LI Search for Bodies Moves West

Investigators will expand the search into Nassau County

The investigation into a possible serial killer on Long Island will move west into Nassau County.

Officers on Monday will fan out for a grid-by-grid search from Jones Beach to Tobay Beach.

So far, the remains of eight victims have been found in the Gilgo and Oak Beach areas in Suffolk County during the search for a missing New Jersey woman, Shannan Gilbert. 

Police suspect they may be chasing a serial killer. They have not named any suspects in the case, which began as a search for Gilbert, who has yet to be found.

The discovery of those eight bodies on a highway leading to Jones Beach has detectives searching beyond the thicket of sea grass and evergreens where the remains were found.

Police are scouring credit card receipts, telephone records and old traffic tickets in the hunt, sources told the Associated Press.  Several published reports suggest that the killer appears to be familiar with police techniques and could be a current or former law enforcement officer.

On Sunday, the New York Post detailed a disturbing series of calls believed to have been made by the killer from the cellphone of one of the missing women in the days after she vanished in the summer of 2009.   The male caller taunted the little sister of  missing woman Melissa Barthelemy, 24, of the Bronx.

The New York Times on Saturday also pointed to those calls, noting  they came from a busy area around Times Square and Penn Station and were kept to under three minutes -- making it almost impossible to pinpoint the caller's location.

According to the New York Times, an investigator who was not named "emphasized that the idea that the killer could be an active or former law enforcement officer was just one theory being examined by homicide investigators in Suffolk County, where the bodies were found."

Locals on Long Island are worried that more bodies could turn up.

High school teacher Vincent Benazzi said "whether or not it's a dumping ground or whatever they want to call it, it's just a sick feeling.''

Suffolk police on Friday wrapped up their exhaustive search for remains on Oak and Gilgo Beach.

Suffolk Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said that "it is possible we missed something, and as I said, we're gonna be back here again. We're not giving up."

Police have erected a flashing sign nearby, asking for tips to help crack the case.

The sign reads: "Gilgo Murders -- Cash for Tips" and includes the Crime Stoppers number, 1-800-244-TIPS.

Four of the bodies were found last year as police searched for Gilbert, who was last seen in the area, and four more sets of remains have been found in the last week.

The first four victims to be identified had all been sex workers.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us