The Long Island Ripper

[The Rookie Detective]

Yes, having checked my facts the Massapequa call was by Melissa to her voicemail.

But there is still that connection. She was there because she was meeting the killer, and checking voicemail is something you do to pass time while you're waiting.

But according to this link;
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/arc.../t-159991.html
One of the calls was indeed linked to Massapequa, as well as her voicemail checking.

So it seems she was in Massapequa on 9th July, then again on 12th July when she vanished. Both times she checked her voicemail while waiting for her client. And if one of the killer's calls did come from Massapequa it's possible he lives or works nearby.

Bingo DP

Detective work at its finest

I knew nothing whatsoever of this case and had never heard of it until yesterday when reading the first few pages of this thread.

I was thinking... the killer must live or work in Massapequa; the location from which the alleged victim had called from on 2 separate occasions.


After 10 minutes of reading this case cold; I believed that Massapequa was the key (based on this excellent thread)

And it would appear that is correct.

What took years of dodgy and inept police investigation was achieved in the same time as it took to drink my tea.

Fine work from Dark Passenger and Curious; a most excellent thread indeed.



RD

[The Rookie Detective]

So, the killer made a call from Massapequa? then from very busy areas in Manhattan so that even though the authorities got security surveillance tapes there were too many people on the phone to be able to narrow it down?

So, question No. 1:

Did the newspapers print that Melissa called from Massapequa? And the killer perhaps then went there to make a call because he read the papers and knew she had called from there? Or did he pick her up there and returned there for the call?

I'm guessing he does not live there. I think he is too savvy.

The great part is, though, that the authorities do have pictures of people on telephones. So, when they get suspects, they can check to see if that person is on one of the security tapes from around Times Square or Madison Square Garden or wherever the calls originated.

Those security cameras might eventually seal the killer's doom, even though right now the authorities say that with nearly 1,000 people on the phone it is no help.

Somehow, I wonder if the trip to the event in New Jersey has not narrowed the suspects down enough that they know who, but just don't have the evidence for an arrest and conviction yet? Perhaps the killer has enough clout that they are going to have all their I's dotted and T's crossed before making a move.

Officially, the authorities are saying the New Jersey murders are no connection, but I wonder . . . .

Dark Passenger, why do you think the killer called only Melissa's sister and doesn't appear to have used the other victims' phones?

Not as savvy as he thought it would seem.

The proven link between Massapequa and the centre of NYC, from where the dodgy calls to the victim's sister were traced meant that the killer must have had a physical connection to both locations.

A "seasonal" killer would signify a married man; or one with family commitments.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing of course, but it shouldn't have taken so long to find him based on the spectrum of info they had on the killer.


One of the biggest hindrances in a case like this, is when the police do not approach things in the correct way and lack the competency and integrity to push it through.

The same could likely apply to the JTR case as a whole.




RD

[curious]

Well, I found a good laugh in my post:
"I'm guessing he does not live there. I think he is too savvy." "there" was Massapequa, so clearly my crystal ball was not working that day. It does raise the question though: Did the taskforce go back to those photos once they had Rex Heuermann in their sights and look for him?

[bonestrewn]

Not sure if anyone is still following this case or thread...

A new documentary was recently released (available on Peacock in the US) called "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets." It features up-to-date info on the case, including the 7 women Heuermann is charged with killing, as well as interviews with his wife and his daughter.

I grew up and live on Long Island, and have family in the area where Heuermann lived. The big landmarks of the case are very well known to me as I've also had job roles where I traveled by commuter rail into Midtown. There's something weirdly "intimate" about seeing LI dissected and talked about, especially because it seems most people not from the area don't really understand Long Island (one of the talking heads in the documentary referred to it as an "isolated island"--the boros of Queens and Brooklyn are ON Long Island! LOL!).

Does anyone have thoughts or opinions on the latest evidence and items of interest?

The big one for me, shown in the documentary I mention, was the discovery on Heuermann's computer of a deleted file called "HK", which they believed stood for "Hunt/Kill," where he laid out very plainly a step-by-step plan for conducting murders, including preliminary sweeps of the dump site, the equipment he would need for the murders, and how to treat the bodies after death (removing marks of torture, removing identifying tattoos). This document apparently related to his earlier kills, with his MO changing as he got older.

They also found his wife's and daughter's hairs on different victims, which they tied to them solidly with nuclear DNA. The suggestion is Heuermann/his implements picked up the hairs from the family home and then distributed them onto the bodies accidentally. I have a strong impression that the older he got and the more the investigation into his crimes failed, the sloppier Heuermann became.

[Pcdunn]

Very interesting. Thanks for the heads up on the documentary; Bonestrewn.

[curious]

Yes, I'm still watching this case as it seems one of the biggest mysteries of our time. So glad he's behind bars. I amd eagerly watching for the judge's ruling on the DNA taken from the hair without the roots as it is fairly new science and New York State seems to be conservative in the legal area. Since I'm so against the state convicting innocent people, I don't think being conservative in accepting the latest discoveries is a bad thing. Plus, from what we've seen so far, it appears the DA has a strong enough case without the DNA evidence.

[Abby Normal]

ive been following this case too. huermann did it. they have cell phone records linking him to victims, his car matches a witness description, and most importantly dna match.

oh and his wife and family had no clue. they overwhelmingly dont in cases like this.

[Filby]

The Long Island Ripper

The purpose of this thread is to accumulate the known facts of the ongoing Long Island Ripper (aka; The Gilgo Beach Killer or The Gilgo Killer, or The Craigslist Ripper) case.

Named Victims:

All six named victims - including Shannan Gilbert, who may or may not have been a victim of the killer - advertised their services as sex workers on Craigslist. Four of them were found dismembered and wrapped in burlap sacks, with the exceptions of Jessica Taylor and Shannan Gilbert.

1. Jessica Taylor (26/07/2003)
20, found headless and handless on 26th July 2003 in Manorville, NY. Skull and forearm found in John F. Kennedy Wildlife Sanctuary during 12th April 2011 searches.

2. Maureen Brainard-Barnes (09/07/2007)
25, from Norwich, Connecticut, last seen in Manhattan on July 9th 2007.

3. Melissa Barthelemy (12/07/2009)
24, last seen in the Bronx on July 12, 2009.
Calls: July 16th, 19th, 23rd, 17 days after the disappearance of Melissa Barthelemy, her sister 16-year-old Amanda Funderberg received seven phone calls from the killer. He spoke evenly, and for no longer than three minutes, from Melissas cell phone. Calls traced to Madison Square Gardens and Times Square. Taunting, cruel, vulgar, mocking. Ended with him admitting hed killed her, taunted her about her sister being a whore. When calls were made public there was no more contact. He would talk only to Amanda.

4. Megan Waterman (06/06/2010)
22, from Maine, last seen June 6th 2010.

5. Amber Lynn Costello (02/09/2010)
27, last seen nearby in North Babylon on September 2, 2010.

6. Shannan Gilbert (01/05/2010) - inclusion questionable
A potential victim who, despite being a prostitute whose disappearance sparked the serial murder inquiry, has been ruled out by police as a victim of the LIR. She vanished 1st May 2010, and was found apparently drowned on 13th December 2011 half a mile from Oak Beach, Long Island.

Unidentified Victims

Five of the victims remain unidentified;

1. John Doe 1 (unknown)
Asian male dressed as a woman found dead on Ocean Parkway on 4th April 2011. He had died of head injuries.

2. Jane Doe 2 (unknown)
A non-Caucasian female toddler, aged between 16-32 months, found alongside John Doe 1 on Gilgo Beach on 4th April 2011. Her mother was Jane Doe 3.

3. Jane Doe 3 (unknown)
Female body found near Jones Beach in Nassau County on 11th April 2011, mother of Jane Doe 2.

4. Jane Doe 4 (1996)
A pair of legs in a refuse bag were found washed up on Fire Island, Nassau County, in 1996, and these were later linked by DNA to remains found on Gilgo Beach on 11th April 2011.

5. Jane Doe 6 (19/11/2000)
In her 30s, 19th November 2000, found headless and handless, and missing her right foot, was found stuffed into plastic bags in the same region as Jessica Taylor. More remains, a head, hands and right foot, found on 4th April 2011 linked to this victim through DNA.

Investigation

1st May 2010

On 1st May 2010, 24-year-old prostitute Shannan Gilbert met a client in Oak Beach, Long Island, after he responded to her Craigslist ad. She was last seen running screaming from the house, shouting that they were going to kill her before vanishing. The search for the missing woman centred on the beaches around southern Long Island, and in December 2010, the search recovered the first set of human remains. Not only were there four bodies at this particular deposition site, but none were of the missing woman. It should be pointed out that both Gilbert's driver, who was present, and the client she went to see, have been excluded from the investigation.

11th December 2010

The four named victims were found 50 feet from the roadside, within 500 feet of each other on Ocean Parkway, Long Island, 11th December 2010 - 14th December 2011. All had been stripped, dismembered and bagged in Hessian/burlap sacks.

29th March 2011 - 11th April 2011

Between 29th March and 11th April 2011, six more sets of remains were found. All were within two miles and to the east of the December 2010 victims.
First, four unidentified sets of remains were found a mile east of the first four. These include;
A female (Jane Doe 3) and a toddler (Jane Doe 2) whose DNA prove were mother and daughter;
An Asian man wearing womens clothing, with a skull fracture (John Doe 1).
A skull found in JFK Wildlife Sanctuary belonged to 20-year-old Jessica Taylor, whose headless, handless body was found in Manorville, NY, on 26th July 2003;
Finally, a torso was found a mile away, and was linked to body parts which washed up on Fire Island, Nassau County in 1996 (Jane Doe 4). Also found was a bag of extremities (Jane Doe 6).

29th November 2011

Police tell NBC New York that they now believe all ten murders - with the exception of the accidental death of Shannan Gilbert - were committed by a single serial killer. Gilberts death, they argue, was an accident which just happened to occur near to the deposition sites of the killer.

I have watched the documentary several times. What is evident, is that working with the groups of local sex workers and their acquaintances (for instance, if ONLY the Suffolk County police followed up with the original witness statement of Amber Costello's roomates), the case could have likely been solved and lives saved. I do wonder if working with the local groups could have played a more important role in the Ripper cases? The more I read in these forums, the more I'm leaning toward that MJK and perhaps even Eddowes knew their killer.

[bonestrewn]

I have watched the documentary several times. What is evident, is that working with the groups of local sex workers and their acquaintances (for instance, if ONLY the Suffolk County police followed up with the original witness statement of Amber Costello's roomates), the case could have likely been solved and lives saved. I do wonder if working with the local groups could have played a more important role in the Ripper cases? The more I read in these forums, the more I'm leaning toward that MJK and perhaps even Eddowes knew their killer.

Filby,

I agree with you completely.

One thing raised in the documentary is that leadership of Suffolk County police changed mid-investigation, and James Burke became chief of police. He had a history with a sex worker and apparently had sex in uniform in his police vehicle numerous times. When he became Chief, he ended collaboration with the FBI and completely derailed the Gilgo Beach case. Eventually he was removed and convicted on the basis of beating and intimidating a petty thief who had found pornography and sex toys in his (Burke's) police-issued vehicle. He also has a recent arrest (2023) for exposing himself to and propositioning a plainclothes officer, in public.

I don't want to sound too "woo-woo," but it seems to me Burke, as a powerful man with money who, like Heuermann, engaged impoverished prostitutes and has a sexually harmful history, had a good reason to not care about dead sex workers and in fact to brush violence against them under the rug. I am not suggesting there was conspiracy, just that Burke, Heuermann, and other men with relative social power benefit if the public remains ignorant and indifferent to the very profound social issues of poverty and sexual work. Regardless of conscious intent, one hand (Burke) washed another (Heuermann) in this case.

I also wonder how much we would know if investigators could have actively worked with prostitutes at the time of JTR's killings. We value the opinions and contributions of police like Abberline and Reid precisely because of years of on-the-ground experience; imagine how much more information could be found in the actual lived experiences of the group most targeted by Jack.