News: Victims of the Gilgo Beach Case
(Long Island, N.Y.) After the Suffolk County District Attorney spoke at a news meeting held yesterday in Hauppauge, new information about the Gilgo Beach victims was made known to the public. Speakers at the meeting also announced that the multiple victims, believed to have been murdered by multiple killers, complicate the investigation. The case is multi-jurisdictional and authorities estimate that it will not be solved within the time frame preferred by Long Island residents.
Police and authorities on the case are still hoping to catch a break in the investigation. Reports have stated that more manpower is needed in the handling of the case and in future searches. Time does not seem to be on the side of detectives, as the memories of potential witnesses have been lost along with evidence. The years that have passed since some of the victims went missing makes investigating the case especially difficult for authorities.
If detectives on the case are successful in the investigation and eventually identify the unknown victims, as well as capture their killers, the impact of the discoveries will be momentous. Ten sets of remains means possible closure for ten different grieving families, the solving of ten cases, and possible justice to those who have taken multiple lives. In the pursuit of one woman, with the missing person investigation of Shannan Gilbert, police and authorities have stumbled upon tenfold the amount of potential success.
Reports have stated that the two sets of remains found in Nassau County have not been identified but have also been ruled as homicides. Police and authorities on the case are awaiting forensic results that may lead to identification. However, it is also believed that the Nassau County remains are not related to any of the sets of remains found in Suffolk County.
Photographs have been taken of a Suffolk County Police Department sign that has been placed along the southbound side of the Robert Moses Causeway. The sign asks drivers for any tips on the Gilgo Beach homicides. Police and authorities on the case are still hoping that people may come forward with information that will aid in their investigation.
A vigil for the Gilgo Beach victims will be held on June 11th along Ocean Parkway. Reports have stated that detectives are still looking into similarities between the Gilgo Beach/Manorville victims and the four women found dumped near a motel in Atlantic City. All of the women appear Caucasian; eight were prostitutes, and eight appear to have died by strangulation. Many of them were mothers who left behind young children.
Reports have also stated that the remains of two unidentified men were also found in Manorville between the years of 2000 and 2003. There is not believed to be a connection between their deaths and those of any of the victims. However, it does appear the remote areas in Manorville and Gilgo have been used for a long time as a dumping spot.
Another case that has been frequently discussed in comparison to the cases of the Gilgo Beach victims is that of a woman found in the summer of 1997. Her torso was discovered in Hempstead Lake State Park missing hands and legs. She was wrapped in a black plastic garbage bag and placed into a dark Rubbermaid container with a floral pillow sham and frayed red towel. The only marker of her identity was a heart-shaped peach tattoo on her left breast with two drops underneath.
