Welcome, Skaticat_22. I'm glad you've joined the forum. I can assure you that you are among a large population of curious and caring individuals who've literally lost sleep and spent restless nights trying to make sense of the heart-wrenching tragedies commonly referred to on this forum simply as LISK.
For what it's worth, I concur with your suspicion that at least two killers, each with a personal agenda and acting independently from the other, carried out these horrendous murders. I've long held that belief.
Call it a hunch or intuition, and time might surely prove me wrong. And as you pointed out, there is no shortage of unseemly characters and bizarre behavior among the area, i.e., Oak Beach, residents. So the possibilities are many. Personally, however, despite all we've learned of the various local characters, my feeling thus far is that the earlier killings were committed by an individual who was transient in nature or resided in a distant community. Considering the efforts to sever the victims' bodies and dispose of the remains in separate locations, in my very humble opinion, depicts one, possibly two very twisted, but clever individual(s), and not a killer who would dump bodies in his own backyard.
Nevertheless, due to that factor and the mostly hapless reporting, across the board, gaining a clear perspective of the facts can be difficult. The media has a tendency to lump the circumstances together and draw a skewed timeline as though all of the murders occurred within a correlated proximity. But a careful analysis negates clarifies that muddled notion.
SHannon Gilbert
May 1, 2010
An escort, Shannon visited a client's home in the Oak Beach community on the evening of May 1, 2010. The circumstances are unclear, but at some point, she called 911, and during a 22 minute conversation exclaimed that she was in fear for her life. Eventually, she fled the premises and was not seen again. Her family reported her missing, which sparked a search of the area along Ocean Beach.
November 2011: Shannon's remains were found in a marsh. Her death was ruled as an accidental drowning. Convinced she was a victim of foul play, her family actively protested.Well-known pathologist Michael Baden performed an autopsy and determined a crushed hyoid bone could have been the result of strangulation. Yet, her cause of death ruling stands.
The Gilgo Four
A. Maureen Brainard-Barnes
Last seen: July 6, 2007
Body found: Dec. 2010
B. Melissa Barthelemy
Last seen: July 12, 2009
Body found: Dec. 2010
C. Amber Lynn Costello
Last seen: Sept. 2, 2010
Body found: Dec. 13, 2010
D. Megan Waterman
Last seen: June 6, 2010
Body found: Dec. 13, 2010
All of the victims were escorts. All bodies were intact, wrapped in burlap, and placed within close proximity of each other.
(Ironic but sick. One Gmail account Heuerman used to conduct his perverse Google searches was "sandbagger 303".)
The other bodies/remains located in 2010-2011 as a result of the initial search for Shannon Gilbert in 2010.
A. Jessica Taylor
Jane Doe #5
Last seen: 1996
June 2003: Partial remains found in wooded area near Manorville.
March 2011: Additional remains found along Ocean Pkwy.
B.Valerie Mack
Jane Doe #6
Last seen: Summer 2000
Sept. 2000: Partial remains found in Manorville
April 4, 2011: Additional remains found along Ocean Pkwy.
C.Karen Vergata
Jane Doe #7
Last seen: Feb 1996
April 1996: Legs found in plastic garbage bag in Davis Park on Fire Island.
August 2011: Skull found near JD #3 "Peaches", off Ocean Pkwy, Nassau County
August 2023: Remains ID'd.
D. "Peaches"
Jane Doe #3
June 1997: Torso found stuffed in a plastic bag, Hempstead Lake State Park
April 11, 2011: Additional remains found Jones Beach State Park off Ocean Pkwy.
It is believed Peaches was from Mobile, AL, and an investigation is ongoing to locate relatives or others who can confirm her identity.
E. April 2011: Remains of a toddler, approx 2 y.o. located in Jones Beach State Park, off Ocean Pkwy, Nassau County. near other remains.
2016: Toddler ID'd as Peaches' child. Body had been placed at the opposite end of the "dumping ground" from where mother's Torso was placed.
F. Un-ID'd Asian man
John Doe
April 2011: A young Asian man's remains were found in Oak Beach just one-half mile from the Gilgo Four location. Among the remains discovered, only his body was in the immediate area of the Gilg Four. He was dressed in women's clothing and his skull was bashed in.
Forensic authorities estimate he died 5-10 years earlier, 2001-2006.
Some speculate the circumstances indicate Heuerman was his killer. Filmmaker Josh Zeman, (
Killing Season A&E, 2017), expressed to reporters that with that knowledge he has changed his long held theory of two killers to one. He now thinks Heuerman picked up the young man, became angry when he discovered he'd been fooled and crushed in the victim's skull in a fit of rage. If true. Zeman reasons that Heuerman was on the prowl at least several years prior to 2010, and likely killed all of the located victims.
Personally, I would need more evidence before coming to that conclusion. That said, I worked with Josh on the
Killing Season and have great respect for his insight and knowledge of LISK. I just happen to hold a different view.
With the facts laid out as above, it is apparent, in my opinion, that a rash of escort murders occurred during the late 1990's into 2000-2001. The killer had a distinct M.O. sharply different from that shown in the second rash of murders at the end of the decade, the "Gilgo Murders".
And while it seems uncanny that remains from the early murders were discovered during the 2010-11 search, it's important to remember that there is a ten year difference. The distinction is vital, and from there one can delve into finding the truth.
And my curiosity certainly is piqued. If corpses/remains of ten victims were found, how many more might remain undiscovered? And what sparked the initial killings? And perhaps Skaticat_22 is right, and Suffolk County is a breeding ground for evil nut jobs (no offense intended) but... And... And...
And if you've read this far you are as obsessed as I. Heaven help you.
Shannan Gilbert disappeared on Long Island in May 2010. The search for her exposed a possible serial killer — with nearly a dozen bodies found — but law enforcement has said she wasn’t a victim.
www.nbcnewyork.com
Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison assigned two additional investigators to the Gilgo Beach task force to prioritize work on the backgrounds of suspected victims Valerie Mack and Karen Vergata,…
nypost.com
Karen Vergata was identified as the remains almost three decades after her legs were found in a plastic bag at Davis Park on Fire Island’s Blue Point Beach on April 20, 1996.
nypost.com
Investigators appear to be one step closer to identifying a woman and her young child whose murders have been unsolved for 25 years and were linked to the gruesome Gilgo Beach murders.
www.longislandpress.com
OCEAN PARKWAY, N.Y. (PIX11) — The case of an Asian male who was found dead, dressed in women’s clothing on Ocean Parkway, is getting a closer look now that architect Rex Heuermann has b…
pix11.com
