Current:Home > ScamsAuthorities to announce new break in long investigation of Gilgo Beach killings-LoTradeCoin
Authorities to announce new break in long investigation of Gilgo Beach killings
View Date:2024-12-24 11:19:04
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (AP) — Law enforcement authorities in New York have scheduled a news conference Friday to announce a new development in their investigation of multiple sets of human remains found along the Long Island coast, some of which have been blamed on the work of a serial killer.
Rex Heuermann was arrested last month in the deaths of three women and has been named a prime suspect in the killing of a fourth. The remains of those four women were discovered in 2010 along a coastal parkway near Gilgo Beach.
Police, though, have continued to investigate the deaths of six other people whose skeletal remains were found along the same, long stretch of coastline.
Among them was a woman, long nicknamed “Jane Doe No. 7” by investigators, whose partial remains were first discovered in 1996 on Fire Island. More of her bones were later found near Gilgo Beach in 2011.
Police have been trying to figure out her identity for 26 years.
Other unidentified remains belong to a woman nicknamed “Peaches” by investigators after a tattoo on her body. Some of her remains were discovered stuffed inside a plastic tub in Hempstead Lake State Park in 1997, others turned up near Gilgo Beach in 2011, along with the remains of an unidentified toddler believed to be her daughter.
Authorities have said Heuermann, who lived in Massapequa Park across the bay from where some of the bodies were found, is unlikely to be responsible for all the deaths.
Investigators zeroed in on Heuermann as a suspect in the slayings of four women — Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes when a new task force formed last year ran an old tip about a Chevy Avalanche pickup truck through a vehicle records database.
A hit came back identifying one of those make and models belonging to Heuermann, who lived in a neighborhood police had been focusing on because of cellphone location data and call records, authorities said.
Detectives said they were later able to link Heuermann’s DNA to a hair found on a restraint used in one of the killings.
So far, he has been charged in the deaths of Barthelemy, Waterman and Costello. Prosecutors say they are working to charge him with Brainard-Barnes’ death, but have not yet done so.
Through his lawyer, Heuermann has denied killing anyone and pleaded not guilty.
Investigators spent nearly two weeks combing through Heuermann’s home, including digging up the yard, dismantling a porch and a greenhouse and removing many contents of the house for testing.
Earlier this week, prosecutors said they have begun providing Heuermann’s lawyer, Michael Brown, with reams of evidence including autopsy findings, DNA reports and crime scene photos.
veryGood! (3862)
Related
- Tesla Cybertruck modifications upgrade EV to a sci-fi police vehicle
- First Snow, then Heat Interrupt a Hike From Mexico to Canada, as Climate Complicates an Iconic Adventure
- Tyrese Haliburton jokes about about riding bench for Team USA's gold medal
- Crews begin demolishing Texas church where gunman killed more than two dozen in 2017
- Wicked Director Jon M. Chu Reveals Name of Baby Daughter After Missing Film's LA Premiere for Her Birth
- Credit card debt: Inflation, interest rates have more Americans carrying balances over
- Britney Spears and Megan Fox are not alone: Shoplifting is more common than you think
- Tom Cruise performs 'epic stunt' at Olympics closing ceremony
- The 15 quickest pickup trucks MotorTrend has ever tested
- Latinos are excited about Harris, but she has work to do to win the crucial voting bloc, experts say
Ranking
- Glen Powell responds to rumor that he could replace Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible'
- This Is the Only Underwear I Buy My Husband (and It's on Sale)
- How race, police and mental health collided in America's heartland | The Excerpt
- Will Katie Ledecky Compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics? She Says...
- The charming Russian scene-stealers of 'Anora' are also real-life best friends
- Sifan Hassan's Olympic feat arguably greatest in history of Summer Games
- Tom Cruise performs 'epic stunt' at Olympics closing ceremony
- In Pennsylvania’s Competitive Senate Race, Fracking Takes Center Stage
Recommendation
-
South Carolina does not set a date for the next execution after requests for a holiday pause
-
Travis Scott released with no charges after arrest at Paris hotel, reps say
-
Jacksonville Jaguars to reunite with safety Tashaun Gipson on reported one-year deal
-
Post Malone Makes Rare Comments About His Fiancée and 2-Year-Old Daughter
-
Georgia House Democrats shift toward new leaders after limited election gains
-
Tragic 911 calls, body camera footage from Uvalde, Texas school shooting released
-
The 'raw food diet' is an online fad for pet owners. But, can dogs eat raw meat?
-
The Daily Money: Which airports have most delays?