News: Phone Calls Were Made To The Sister Of Gilgo Beach Victim
(Long Island, N.Y.)Days after Melissa Barthelemy, the first of the women to be found murdered at Gilgo Beach, went missing phone calls were made to her sister from her cell phone. Police have been unable to identify the man behind the calls, but suspect that he may have played a role in Barthelemy’s disappearance. Uncovering the details concerning her fate could aid police in tracking down the killer(s) involved with the deaths of all four victims.
Barthelemy was the twenty-four year old woman who went missing two years after the first victim, Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Though she was last seen on July 12th, 2009, the phone calls received by her sister came on July 16th, 19th, and 23rd. The calls were described as tantalizing and menacing; the caller referred to Barthelemy as a ‘whore.’
Police have tried to trace the calls, and have uncovered that the general area is believed to be near Madison Square Garden and Time’s Square. The duration of the calls had been too short to pin point the caller’s exact location. According to police, the man hung up before trackers were able to gather more information on his whereabouts.
Barthelemy grew up in Buffalo, New York and moved to New York City with a license in cosmetology. According to family and friends, she was a lover of the city and enjoyed shopping. She was last seen in the Bronx, renting a basement apartment for $700 a month.
Barthelemy was five feet and seven inches tall. She was said to be a lover of animals and kept multiple cats in her apartment. Though separated from her friends and family, she maintained close contact, and was last seen by her uncle on New Year’s Day of 2009.
Upon hearing of the discovery of the Gilgo Beach remains, Barthelemy’s family believed her to be among the victims. According to her family, Barthelemy started working as a dancer before becoming an escort. On Sept. 12th, 2008 she was arrested for suspicion of prostitution in New York City. She pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to five days of community service.
Brainard-Barnes, twenty-five, was the first of the victims to go missing, and was last seen in Manhattan in July of 2007. She was from Norwich, Connecticut. According to friends and family, she was a trusting person who always kept close contact with loved ones. When she didn’t attend her brother’s funeral, her family believed her to be deceased. She is survived by a son, Dylan, and a daughter, Nicolette.
The first victim to be identified was Megan Waterman, a twenty-two year old woman from Scarborough, Maine. She was last seen in Hauppauge, New York. She is survived by her mother and young daughter.
The last victim to disappear was Amber Lynn Costello, a twenty-seven year old woman who was never reported missing. She was last seen on Sept. 2nd, 2010 in North Babylon where she rented an apartment. Costello was five feet tall with blonde hair and hazel eyes.
Costello grew up in Rocky Point and Wilmington, North Carolina. She was married and divorced twice. Her ex-husband, of Clearwater, Florida, last saw her in Dec. of 2009 when she picked up a Christmas tree from him.
Costello’s sister, Kimberly Overstreet, is a thirty-three year old resident of Lindenhurst, New York. She urged people to remember her baby sister fondly instead of making harsh judgments about her lifestyle. She said that the tragedy of Costello was that her life was cut horrifically short, leaving her unable to have kids and live out the rest of her life. Overstreet brought Costello to Long Island from Florida for purposes of rehabilitation.
