In 2010 and 2011 the bodies of eleven people were found throughout Long Island. The majority of the victims were young female sex workers; several of the bodies were found covered in burlap in thickets along a sandy stretch called Gilgo Beach.
It was the disappearance of ShannanGilbert in 2010 that helped expose the larger mystery. A 24-year-old sex worker, Gilbert disappeared after leaving a ‘John’s’ house on foot in the seafront community of Oak Beach, vanishing into the marsh. At this time in early August 2023, Rex Heuermann is accused of murdering 11 people: nine females, one male, and a young toddler. This includes Melissa Barthelemy (24), MeganWaterman (22), and Amber Lynn Costello (27), and Maureen Brainard-Barnes (25).
Rex Heuermann’s senior picture from the 1981 Berner High School yearbook.One of Rex Heuermann’s July 2023 mugshots.Rex Heuermann being led out of court with law enforcement.A map of where the victims bodies were found.Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who was 25 when she went mysteriously disappeared. Barnes is believed to have taken an Amtrak train from New London, Connecticut to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan on July 6, 2007 and was never seen from again.Maureen Brainard-Barnes.Maureen Brainard-Barnes.Melissa Barthelemy. She was last seen at her basement apartment at 1149 Underhill Ave. in the Unionport area of the Bronx on July 12, 2009. Melissa was 4’10” inches tall and was 24 years old when she was last seen.Barthelemy was a sex worker that advertised on websites including ‘AdultFriendFinder’ using the aliases ‘Chloe’ and ‘VerySexyChloe.’ She had tattoos of the words “Blaze” and “Focus” on her back as well as letters on her chest. Melissa was also known to meet clients at bars, restaurants and hotels on the West Side of Manhattan.Melissa Barthelemy.Melissa Barthelemy.Melissa Barthelemy.Melissa Barthelemy.A quote from Melissa Barthelemy’s Mom.The first victim of the LISK: ‘Fire Island Jane Doe.’ The remains of a female were found on Long Island that still have no been identified. Her legs were found on April 20, 1996 at Blue Point Beach in the area of Davis Park on Fire Island. Years later on April 12, 2011 her skull was found off Ocean Parkway.The Manorville Jane Doe. Her remains were found in 2000 by hikers off Hailey Manor Road in Manorville. She was found in pieces and wrapped in plastic bags: her head, hands, and legs were all cut off. The victim is speculated to be between 18-40 years old.UPDATE: August 4, 2023. Karen Vergata. Authorities have finally identified the Gilgo Beach murder victim previously known as ‘Jane Doe No. 7’ as 34-year-old Karen Vergata. She was last seen in 1996 working as an escort in Manhattan.Peaches, or ‘the girl with the peach tattoo.’ Peaches is an unidentified female whose torso was discovered on June 28, 1997 in Lakeview, New York close to Hempstead Lake State Park. Her cause of death is listed as homicide because she was decapitated. Since her skull has yet to be found, as of July 2023 she remains unidentified. The victim had a tattoo on her left designed in the shape of a heart-shaped peach with a bite taken out of it with two drops falling from its center. Despite not knowing her identity, law enforcement feel this was most likely her nickname. In December 2016, more bones found on Long Island that were originally discovered in 2011 were positively ID’ed as belonging to the victim, as well as the remains of her child. Because of this her case is now officially linked to the Long Island serial killer as a possible victim.Valerie Mack (24). Mack was working in Philadelphia when she vanished in 2000; her family reported they last saw her in the summer of that year in New Jersey. Her partial skeletal remains were found on November 19, 2000 in Manorville and police felt her body was there since the end of September. More pieces of her skeleton were eventually found along Ocean Parkway in Oak Beach in 2011. She was referred to as Jane Doe #6 until investigators confirmed her ID in May 2020 by comparing her DNA to genealogy records.Valerie Mack.Valerie Mack.Valerie Mack.JessicaTaylor, the fifth LISK victim found. Taylor worked as an escort in New York City and her remains were found in a wooded area in Manorville on July 26, 2003. More of her skeletal remains were found on March 29, 2011 along Ocean Parkway during the search for Shannan Gilbert.Jessica Taylor.Jessica Taylor.Shannan Gilbert. During the early morning hours of May 1, 2010 Gilbert travelled with Michael Pak (her driver) from Manhattan to meet a client (Joseph Brewer) at his home in the Oak Beach. Gilbert worked as a Craigslist sex worker and was a resident of Jersey City. Her driver stayed in the car outside when she met with the John. At some point during the encounter Gilbert reportedly began acting irrational, prompting Brewer to contact her driver to have her leave his residence. Shannan eventually fled on foot into the Oak Beach community. Her skeletal remains were discovered in a marsh near Oak Beach on December 13, 2011.Shannan Gilbert and her Mom, Mari.Shannan Gilbert.Shannan Gilbert.Shannan Gilbert’s mother, Mari. She was stabbed to death on July 23, 2016 by her daughter Sarra after she discontinued her psychiatric medication. Mari Gilbert.The mugshot of Mari’s daughter, SarraGilbert.Sarra Elizabeth Gilbert in oranges.A QR code assisting in the investigation of Shannan Gilbert.AmberCostello. Costello advertised escort services on Craigslist and her skeletal remains were discovered in an area off Ocean Parkway on December 13, 2010. She was last seen leaving her North Babylon home in early September 2010.Amber Costello.Unidentified toddler. The skeletal remains of a still unidentified toddler was discovered along Ocean Parkway on April 4, 2011. It is believe the child was most likely female and was roughly 2 years old at the time of their death. The body was linked by DNA to another possible LISK victim, Peaches.Unidentified Asian male, between 17-23 years old. The remains of an Asian male were discovered along Ocean Parkway on April 4, 2011 The timing of his death is strongly felt to be approximately 5-10 years prior to the discovery of his remains.Megan Waterman. Waterman was last seen in Hauppauge, LI a month after Shannan Gilbert vanished and her skeletal remains were discovered along Ocean Parkway on December 13, 2010. Waterman advertised escort services on Craigslist and was last seen in early June 2010 at a Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge, New York.Megan Waterman.Megan Waterman.Megan Waterman in the lobby of a Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge, on Long Island. She was known to be there between June 4 and June 6, 2010.Megan Waterman.The outside of the Holiday Inn where Megan Waterman was last seen at.Gilgo Beach.Law enforcement combing Gilgo Beach after human remains were discovered.
Another Bundy Blog. 