Manorville, New York – A search in the East Long Island community of Manorville, New York, uncovered body parts of two of the 11 Gilgo Beach victims, adding to the ongoing case, law enforcement officials said. It is said to be related to the investigation.
Suffolk County Police deferred comment to the District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office declined to confirm a connection to the Gilgo victim, but confirmed a search was underway in the area this week.
“Suffolk County Police, New York City Police, and New York State Police are working with the District Attorney’s Office on the investigation,” his office said in a statement. “Due to the ongoing investigation, we will not comment. We will issue further statements as necessary.”
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Suffolk County police officers and a K-9 unit search a wooded area on Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Manorville, New York. The search is reportedly related to the ongoing investigation into the Gilgo Beach murder case. Of the 11 bodies found near beaches in 2010 and 2011, only four resulted in charges, all against serial killer Rex Heuerman. (Matt Agde, Fox News Digital)
Suffolk police say 11 couples were arrested on a secluded stretch of Ocean Parkway in 2010 and 2011 after a woman named Shanann Gilbert disappeared after calling 911 for help from the gated community of Oak Beach. Found a dead body.
Among them was Melissa Barthelemy, 24, of Gilgo Four. Megan Waterman, 22 years old. Amber Costello, 27 years old. and Maureen Brainerd Burns (25).
It may be the first time in history that two serial killers use the same dump, but I doubt it.
In July, police arrested New York City architect Rex Huellman in connection with the killings. He lived a 20-minute drive from Gilgo Beach in Massapequa Park.
After Heuerman’s arraignment, Tierney vowed to continue using the grand jury process to investigate other deaths.
Joseph Giacalone, a former New York City police sergeant and cold case expert who teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said of the new Manorville manhunt, “It could be related to the grand jury.” It’s possible, but I don’t think so.” “I think this came in as a hint that there must have been some substantiation.” [grandjuryrelated[butIdon’tthinkitis”JosephGiacaloneaformerNYPDsergeantandcoldcaseexpertwhoteachesattheJohnJayCollegeofCriminalJusticesaidofthenewManorvillesearcheffort”Ithinkitcomesinasatipthatmust’vehadsomecorroboration”
Alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuerman appears in Judge Tim Mazzei’s courtroom next to his attorney Michael Brown on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 at the Suffolk County Courthouse in Riverhead, New York. . (James Carbone/Newsday/Pool)
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He praised the county’s handling of the investigation and its willingness to consider the possibility that there may be more victims.
Gilbert’s body was the last to be found, and years later police announced that she had died in an accident, but the official cause of death was unknown.
However, there are still six unsolved cases, and two of the victims, Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack, were dismembered and abandoned in different locations. Police first discovered the victims’ partial bodies in Manorville in 2000 and 2003. Additional bodies were discovered during the 2011 search for Gilbert.
Jessica Taylor (left) and Valerie Mack were both murdered and dismembered. Suffolk County police found the partial bodies of each victim both in Manorville, New York, and along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach. (Suffolk County Police Department/Handout)
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Heuerman has pleaded not guilty to Gilgo Four’s murder and has not been named a suspect in the other deaths.
District Attorney Tierney, who is also the lead prosecutor against Heuerman, has vowed that other cases will continue to be investigated by the grand jury.
“John Bittrolff lived not too far away,” Giacalone said, referring to another Long Island serial killer who roamed the area in the 1990s. “Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack were found not far from there, and the rest were found in Gilgo.”
The “Gilgo Four” are, clockwise from top left, Maureen Brainard Burns, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. In the background, a wooden cross is shown in the marshes adjacent to Gilgo Beach, New York, where their bodies were discovered in the brush just a few meters from Ocean Parkway. (Suffolk County Police Department/Fox News Digital Mega)
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Another Long Island serial killer, John Bittrolff, is currently responsible for the murders of Rita Tangredi, 31, and Colleen McNamee, 20, whose bodies were found naked in Manorville in 1993 and 1994. He is currently serving two consecutive terms of 25 years to life in prison for murder. Both had been strangled and had signs of severe head trauma.
Although his victim was last seen in a nearby community, he also lived in Manorville and was at one time considered a suspect in the Gilgo murders.
Robert Biancavilla, a former Suffolk County assistant district attorney who prosecuted Bittrolf in the Tangredi and McNamee killings, said after the verdict that the suspect may have been involved in at least one of the Gilgo cases.
In this July 31, 2014 file photo, John Bittrolff listens to attorney William Keehon during his arraignment on a murder charge in Riverhead, New York. Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Robert Biancavilla said Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, that Bittrolf, who was convicted of murdering two prostitutes in the 1990s, was involved in a fatal shooting along the Long Island Beach Expressway. He said he may be involved in at least one of the 10 murders solved. (James Carbone/Newsday, via AP, Pool, File)
Mr Bittrolf’s lawyer, Jonathan Manley, denied the allegations, calling it a “ridiculous” attempt to garner media attention for an unsolved case.
But John Kelly, a criminal profiler who has followed the case for more than a decade, said there may be something to Biancavilla’s prediction.
He pointed out that Huellman’s alleged victims were found unharmed and hidden in disguised burlap used by duck hunters, adding: “Associating body parts with Rex right now is actually I don’t think I can do it.”
A road sign directing drivers to Gilgo Beach, off Ocean Parkway, about 45 miles east of New York City. (Michael Lewis/Fox News Digital)
“Bittrolf was a poser and a cutter,” Kelly told FOX News Digital. “He was hoping that the last victim we know of would be found.”
He believes the convicted killer likely had other victims, and that if investigators find more bodies in the Manor Building, they will likely find a connection. There is.
Although both men were accused of murdering prostitutes, Kelly said Bittrolf differs from Heuermann in two important ways. Mr. Bittrolf met with his victims in person rather than online, and Internet use was not as widespread as when police said Mr. Huellman met his victims on Craigslist and dating apps. Mack and Taylor both disappeared.
Alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuerman appears in Judge Tim Mazzei’s courtroom next to his attorney Michael Brown on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 at the Suffolk County Courthouse in Riverhead, New York. . (James Carbone/Newsday/Pool)
Furthermore, Gilgo Four was hidden by brush and camouflage linen, and Bittrolf’s victims were left undiscovered.
“He liked to present them as a way to shock investigators,” Kelly said.
The former carpenter was also a hunter and is said to have eaten raw deer hearts in a bizarre ritual.
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Bittrolf is also suspected in another murder, that of Sandra Costilla, but has not been charged.
“He knew Manorville Woods like the back of his hand,” Kelly said. “He was always outside hunting.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
