(Long Island, N.Y.) Police and authorities working the Gilgo Beach homicides announced on Monday the partial identities of four sets of remains. That leaves just the two sets found in Nassau County unidentified. Twenty-year-old Jessica Taylor was among the remains discovered at the end of March, though remains of hers were initially found in 2003 amongst Manorville’s protected woods.
Taylor’s hands, skull, and forearms were found on March 29th, while her torso was discovered about a week after her death. A year later she was identified by a tattoo when a Washington DC policeman made a successful connection. Some reports claim that Taylor was found less than two hundred feet from one of the other sets of remains, and that there are undisclosed similarities between her and the other victims.
She returned to New York in the middle of July of 2003 and had been known to work at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The area had been dubbed the “Minnesota Strip” as a location known for the sex trade, and typically involved women from Minnesota and states with stricter laws against prostitution. Though she had also worked in Atlantic City, she was last seen near New York City’s Port Authority between July 18th and the 21st.
Taylor was also known to have worked in Long Island City, Queens. In February of that year she had solicited to an undercover officer and assaulted a police aide while being booked. She then pleaded guilty to prostitution and assault.
After being accused of driving a stolen 1995 Chevy Cavalier in the East New York section of Brooklyn, she also pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property. Authorities believed that she was living in the area, and she was later sent to jail on February 25th. By April 28th, 2003 Taylor was discharged.
Taylor disappeared on July 26th, 2003 and was discovered in Manorville by a woman walking her dog along Halsey Manor Road. When police first encountered her nude torso, they categorized it as remains belonging to a twenty to thirty-year-old White/Hispanic woman. The remains belonged to a woman no taller than five-foot-five and no heavier than a hundred-and-twenty-five pounds.
A Washington DC Police Officer identified Taylor in February of 2004 after recognizing the tattoo of wings and the words “Remy’s Angel.” The officer contacted the Suffolk County Police Department and the identification was confirmed. The investigation, however, quickly grew cold and the original suspects in the case were ruled out after being interviewed.
Taylor was one of four victims to be discovered in Manorville, one of whom has been referred to as “Jane Doe No. 6.” The other two are men, and authorities believe that they were not murdered by the same killer. The remains of Taylor discovered in March were found about a mile east of the original Gilgo Beach victims.
