later proven by the facts.

I brought her into a back room with another detective to interview her. In the NYPD it is often difficult to find a quiet place to do such an interview. She was brought to a room that led to the police lockers. Cops would go into the room to get to their lockers. Each time the door opened she went berserk. She was in a police station and she thought the murderers were coming to kill her. She was so hysterical that it was hard to get her to articulate exactly what she saw. She was able to name the three shooters as she knew them from the neighborhood.

It soon became condition hopeless for me to get what I needed. I brought her back into the main room and suggested that the vice detectives that brought her in to continue the interview because she had a rapport with them. She was a hooker and they knew her well from the street. She had already given us the names of the three killers, but we had their names by then. Went to the photo book and picked them out.

I left for home. The bosses were aware of what she said. Incredibly, they sent her home. She refused to leave the precinct and remained throughout the night at the front desk, ranting and raving she was going to be killed. They were sending the only eyewitness back into the streets. A supervisor thought better of it and she was brought back to the squad room.

Fear can do a lot of things to the human brain. Couple that with drugs and a person can lose all sense. SG called the police. The homeowner called the police, and still she was hysterical when she should have thought she was safe.

The gal I spoke to was sitting in the middle of 59 cops and she thought she was going to be murdered.

 

[Peter Brendt]

I believe that Shannon Gilbert may very well have died due to the elements...although I believe that she was running from a very real danger. She obviously didn't trust her driver (nor do I), She certainly didn't trust her client (were they in cahoots?) For a girl in her profession to feel as if the only people she could trust (as evidenced by her 911 call) where the police, tells me she was GENUINLY afraid for her life! what puzzles me is why she ran after the neighbor said he called the police (she wasn't afraid of the police...she had already called them!) I wonder if before calling the police the neighbor may have called the man whos house she was running from maybe to try to figure out what was going on without involving authorities. If so this may have been what caused Shannon to panic and run again getting hopelessly lost and succumbing to the elements. I do not believe it was a drug induced or psychological breakdown however that caused her to fear for her life. It would be too much of a coinky dink that bodies were found alover the area after she "freaked out" What are your thoughts on this? (please overlooks my typos...I tried my best but am typing on my phone...little bitty keys...not so little fingers!) ; )

She was, in a call to 911 of at least 18 minutes, not able to tell, where she was, nor in whose house she was, nor in which part of LI at all. Then she ran out (and escaped by that for that moment all alleged, delusioned or whatever serial killers, who were unable to get their fingers out of thier noses in time because they fell half asleep waiting for SG to finish her chitchat with the police). Next thing, she outruns a fully blown SUV (on the asphalted part of the road, even while taking a detour through CPH's property) and makes it in time to Coletti's house (the SUV, having the shorter way needs still 5 minutes more). Coletti calls the police, but she can't wait. In fact, she hides already before Pak and the SUV (finally) arrive. And then she runs off, direction marsh.
So ... no ... this is paranoid delusional behavior, not escaping a real danger while in possession of all mental powers.

 

[Justiceforever]

I'm still not savvoy with this site so bear with me if I'm doing this wrong...I WILL eventually figure out how to reply the proper way to specific people...In the meantime this is in response to hawkshaws reply to my first comment...Wow! What a great example of the state of mind of someone who is terrified! So do you believe as was the case with the woman you spoke of, that Shannon had a legit reason to be afraid for her life? Or do you think she was just crazy or high as some have suggested and freaked out for no reason ?

 

[Justiceforever]

She was, in a call to 911 of at least 18 minutes, not able to tell, where she was, nor in whose house she was, nor in which part of LI at all. Then she ran out (and escaped by that for that moment all alleged, delusioned or whatever serial killers, who were unable to get their fingers out of thier noses in time because they fell half asleep waiting for SG to finish her chitchat with the police). Next thing, she outruns a fully blown SUV (on the asphalted part of the road, even while taking a detour through CPH's property) and makes it in time to Coletti's house (the SUV, having the shorter way needs still 5 minutes more). Coletti calls the police, but she can't wait. In fact, she hides already before Pak and the SUV (finally) arrive. And then she runs off, direction marsh.
So ... no ... this is paranoid delusional behavior, not escaping a real danger while in possession of all mental powers.

So then you believe that it was purely a coincidence that she was afraid for her lifein an environment where clearly there was a serial killer at work. It's possible for sure...but it's also possible, would you agree, that perhaps she was indeed in the company of the killer? And while drugs may have played a part in her confusion, legitimate fear may have came into play also?

 

[PreciousDust]

So then you believe that it was purely a coincidence that she was afraid for her lifein an environment where clearly there was a serial killer at work.

That's what the police, and lots of other people, believe.

...but it's also possible, would you agree, that perhaps she was indeed in the company of the killer? And while drugs may have played a part in her confusion, legitimate fear may have came into play also?

And lots of other people believe that.

 

[Seaslug44]

Thanks admins and hi everyone.

I am a newb. I've read a fair deal of posts but I haven’t come across with something like the below, I hope I don’t overlap with someone else's post. I will try to keep it to the point.

I always had the idea that SG should have been spotted much earlier, in several ways.

For this exercise, you should have Google Earth readily installed.

Google Earth free download page. (in case you don’t have it)

http://www.google.com/earth/download/ge/agree.html

Run the installed version of Google Earth and zoom in on the area where Shannan's body was recovered.

I wonder if anybody has the coordinates, more accurate than those Google Earth pushpin images provided by SCPD.

Zoom in as much as possible. Below an altitude of 150 meters (Around 165 yards/500 feet) the image will start to distort. So be careful not to zoom in excessively.

You can see the trails of tracks. These belong to the equipment used by SCPD to cut out the shrubs. Normally, the width of the tracks should be about 700 mm. But I have seen a close up image of the gear and seems the track width is about 1 meter. Slightly wider than 3 feet. (BTW, US people are comfortable with meters and kilometers?)

As you can see, the tracks are easily noticed.

If you look to the lower left corner you'll see the date on which the photo is actually taken.

It is 3/7/2012

Now I will show a feature of Google Earth, which some of you may not be aware of.

Right to the date I referred above there is a clock and right to the clock, you'll see a button (a year showing the first image of the place, which is 1994 for this case). Click on it.

At the upper left corner, a watermark-like slider bar will appear.

Using this, you can check the pictures of the area throughout a period of time in retrospect.

The first image you'll get when you click the button, belongs to year 1994. It is a dark very poor quality image. Using the slider bar (clicking the right slider) you can move forward in time. Please go to the date 9/20/2010. (There are not much dates to select from)

Now, you have the image of the area taken on Sep 20th, 2010 (Like 5 months after Shannan's disappearance. According to the official explanation SG is out in the open).

You basically have a aerial image from 100 meters or so. Can somebody spot her remains?

Remember, a decomposing body will cover a wider (and probable discolored) spot than the actual body.

Also note > Hurricane Irene, Formed August 20, 2011, Dissipated August 28, 2011.

There is another free map provider as you know, Bing Maps

You can access it online.
http://www.bing.com/maps/

Current image of Bing Maps don’t show the track trails, because the image is older. From what I understood it belongs to Mar 2011.

Please click the following link and zoom in on the discovery area. Get as closer as you can. You'll see dates.
http://mvexel.dev.openstreetmap.org/bing/

You can also try the following but I assume most of them use the same Digital Globe resources.
http://www.flashearth.com/
http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/maps
http://www.shambles.net/pages/school/satellite/

Also, please keep in mind, paid versions of Google Earth and Bing may provide further capabilities. Anybody has Digital Globe membership, access?

I have lots of questions on this case, but I think I should cut the very first message here.

Hope somebody will come up with some insight on the above.

Welcome Emre E.

I have been studying aerial photography of the island this entire case. I can tell you with certainty that the location where SG was found was more overgrown with a canopy of vegetation prior to the police investigators clearing the scene.

Here are the exact coordinates of where she was found;

Latitude: 40°38'23.61"N
Longitude: 73°16'15.95"W​

If you look on the most recent images you can actually see the memorial that her family has placed at this location. If you look at this exact location on any of the older images you can see that there is a canopy of vegetation blocking our view (making it impossible for us or the FBI helicopter to view her remains from the air).

We know from the recent 48 Hours Mystery episode that this location has at least eight inches of ground water. This amount of water would prevent the formation of that wider/darker image you were hoping to discover from when her body decomposed. Without the assistance of adequate overhead lighting and a special polarized lens, it would be highly unlikely that her image would show up under even a few inches of water (ground water usually appears as dark images on aerial photographs.

Trust me, I share the disappointment and frustration you are feeling not being able to see her remains in the earlier photographs.

 

[Justiceforever]

That's what the police, and lots of other people, believe.


And lots of other people believe that.

What do YOU believe Preciousdust?

 

[Peter Brendt]

So then you believe that it was purely a coincidence that she was afraid for her lifein an environment where clearly there was a serial killer at work. It's possible for sure...but it's also possible, would you agree, that perhaps she was indeed in the company of the killer? And while drugs may have played a part in her confusion, legitimate fear may have came into play also?

Correction: in an area, at least TWO serial killers were busy. Which is currently true for about 25% of the area of the US ... so ... ooops, not even counting the occasional amateur.
So, there can be everywhere a killer. But if there was one that night in Oak Beach, it would be the most inept killer ever and for sure not LISK or Manorville. And since all involved persons at least finished high school, none of them is diagnosed with any form of mental retardation, which would be definitively a must for that mess ... no, I think rather not!

 

[PreciousDust]

What do YOU believe Preciousdust?

I have no idea. I don't believe that JB or MP or the drifter or any of the neighbors that have been talked about killed SG, but I can't figure which is more odd:
1) a girl screaming "they're trying to kill me" winds up dead of natural causes very close to a SKs dump site (on its face, that just seems preposterous), or
2) a killer, or the SK himself, happens to be lurking around outside the house, then proceeds to kill SG and dump her in a manner that doesn't fit the SK's MO.

The only satisfying explanation would probably sound like something a fiction writer would get laughed at if he tried using it in a story; sometimes things like that do happen in the real world, though. If I had to make a wild guess, it would be that there's a chance that JB knows the killer, who may be the SK, though I still wouldn't know how to cobble together the rest of it.

 

[Justiceforever]

Correction: in an area, at least TWO serial killers were busy. Which is currently true for about 25% of the area of the US ... so ... ooops, not even counting the occasional amateur.
So, there can be everywhere a killer. But if there was one that night in Oak Beach, it would be the most inept killer ever and for sure not LISK or Manorville. And since all involved persons at least finished high school, none of them is diagnosed with any form of mental retardation, which would be definitively a must for that mess ... no, I think rather not!

For sure it' s a possiblity...maybe even a liklihood...please bear in mind I am only basing mho on what I have read... which at this point is limited. This is why I am joining the disscusion to learn your opinions, which by the way I respect. I have been reading through the threads and I am not opposed to the idea of two or more killers. Manorville( torso) and lisk. I was simplying voicing something that puzzled me about shannon in hopes of gainng some other insight. I don't expect nor hope that everyone see my pov...in fact I am very open to other povs.

 

[Justiceforever]

I have no idea. I don't believe that JB or MP or the drifter or any of the neighbors that have been talked about is the SK, but I can't figure which is more odd:
1) a girl screaming "they're trying to kill me" winds up dead of natural causes very close to an SKs dump site, or
2) an SK happens to be lurking around outside the house, then proceeds to kill SG and dump her in a manner that doesn't fit his MO.

The only satisfying explanation would probably sound like something a fiction writer would get laughed at if he tried using it in a story; sometimes things like that do happen in the real world, though. If I had to make a wild guess, I'd say there's a chance that JB knows the SK, though I still wouldn't know how to cobble together the rest of it.

I Know Right! It's all so very odd! I have been going round and round about it! It could very well be a coincidence but indeed a strange one!

 

[PreciousDust]

I Know Right! It's all so very odd! I have been going round and round about it! It could very well be a coincidence but indeed a strange one!

Yep, it's the veritable riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. And I think it gets murkier the longer you look at it. So I don't have to edit again, I'll fix a sentence from above (addition bolded):

If I had to make a wild guess, it would be that if SG was killed, there's a chance that JB knows the killer, who may be the SK, though I still wouldn't know how to cobble together the rest of it.

 

[Justiceforever]

Yep, it's the veritable riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. And I think it gets murkier the longer you look at it. So I don't have to edit again, I'll fix a sentence from above (addition bolded):

If I had to make a wild guess, it would be that if SG was killed, there's a chance that JB knows the killer, who may be the SK, though I still wouldn't know how to cobble together the rest of it.

Of course this is just pure speculation...maybe shannon ( being in the business) had heard stories of the missing escorts in nj and had that fear in the back of her mind which caused her to panic and run away from an imagined or real threat from her client and or driver. Maybe they weren't the sk's but she Believed them to be. What I'm trying to say is maybe there were some urban legands she heard about a serial killer in the area long before there was proof. That might explain her thinking they were trying to kill her. Although I still dont quite believe that. Just a thought!