I am writing in response to "Gilbert's mom asks feds to step in" [News, Dec. 21], in which John Ray, the lawyer who represents Shannan Gilbert's family, strongly criticized Suffolk County police detectives investigating the Gilgo Beach murders. It is quite obvious that Ray has not listened to Gilbert's 911 call nor spoken to any investigators assigned to the case. His claims are misleading and lack credibility. I have been a member of the department's homicide squad for 17 years and worked on the Gilgo investigation in its first three months.
I listened to Gilbert's 22-minute 911 call. The 911 operator tried several times to get Gilbert's location. At one point, she mentioned she was near Jones Beach. Gilbert never said she was at Oak Beach. It is hard to respond to a call when the person calling doesn't know where he or she is.
In the house at Oak Beach, Gilbert was not about to be murdered. Her demeanor on the tape was calm. You can hear male voices on the tape, and they are calm. At no time during this call was she desperate. From what I heard on the call, Gilbert was not speaking as if she were in danger. Despite this, she decided to run from the house and her driver, whom she relied on to take her back to New Jersey. During the investigation, I interviewed an individual who drove Gilbert to her "dates" in the past. He said she would leave houses and apartments in the same fashion as she did in Oak Beach. He described her as being a paranoid person and at times acting irrationally.
As we all know by now, Gilbert ran to another house seeking assistance. She was let into the house. When the gentleman in the house said he was going to call the police, she ran into the reeds across the street. I also interviewed this gentleman. Finally, she knocked on another door, but again ran away before the woman who lived there could find out what was going on.
Suffolk County has not turned down offers of help from the FBI. The FBI has provided a psychological profile of the offender and coordinated the use of a Blackhawk military helicopter to conduct an aerial search of the Ocean Parkway area, using classified equipment. In addition to the FBI, 12 other law enforcement agencies have assisted the homicide squad.
The detectives assigned to the homicide squad are some of the most dedicated and knowledgeable in Suffolk County. The units that support this squad -- such as the identification section, computer crimes section, criminal intelligence section and the crime lab -- are also the best in their respective fields.
Detectives have traveled to the hometowns of each victim many times to meet with the families, and to several states as part of the investigation. For most of 2011, the detectives assigned have set aside their personal lives, working long hours for weeks at a time. For Ray to insinuate that the homicide squad has given this case less than its full attention because of the victim's lifestyle is grossly inaccurate.
Det. Vincent Stephan, West Sayville
Editor's note: The writer is the secretary-treasurer of the Suffolk Detectives Association.
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When I read an article like this, the first thing I think is what is the author's underlying agenda. The author had real motivation to clear the name of the SCPD for his own (and others') benefit.
Once the agenda is assumed, the author's phrasing gives additional meaning.
What I take from this (IMO):
What is it about what Ray said makes it obvious to the author that he neither heard the 911 call nor spoke to the investigators assigned to the case?
If Ray had heard the 911 call and spoken to investigators, what motive would HE have to publicly lie? (As far as I can judge, the author has more to lose with the truth than Ray has by lying.)
The author worked on the case for the first 3 months, but there is ZERO record that occurred May 1, 2010 besides the 911 call. Why not the early morning of May 1, 2010?
GC called 911 from a landline. Nobody has described that 911 call. So, apparently we're supposed to believe that a person (drunk, drugged, bipolar... or not) calmly called 911, spoke with the operator for 23 minutes, ran for a "neighbor's assistance", then calmly knocked on a stranger's home before sunrise (while still on the 911 call?), then ran from said house because he "said he was going to call police" (something she had already done herself), then said neighbor also called 911 saying, what, a woman came into his home by his invitation calmly until running down the street again? How, in any way, would anyone come up with that scenario as a perfectly logical explanation? Not I.
An FBI profile and help with areal images means nothing if it isn't utilized.
"Most of 2011"... that disgusts me considering SG went missing May 1, 2010. So, Ray doesn't need to "insinuate" anything, the actions of the SCPD support Ray's "insinuations".