I totally understand your point on this, and I think they're good points, but I do think the connections and coincidences are extremely relevant. On the four to five miles of distance issue, the remains of Peaches and Karen Vergata were five to seven miles west (sources vary) of Gilgo Beach. In a New York Times 2011 article, I see them noting these sets of remains were two-three miles apart. The span across Ocean Parkway where known victims are located is (from what I can ascertain from sources) about 10 miles. And RH has been charged for a murder victim found all the way over in North Sea; he has left remains of known victims all the way over in Manorville; and LE also discovered remains of a known Ocean Parkway victim in Fire Island. So far with the cases we know about, he did use burner phones. That does not mean he only used burner phones. And again, so far with the cases we know of, he took victims alone, not accompanied by others (such as drivers). That does not mean, however, he always adhered to this practice and viewed it as a prerequisite to his murders, and indeed, LE themselves recognized this, wondering at various points if Asian Doe hadn't been a companion to one of the other victims. And by the time the murderer would have had Shannan Gilbert, her driver was not present. RH did not always require discreet places and complete privacy. He murdered Amber Costello despite the presence of a witness. He simply doesn't "always" do anything, quite frankly. Sometimes he used burlap, other times plastic. Sometimes, a Rubbermaid container. Sometimes he dismembered victims, sometimes he did not. Sometimes he posed a victim, in most cases we're aware of, he did not. His dropoffs were probably not all that quick, LE noted LISK would have been plagued with outbreaks of poison ivy from trudging through brambles. He didn't always use victim phones to contact friends and relatives. He only "sometimes" did so. He's profoundly sadistic and enjoys his sick games, that does not mean he in every instance required them or had the opportunity to engage in them. Agreed he loves complete control, but he clearly has a variety of means that he employs to acquire it ("I told you I could find you anywhere," as he noted to the coworker he tracked to a cruise ship for her vacation.) He's a slick, cunning, manipulative chameleon, and there's no way I'd rule him out as a suspect in the case of Shannan Gilbert, which in my mind was anything but an accident.
Gilgo Beach murders | Here's a timeline of the investigation
Here is a timeline of the Gilgo Beach killings, how the investigation unfolded and what ultimately led to Rex Heuermann's arrest.6abc.com
More Remains Are Found on Long Island, This Time in Nassau (Published 2011)
Hours after the search was expanded to Nassau County, partial human remains were discovered at two sites a few miles from where eight bodies had been found.www.nytimes.com
You're right that he didn't adhere to everything I said for all of his victims. However, that is because he evolved over time. When comparing Shannan to LISK victims, I am of the opinion that you need to compare her with the Gilgo Four, as she went missing during that 2007-2010 period when he had progressed to finding girls online and using burners. Sandra Costilla (1993) may have been his first, or at least one of his first victims. She went missing during a period when he had to pick up girls off the street. The newspapers reported that she had been identified by her fingerprints (we now know that he read these newspapers). This may have been the reason why he started dismembering victims and throwing their identifiable remains into the bushes off Ocean Parkway (no fingerprints or dental records).
He clearly evolved his practices over time. However, the 2007-2010 period shows that he had largely settled on his latest method of operating. You can even see a slight evolution between Maureen (2007, no burlap) and the other Gilgo Four (2009 - 2010), who were wrapped in burlap. Shannan's case, on the other hand, shows no evidence that she was apart of any such evolution. Her case in an orange among a pile of apples. For Shannan to be a Heuermann victim, he would have had to discard his entire modus operandi and just so happen to be in a private gated community at the right moment when she ran from Brewer's home. A community that he has no known ties to. Then, he would have had to revert right back to his original MO as though nothing had ever happened.
Am I saying that it is impossible? Definitely not, MO can change. It would be foolish to speak in absolutes. What I'm saying is that the likelihood is pretty low, and we can only play it by what is likely or not.
Also, in regards to the witness, it's still unclear whether Heuermann knew that Amber's roommate was present that night. Dave didn't accompany her to the truck. Regardless, I still think it fits with his evolution. Complacency was clearly creeping in. Dumping the remains in one spot as opposed to spacing them apart, calling a victim's sister multiple times (2009), and visiting the same woman twice (Amber). 2010 also seems to be the first known year where he began picking up victims on Long Island instead of Manhattan.
