Gilgo Beach LISK Serial Killer, Rex Heuermann, charged with 3 murders, July 2023

[dotr]

I realize there’s likely no answer to the situation but this case and so many others as in Robert Pickton from Canada and the recent arrest of man in Reno Nevada brings me back to question of what actions could better protect these women who are obviously at risk constantly from unknown predators?

Not unlike having ''diamonds on the soles of their shoes'', thinking of SW having little transmitters tucked into shoes that sends real time tracking data to a special private receiver that can be erased immediately, or be pre-arranged to be opened if something goes wrong.
If the perp keeps the shoe, he can be located too.
speculation. imo.fwiw

Sex Workers in Canada Are Offering Up Their DNA So Their Bodies Can One Day Be Identified

Police in Edmonton, Alberta have identified the remains of Corrie Ottenbreit, a sex worker who vanished more than a decade ago. She was found close to the remains of three other women and police fear a serial killer may be at work.

www.vice.com

2015
''Since 2003, officers with KARE, one of the only projects of its kind in the country, have met with people who live and work on the streets to ask them if they'd like to provide DNA samples for their database. It has grown to 1,200 names — including girls as young as 12. An RCMP Inspector told VICE News that women are adding themselves to the list every day. Recently, KARE has expanded its mandate and officers review files of missing vulnerable persons throughout the province. According to one officer involved with KARE, while murder rates in the Edmonton area have gone down, the number of women who vanish "remains steady."

 

[DeDee]

Live Stream c/o USA Today of the presser (YT link at bottom of page):

Gilgo Beach press conference live stream: Authorities share update on killings

Officials are set to announce an update in the investigation of the Gilgo Beach killings after the arrest of suspect Rex Heuermann last month.

eu.usatoday.com

How bittersweet the day for Karen's family. RIP - we got him!

 

[imstilla.grandma]

My theory is he dumped the bodies to throw off jurisdictions some parts found in Nassau county some found in Suffolk county and I also think he did this to also make it harder to ID the victims. Karen's torso has never been found. To my knowledge only her skull and legs were found.

In April 1996, the legs of an unidentified woman were recovered inside of a black garbage bag at Blue Point Beach in Suffolk County, New York. Later, in April 2011, the woman’s skull was recovered near Ocean Parkway west of Tobay Beach in Nassau County, New York. The woman’s torso and hands were never recovered.

Investigators determine the woman was white and likely between the ages of 18 and 50. They discovered several scars on the decedent’s right leg including a 3 1/2” on the lateral mid-leg area, a 1” linear scar on the lateral mid to lower leg, and a ½” scar on the medial ankle. The woman’s left leg had a 2" surgical scar with adjacent suture scars on the medial left ankle. The woman had red nail polish on all toes that, at the time of her discovery in 1996, was noted to be from a recent pedicure.

In 2022, the Suffolk County Police Department in collaboration with the FBI teamed with Othram to determine if advanced DNA testing could help to identify Fire Island Jane Doe. Forensic evidence was sent to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas. Othram scientists developed a suitable DNA extract from the forensic evidence and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive genealogical profile. After successfully completing the process, the DNA profile was delivered to the FBI's forensic genetic genealogy team and the FBI team performed the necessary work to generate investigative leads.

The FBI team working with Suffolk County Police Department continued the investigation and were eventually able to confirmed the identity of Fire Island Jane Doe as Karen Vergata of Manhattan, New York. Vergata was 34 years old at the time of her death. Vergata was missing since Valentine's Day in 1996.

After 26 years, Fire Island Jane Doe is Identified

Suffolk County Police Department and the FBI Team with Othram to Identify a 1996 Gilgo Beach Murder Victim

dnasolves.com

 

[margarita25]

My theory is he dumped the bodies to throw off jurisdictions some parts found in Nassau county some found in Suffolk county and I also think he did this to also make it harder to ID the victims. Karen's torso has never been found. To my knowledge only her skull and legs were found.

Our late great @Foxfire used to refer to this as “jurisdictional (linkage) blindness”

 

[IzzyBlanche]

I'm not sleeping at the moment, so I've been pondering the photo of Karen Vergata that has been released.

She was 34 years old when she died. Is that the only photo of her that exists, in which she was obviously a teen, or possibly even a 12-year-old, at most?

If so, how sad. What happened in her life that made it stop being recorded in photographs at such a young age? Why aren't there any later pictures of her?

 

[iamshadow21]

I'm not sleeping at the moment, so I've been pondering the photo of Karen Verdata that has been released.

She was 34 years old when she died. Is that the only photo of her that exists, in which she was obviously a teen, or possibly even a 12-year-old, at most?

If so, how sad. What happened in her life that made it stop being recorded in photographs at such a young age? Why aren't there any later pictures of her?

There's another where she looks closer to seventeen, black and white, looks like a yearbook photo.

It's possible that she left home at a young age, that photos of her taken later have not survived. It's possible that there are photos of her as an adult, but they are booking photos. It's possible that some calamity (fire, flood) in the home destroyed other photos of her.

It's possible that the photo released was the favourite photo of her that the family possesses.

There are a lot of reasons why that photo could have been chosen.

This is the era before people had a camera on their phone that they took with them everywhere. To take pictures, you had to have a camera, you had to get the film developed, and you had to have taken a 'good' picture to begin with, with lighting and framing done right.

The two that we've seen, the colour one from the press conference and the black and white yearbook photo are both professionally taken school photos, I would guess. They've been framed and lit and focused well, and both look good when blown up to the resolution needed for a press release.

MOO

 

[IzzyBlanche]

This is the era before people had a camera on their phone that they took with them everywhere. To take pictures, you had to have a camera, you had to get the film developed, and you had to have taken a 'good' picture to begin with, with lighting and framing done right.

MOO

Snipped for focus

Oh, I know. I myself lived through that era! In fact Karen and I were approximately the same age, which probably explains why I feel so bad for her.

Because if I'd gone missing at the same age she did, there would have been many photos available of me taken much closer to the time I went missing than a yearbook photo taken what, 17 or so years earlier.

Snapshots. And a lot of them turned out pretty good even without the photographer paying too much attention to lighting and framing, because we were amateurs using cameras that took snapshots.

Heck, I even have a couple of Polaroids of me as a younger woman than KV was when she died that are decent likenesses and could have been released to show me much closer to my actual age than school/yearbook photos.

 

[Deleted member 117884]

Snipped for focus

Oh, I know. I myself lived through that era! In fact Karen and I were approximately the same age, which probably explains why I feel so bad for her.

Because if I'd gone missing at the same age she did, there would have been many photos available of me taken much closer to the time I went missing than a yearbook photo taken what, 17 or so years earlier.

Snapshots. And a lot of them turned out pretty good even without the photographer paying too much attention to lighting and framing, because we were amateurs using cameras that took snapshots.

Heck, I even have a couple of Polaroids of me as a younger woman than KV was when she died that are decent likenesses and could have been released to show me much closer to my actual age than school/yearbook photos.

I was assuming that is the photo LE was able to find publicly, not that the family doesn't have photos. But that's just an assumption.

jmo

 

[loveplace]

Snipped for focus

Oh, I know. I myself lived through that era! In fact Karen and I were approximately the same age, which probably explains why I feel so bad for her.

Because if I'd gone missing at the same age she did, there would have been many photos available of me taken much closer to the time I went missing than a yearbook photo taken what, 17 or so years earlier.

Snapshots. And a lot of them turned out pretty good even without the photographer paying too much attention to lighting and framing, because we were amateurs using cameras that took snapshots.

Heck, I even have a couple of Polaroids of me as a younger woman than KV was when she died that are decent likenesses and could have been released to show me much closer to my actual age than school/yearbook photos.

I am a photographer and family historian. I think it comes down to different families and individuals having very different values and norms cerntered around taking and keeping track of photos. My observations ( MOO) are that this has become less of a large divide with advent of smart phones and social media, but when I work on photo genealogy projects for previous generations it is often feast or famine for photos. There are some families that don't have a single photo and others who have shoeboxes full of snapshots. Also sometimes families living in poverty or with frequent moves used to lose all of their photos if they had to move quickly and leave things behind. I'm not saying this is for sure the case, but I'm rarely surprised at whether or not a family has photos, let alone good ones to release for these older cases especially. It still surprises me in recent missing cases, though I'm sure some of the same factors apply.

 

[fred&edna]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>
Does the H family still own the Palmyra property? I noticed an "offer pending" on a real estate site which could be old info and/or the H family sold it long ago.

 

[Momoffourboys]

I'm not sleeping at the moment, so I've been pondering the photo of Karen Vergata that has been released.

She was 34 years old when she died. Is that the only photo of her that exists, in which she was obviously a teen, or possibly even a 12-year-old, at most?

If so, how sad. What happened in her life that made it stop being recorded in photographs at such a young age? Why aren't there any later pictures of her?

Gilgo Beach killings: Investigators have identified 'Fire Island Jane Doe' as Karen Vergata

Vergata, who lived on West 45th Street in Manhattan and was last seen Feb. 14, 1996, worked as an escort, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

www.newsday.com

 

[Momoffourboys]

Court documents: Suffolk DA's office has requested cheek swab from Rex Heuermann

After Heuermann’s arrest, his wife, daughter and stepson voluntarily provided cheek swabs for DNA analysis. However, Heuermann still has not.

bronx.news12.com

…

Without a DNA sample taken directly from Heuermann’s mouth, as opposed to items such as a water bottle or partially eaten pizza, forensic biologists at the Suffolk County Crime Lab are limited in how they can testify at trial regarding Heuermann’s DNA profile.

According to the criminal court documents, forensics biologists would only be able to reference the pizza crusts and napkin as believed to be “used or touched” by Heuermann and would not be allowed to say it is his DNA profile.

“If the defendant’s DNA from a buccal swab sample matches the mitochondrial DNA profile developed from the hair recovered from Megan Waterman’s remains, there is scientific evidence of the Defendant’s contact not only with Ms. Waterman and where her remains were discovered, but also with the burlap utilized to restrain and transport her human remains,” Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Michelle Haddad said in the court filings.

Prosecutors also argued that a denial of a cheek swab could deprive Heuermann of a crucial defense at trial if his DNA from the swab does not match the DNA profile from the pizza crusts and napkin.

The defense, which did not return a request for comment, has until next week to oppose the motion. Otherwise, Heuermann will have to provide a cheek swab by August 15.

 

[Just K]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>

Does the H family still own the Palmyra property? I noticed an "offer pending" on a real estate site which could be old info and/or the H family sold it long ago.

The tax and ownership records are hazy. They don’t go back to 1994, it was recently for sale and an offer is pending as of July. But, it seems that his family is connected to the property until at least five years ago.

 

[conradriddick]

Any reason they haven't searched traffic cameras / footage at or around the days the victims went missing

 

[DS2021]

Any reason they haven't searched traffic cameras / footage at or around the days the victims went missing

I doubt it exists anymore.

 

[Sundog]

<modsnip: Quoted post was removed>

According to the article, the adult children of AE and RH have hired an attorney (Vess Mistev). I guess all of the members of the family who lived in that house and worked at his office (the daughter) need an attorney.

Attorney for Gilgo Beach murder suspect’s family: ‘Living a waking nightmare’

MASSAPEQUA PARK, N.Y. (PIX11) – The adult children of Rex Heuermann, who is accused in the deaths of three women found at Gilgo Beach in 2010, have hired a lawyer. Attorney Vess Mitev joined the PI…

pix11.com

 

[investigatefred]

The tax and ownership records are hazy. They don’t go back to 1994, it was recently for sale and an offer is pending as of July. But, it seems that his family is connected to the property until at least five years ago.

The Palmyra property was sold in May 2019.

 

[Sundog]

This MSM article says that AE and her two adult children were forced to spend multiple nights in a rental car while LE were searching their home and property, while they "bounced" between relatives' homes and the rental car.

Prosecutors in Gilgo Beach killings are giving Rex Heuermann's defense a vast trove of evidence

Weeks after charging Long Island architect Rex Heuermann in a string of killings known as the Gilgo Beach murders, prosecutors say they’ve begun providing his lawyer with reams of evidence

abcnews.go.com

Ellerup filed for divorce after her husband was arrested.

She and her two adult children, who also live at the house, returned last week after bouncing between relatives’ homes and a rental car, where they were forced to spend multiple nights, according to the lawyer.

“These people are also innocent victims in this,” Macedonio added. “They’re the unknown victims because no one cares about them.”

An attorney for the adult children, Vess Mitev, said his clients were considering legal action against police for the “deplorable and roughshod handling of the investigation.”

 

[Dotta]

This MSM article says that AE and her two adult children were forced to spend multiple nights in a rental car while LE were searching their home and property, while they "bounced" between relatives' homes and the rental car.

Prosecutors in Gilgo Beach killings are giving Rex Heuermann's defense a vast trove of evidence

Weeks after charging Long Island architect Rex Heuermann in a string of killings known as the Gilgo Beach murders, prosecutors say they’ve begun providing his lawyer with reams of evidence

abcnews.go.com

Ellerup filed for divorce after her husband was arrested.

She and her two adult children, who also live at the house, returned last week after bouncing between relatives’ homes and a rental car, where they were forced to spend multiple nights, according to the lawyer.

“These people are also innocent victims in this,” Macedonio added. “They’re the unknown victims because no one cares about them.”

An attorney for the adult children, Vess Mitev, said his clients were considering legal action against police for the “deplorable and roughshod handling of the investigation.”

Couldn't they stay with wife's sister or in a hotel/motel?

I'm shocked.

JMO

 

[Sundog]

I wish the attorneys for the family (Robert Macedonio and Vess Mitev) would refrain from commenting on personal issues that aren't the business of the public. Each of the members of the family have a lot to work out, and they should be able to work out the personal issues in private, without attorneys commenting on these personal things. JMO.

Police ‘ransacked’ Heuermann home, children’s attorney claims

“In our view, it’s deplorable,” attorney Vess Mitev said.

www.newsnationnow.com

Macedonio confirmed Ellerup has spoken to him via telephone, while Mitev said the children had not yet decided on visiting their father.

“They themselves have to figure out how they’re analyzing the situation, because it’s changing minute by minute,” Mitev said. “They’re certainly not foreclosing anything at this point, but it’s too early to tell.”