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Gilgo Beach Serial Killer


BrooklynGuy

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After up to 17 victims, cops still can't find the Gilgo Beach Killer

By Brad Hamilton

January 3, 2015 | 8:45pm

It was a bitterly cold afternoon four years ago when a Suffolk County cop's German shepherd sniffed out the skeletal corpse of Melissa Barthelemy, 24, a Bronx prostitute who had vanished a year and a half earlier.

The cop had been looking for a different woman, but the dog's discovery of Barthelemy's body in a crumbling burlap sack amid the thorny underbrush off Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach, Long Island, exposed something unexpected.

It was the sickening work of one of New York's most prolific serial killers ever with a body count of at least 10 victims and as many as 17.

Read more: http://nypost.com/20...o-beach-killer/

Edited by BrooklynGuy
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After up to 17 victims, cops still can't find the Gilgo Beach Killer

By Brad Hamilton

January 3, 2015 | 8:45pm

It was a bitterly cold afternoon four years ago when a Suffolk County cop's German shepherd sniffed out the skeletal corpse of Melissa Barthelemy, 24, a Bronx prostitute who had vanished a year and a half earlier.

The cop had been looking for a different woman, but the dog's discovery of Barthelemy's body in a crumbling burlap sack amid the thorny underbrush off Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach, Long Island, exposed something unexpected.

It was the sickening work of one of New York's most prolific serial killers ever with a body count of at least 10 victims and as many as 17.

Read more: http://nypost.com/20...o-beach-killer/

Joseph Brewer sure looks good for this and the neighbouring doctor that gave Gilbert more drugs??? How exactly does a chain of events like that end up with the two of them being struck off the suspect list? Surely, they should be front and centre, absolutely nothing about that night's events and the call that Gilberts death was accidental make any sense whatsoever.

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Very interesting, maybe they need to put an undercover on Craigslist. But as smart as the majority of serial killers are, I doubt hell take the bait.

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That's the beach I grew up going to, and still go to! The consensus around here (and I have no sources) is that they know who the killer is, and he committed suicide a few years ago.

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If they knew who the killer was and he had killed himself, law enforcement would have publicized it. Disrespect towards law enforcement wont get anybody anywhere. Just keep that in mind.

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This is the Timewarrior speaking. . .

Based on the testimony. . .Ms. Gilbert apparently had a little psychotic or drug induced breakdown. . .she basically fled off into the night in an unpopulated area during winter and got herself killed. . .what is fascinating. . .in one of life's little coincidences. . .is that while searching for her. .. they found others. . .

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In 2011 the police said there was no indication of a connection between these murders and those of the Eastbound strangler. I just wanted to add this to the thread because I don't think anything should be ruled out unless or until someone is convicted in the Atlantic City case.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastbound_Strangler

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If they knew who the killer was and he had killed himself, law enforcement would have publicized it. Disrespect towards law enforcement wont get anybody anywhere. Just keep that in mind.

All I said was that I heard the killer committed suicide and that the cops haven't said anything yet. How was that disrespectful? They may not have enough evidence to come forward with their belief, or they may not be allowed. There is a lot of bureaucracy involved in announcing such things.

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All I said was that I heard the killer committed suicide and that the cops haven't said anything yet. How was that disrespectful? They may not have enough evidence to come forward with their belief, or they may not be allowed. There is a lot of bureaucracy involved in announcing such things.

Coming from some one in the field of criminal justice, there isnt as much bureacracy as you would think. Actually if he had killed him self it would already be publicised because, that in its self is enough evidence to publicise it. In fact they really dont need much evidence at all to publicise a dead person, since they are dead.

:clap:

Edited by Felixconan700
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Coming from some one in the field of criminal justice, there isnt as much bureacracy as you would think. Actually if he had killed him self it would already be publicised because, that in its self is enough evidence to publicise it. In fact they really dont need much evidence at all to publicise a dead person, since they are dead.

:clap:

Okay well, no point in arguing then.

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Ms. Gilbert apparently had a little psychotic or drug induced breakdown. . .she basically fled off into the night in an unpopulated area during winter and got herself killed. . .what is fascinating. . .in one of life's little coincidences. . .is that while searching for her. .. they found others. . .

Well, it wasn't winter- it was the morning of May 1st, but I agree that Gilbert was not a homicide victim.

I think what she experienced was a condition called excited delirium.

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That's the beach I grew up going to, and still go to! The consensus around here (and I have no sources) is that they know who the killer is, and he committed suicide a few years ago.

Wow too close for comfort. Don't take the rumour for granted, he could still be out there. ;)

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  • 3 weeks later...

A local buisnessman comitted suicide,and i guess because he fit the profile somewhat,and his store used burlap sacks,some thought he may have been the LISK..LE came out and de-bunked all the rumors..IMO,the killer is still out there,but is laying low right now..I've always thought the killer lives in NYC,and probably grew up on LI..Some believe the killer is a cop,while some a cab driver..The killer made taunting phone calls to a victims sister using the victims cell phone.LE traced the calls,but since they were made from GCS,and other very populated locations,ID'ing anyone was impossible..Even some in LE acknowledges the killer is very aware of LE tatics,and MAY be an ex-cop,or even cop..Whoever he is,so far he's been able to stay one step ahead,but sooner or later,if he keeps killing,he will be caught...

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Well, it wasn't winter- it was the morning of May 1st, but I agree that Gilbert was not a homicide victim.

I think what she experienced was a condition called excited delirium.

This is the Timewarrior speaking. . .Good catch. Don't know how i missed that. . .must have been high on some sort of euphoria or something. . .whoops. . .either way. . .my point still stands. . .Shannon Gilbert ended up getting herself killed by wandering off into the wilderness in a mentally incapacitated state. . .it is tragic and sad and some would nominate her for a Darwin Award. . .but such is life. . .still to have one accidental death lead to multiple victims of a serial killer. . .is kinda both ironic and surreal. . .

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This is the Timewarrior speaking. . .Good catch. Don't know how i missed that. . .must have been high on some sort of euphoria or something. . .whoops. . .

:lol:

No, I think it's because the bodies were found during a search for Gilbert but that search/discovery was in December. :tu:

In fact, authorities believed that the weather conditions comprimized search efforts and so further searches were postponed until the following March.

still to have one accidental death lead to multiple victims of a serial killer. . .is kinda both ironic and surreal. . .

Yeah, but it seems to me that it's often happenstance which leads to a serial killer. Needless to say, in Gilbert's case, during the time of her ordeal, she happened to have been with a client who lived in the relative vicinity of a serial killers' dump site.

The fact that Gilbert and the serial killer victims worked as prostitutes is truly a remarkable coincidence.

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I think that the Asian male cross dressed victim, the mother doe, and toddler doe are not the serial killers victims. They don't fit the profile of his victims and despite the reasoning behind them being possible LISK victims, I don't think he would leave identifying clothing or jewelry on a victim - EVER.

I don't think the serial killer is a cop and I agree that he is a seasonal killer and may have grew up around Long Island, but lives in NYC. He most likely evolved from dismembering to leaving victims intact after he figured out a secure disposal area for himself (the remains he left in other areas had been found, but not the Gilgo beach remains). I think he reads the news to get his info about the investigation and to see if his victims have been found.

For example, he stopped calling Barthelemy's sister immediately after the media made it public knowledge that law enforcement was tracking the calls. If he were in law enforcement he could be privy to the information and not rely on the news - so I doubt he is a cop.

I do find it interesting that Jessica Taylor and Maureen Barnes were last known to be around the Port Authority Bus Terminal before they were picked up and that one of the calls made to Barthelemy's sister was triangulated to that same Port Authority Bus Terminal area. Makes me wonder if Jane Doe #6 was working the Port Authority Bus Terminal area before she died. Additionally it makes me wonder just how close he lives or works to that Port Authority Terminal.

He progressed from getting them off the street, dismembering them (possibly in the city) and leaving their bodies scattered TO getting them off craigslist, picking them up in LI closer to the disposal site, and leaving them intact in burlap sacks. He evolved. He took breaks between his initial killings, one break being nearly 4 years long. The murders occurred in closer intervals toward the end of his spree in 2010. I do not believe he is as rich or educated as people make him out to be - maybe his parents, but not himself. In reality he's probably a loser of sorts - he can maintain a steady job long enough to get by in life, but in my opinion he hasn't reached the social milestones most men reach by 35-40 like marriage and kids. I doubt he can maintain a marriage or meaningful relationship with a woman and he's probably single.

I believe he is a white male because he told Melissa's sister she was a "half breed" during a taunting call - because her father is African American. I believe he also visited the remains of his victims to relive their murders and fantasize. He turned on Maureen's cellphone at Gilgo beach a year after he killed her - he wanted to check her voicemail. So I assume he kept her phone as a trophy and enjoyed listening to the messages from her loved ones frantically trying to find her, and the sick thing is he probably did this before/after/while looking at her body. Melissa's voicemail also had been checked from 2 cheap hotels in Massapequa days if not hours after she disappeared and days before the taunting calls were made to her sister Amanda.

I think this guy can't stop killing. He knows how to change up his MO to continue killing after victims are found - he proved this with Jessica Taylor after she was found by limiting his grave site to Gilgo only and ceasing dismemberments. He realized his first method of killing/disposal was too much work and more important too risky. The whole bodies had been put off major highways and coastal highways far from NYC where he most likely lived, in Gilgo the bodies were only 50 ft out from the street so the theory that he was intimately familiar with Gilgo beach is lost on me. He MAY have grown up on Long Island, but I don't believe he grew up in Gilgo Beach/Oak Beach proper - Gilgo just so happened to be the area that none of the body parts he had scattered had been found yet and THATS why he was so comfortable with the area.

He had wanted to meet up with Amber Costello at the same Holiday Inn Megan was last seen. Amber had declined and met up with him weeks later on Sept. 2 outside her home instead. The proximity of the highway to the Holiday Inn should be noted.

He may himself have or has family/friends in Long Island that have access to burlap sacks - fishermen/landscapers/contractors/construction. It is to be noted that if the sacks belong to someone else he knows they probably are not aware of the sacks being used in a crime. Unsub may have simply asked to use them and the friend/family obliged.

Although Shannan Gilbert's death is tragic I do not believe she was a victim of the serial killer nor do I believe anyone involved in her case is the serial killer.

That's my crappy profile on the Gilgo Beach Killer or Long Island Serial Killer. I'm sure I have more points but meh. Whatever. :)

Edited by WildFlower30
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He also would need to be big enough to carry 100-145 pound bags. He is most likely strong and involved in some sort of construction/contracting.

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Interesting find ... The area around that seedy Holiday Inn express that Megan was last seen and where the killer wanted to Meet Amber Costello... That place is basically huge empty lots and 4 nearby businesses, one of the businesses being an industrial shipping center (burlap is used to ship things?) as the other 3 that are closer to the Holiday Inn are all construction/contracting companies (again burlap used in Construction). Could the killer work near that Holiday Inn or have access to any of those businesses? Do those businesses leave used burlap sheets outside that he could have picked up? Something so desolate about the area around that Holiday Inn - you could get assaulted at 1am in someone's car or behind/in one of those warehouse businesses and no one would know it was happening. Plus that holiday Inn is right off the highway. Could take a body/victim from that Holiday Inn via HWY down to Gilgo instead of risking going slower on backroads with stoplights where you can get pulled over.

Edited by WildFlower30
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Great post wildflower!

I think that the Asian male cross dressed victim, the mother doe, and toddler doe are not the serial killers victims. They don't fit the profile of his victims and despite the reasoning behind them being possible LISK victims, I don't think he would leave identifying clothing or jewelry on a victim - EVER.

I don't think the serial killer is a cop and I agree that he is a seasonal killer and may have grew up around Long Island, but lives in NYC. He most likely evolved from dismembering to leaving victims intact after he figured out a secure disposal area for himself (the remains he left in other areas had been found, but not the Gilgo beach remains). I think he reads the news to get his info about the investigation and to see if his victims have been found.

For example, he stopped calling Barthelemy's sister immediately after the media made it public knowledge that law enforcement was tracking the calls. If he were in law enforcement he could be privy to the information and not rely on the news - so I doubt he is a cop.

I do find it interesting that Jessica Taylor and Maureen Barnes were last known to be around the Port Authority Bus Terminal before they were picked up and that one of the calls made to Barthelemy's sister was triangulated to that same Port Authority Bus Terminal area. Makes me wonder if Jane Doe #6 was working the Port Authority Bus Terminal area before she died. Additionally it makes me wonder just how close he lives or works to that Port Authority Terminal.

He progressed from getting them off the street, dismembering them (possibly in the city) and leaving their bodies scattered TO getting them off craigslist, picking them up in LI closer to the disposal site, and leaving them intact in burlap sacks. He evolved. He took breaks between his initial killings, one break being nearly 4 years long. The murders occurred in closer intervals toward the end of his spree in 2010. I do not believe he is as rich or educated as people make him out to be - maybe his parents, but not himself. In reality he's probably a loser of sorts - he can maintain a steady job long enough to get by in life, but in my opinion he hasn't reached the social milestones most men reach by 35-40 like marriage and kids. I doubt he can maintain a marriage or meaningful relationship with a woman and he's probably single.

I believe he is a white male because he told Melissa's sister she was a "half breed" during a taunting call - because her father is African American. I believe he also visited the remains of his victims to relive their murders and fantasize. He turned on Maureen's cellphone at Gilgo beach a year after he killed her - he wanted to check her voicemail. So I assume he kept her phone as a trophy and enjoyed listening to the messages from her loved ones frantically trying to find her, and the sick thing is he probably did this before/after/while looking at her body. Melissa's voicemail also had been checked from 2 cheap hotels in Massapequa days if not hours after she disappeared and days before the taunting calls were made to her sister Amanda.

I think this guy can't stop killing. He knows how to change up his MO to continue killing after victims are found - he proved this with Jessica Taylor after she was found by limiting his grave site to Gilgo only and ceasing dismemberments. He realized his first method of killing/disposal was too much work and more important too risky. The whole bodies had been put off major highways and coastal highways far from NYC where he most likely lived, in Gilgo the bodies were only 50 ft out from the street so the theory that he was intimately familiar with Gilgo beach is lost on me. He MAY have grown up on Long Island, but I don't believe he grew up in Gilgo Beach/Oak Beach proper - Gilgo just so happened to be the area that none of the body parts he had scattered had been found yet and THATS why he was so comfortable with the area.

He had wanted to meet up with Amber Costello at the same Holiday Inn Megan was last seen. Amber had declined and met up with him weeks later on Sept. 2 outside her home instead. The proximity of the highway to the Holiday Inn should be noted.

He may himself have or has family/friends in Long Island that have access to burlap sacks - fishermen/landscapers/contractors/construction. It is to be noted that if the sacks belong to someone else he knows they probably are not aware of the sacks being used in a crime. Unsub may have simply asked to use them and the friend/family obliged.

Although Shannan Gilbert's death is tragic I do not believe she was a victim of the serial killer nor do I believe anyone involved in her case is the serial killer.

That's my crappy profile on the Gilgo Beach Killer or Long Island Serial Killer. I'm sure I have more points but meh. Whatever. :)

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^thank you kindly Druan! :). I would give you a smiley face that is waving, but I'm not versed enough in this board to know how to utilize that function.

Sidenote: I also need to say that when I mentioned burlap sacks above I may have been assuming too much. The victims were "wrapped" in burlap most reports said. So they were more likely wrapped with sheets of burlap and not placed I sacks of burlap. Sheets of burlap are more commonly used in construction which is why I'm leaning toward the unsub being in construction himself or at least killing the last 4 victims near a place that he had access to burlap sheets/construction supplies ( maybe one of those construction/contracting businesses by the holiday inn express?). Whew ok I feel better now that I cleared that up.

Edited by WildFlower30
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I think that the Asian male cross dressed victim, the mother doe, and toddler doe are not the serial killers victims. They don't fit the profile of his victims and despite the reasoning behind them being possible LISK victims, I don't think he would leave identifying clothing or jewelry on a victim - EVER.

Oh, I disagree because- as you obviously already know, serial killers will evolve.

He had wanted to meet up with Amber Costello at the same Holiday Inn Megan was last seen. Amber had declined and met up with him weeks later on Sept. 2 outside her home instead.

I don't remember contact prior to the day she was missing.The way I remember it, Amber's roommate said that Amber had spoken to a man (whom she later walked away from her home to meet) several times that same day.

I don't recall if the roommate knew the reason for the several phone calls, but I clearly recall him saying that the man insisted that Amber not bring her cell phone with her, which she didn't.

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Oh, I disagree because- as you obviously already know, serial killers will evolve.

I don't remember contact prior to the day she was missing.The way I remember it, Amber's roommate said that Amber had spoken to a man (whom she later walked away from her home to meet) several times that same day.

I don't recall if the roommate knew the reason for the several phone calls, but I clearly recall him saying that the man insisted that Amber not bring her cell phone with her, which she didn't.

There may have been contact by the same man, but they aren't sure. Amber's roommate said that she sounded comfortable on the phone with the client that would have been the serial killer, as if she had met up with him before. I don't think she would leave her cell behind if she hadn't worked with the John previously. Here's where I got the Holiday Inn connection (surprised me too when I read it recently):

"Interestingly, two of the women had a connection to the same Holiday Inn Express, located just off the Long Island Expressway in Hauppage, New York. According to Costello's roommate Dave Schaller, the pint-size escort received a call from a john who wanted her to meet him at the hotel at 1 a.m. a few weeks before she disappeared in September 2010. And Megan Waterman was staying at the same hotel with her boyfriend when she vanished without a trace three months earlier. Lorraine Ela, Megan's mother, said her daughter had logged onto Craigslist just after midnight on the night she went missing, and that videocameras showed her leaving the hotel at 1:30 a.m."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/04/24/melissa-barthelemy-the-long-island-serial-killer-victims-secret-life.html

And as for the child and mother as well as the cross dresser, sure they may be his victims, but I decided to stick only with victims that fit his known victims profile. I personally believe the mother and child may be victims of domestic violence or sex trafficking (one detective even theorized this could be why they were murdered). Then again this is just my opinion.

With the Asian male crossdresser, I do understand the possibility that the killer picked him up thinking he was female, became enraged when he discovered she was a man, and in that moment of rage bashed the poor victim in the skull and dropped his body with no ritualistic effort of stripping it or bagging/dismembering it bc the body angered him and disgusted him. He wanted to be "rid of it" ASAP. But again, I only wanted to focus on the victims that I feel for sure match his victim's profile.

It was interesting however when I entered the all victims into my timeline with the others I felt fit his victim profile. I'll have to look back at those notes to remember. If it's anything substantial I'll add.

In fact I may add a profile/timeline based on all the victims, not just those that fit his profile - just to do it as my initial profiles included all victims anyways.

Thanks for the reply :)

Edited by WildFlower30
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Amber's roommate said that she sounded comfortable on the phone with the client that would have been the serial killer, as if she had met up with him before. I don't think she would leave her cell behind if she hadn't worked with the John previously.

Well, I'm recalling info. from a documentary I watched a loooong time ago, but I distinctly remember that the roommate wasn't comfortable with the scenario of her leaving without her phone.

Now, I would think if she'd met up with the serial killer before, she'd have already been murdered, but anyway...

To my knowledge, Megan also left her cell phone behind and I've wondered if it was because it was insisted (as in Amber's case) that she do so....

I personally believe the mother and child may be victims of domestic violence or sex trafficking (one detective even theorized this could be why they were murdered).

Well, personally, I'll take that detective's theory to the bank just as soon as he solves the case. :lol:

I just wouldn't rule out those three victims, and I disagree with the reason you said you'd rule them out.

Including those three, there are a total of five unidentified victims and before they're identified, I couldn't rule any of them out.

Edited by regi
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Well, I'm recalling info. from a documentary I watched a loooong time ago, but I distinctly remember that the roommate wasn't comfortable with the scenario of her leaving without her phone.

Now, I would think if she'd met up with the serial killer before, she'd have already been murdered, but anyway...

To my knowledge, Megan also left her cell phone behind and I've wondered if it was because it was insisted (as in Amber's case) that she do so....

Well, personally, I'll take that detective's theory to the bank just as soon as he solves the case. :lol:

I just wouldn't rule out those three victims, and I disagree with the reason you said you'd rule them out.

Including those three, there are a total of five unidentified victims and before they're identified, I couldn't rule any of them out.

I didn't say the roommate was comfortable, I said The roommate said Amber sounded comfortable on the phone. So yes please read what I write correctly before responding. Joel Rifkin frequented prostitutes and did not kill them all. He killed some he frequented after meeting them many times and some he was a first time customer of. I've seen that same documentary btw. It's pretty good, but misses a lot of key info.

Additionally, just how many "detectives" do you think are on this case? There are MANY investigators involved, all with different theories as to how many killers may have been involved in using that stretch as a dumping ground for nearly 15 years. Just because one official makes a statement based on opinion it doesn't mean everyone involved in the investigation agrees. I believe they did not want people to become alarmed in believing that there were multiple killers LIKE the serial killer dumping bodies bc people are too dim witted typically to understand that the other victims homicides may have been isolated events. After 15 years, I would think there would be remains other than the serial killers on that island situated on a coastal highway nestled right out of the city. Many killers used that same area before him and many will after, so for some detective's to assume ALL bodies found on one island were the work of one killer (some bodies not even on the same beach or vicinity as the others) it is really silly to me.

Edited by WildFlower30
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