New York officials release new renderings of possible Gilgo Beach victim
BRENTWOOD, N.Y. (AP) — Law enforcement officials released new, more detailed renderings of one of the victims whose remains were found along a coastal highway in New York’s Long Island more than a decade ago in a string of deaths known as the Gilgo Beach killings.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said at a news conference with other law enforcement officials that the victim was of Asian descent, with the remains found off Ocean Parkway in 2011.
The victim, who for years had been identified by officials as male but who police believe now may have presented outwardly as female, died in 2006 or earlier, was likely between ages 17 and 23 and about 5 feet 6 inches (170 centimeters) tall, and was likely of Southern Chinese, or Han, descent.
The victim was found dressed in women’s clothing, Tierney said. New renderings were being released Monday in the hopes they may generate new leads. They include versions that are both male- and female-presenting.
“This person certainly had a life and loved ones,” Tierney said. “It’s important that this person get their name back and that their loved ones know what happened.”
Flyers with the renderings and a description of the victim and the clothes they were found wearing are being distributed in Asian communities across New York and will be translated into a range of languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai and Indonesian, he said.
Local officials released a more basic sketch of the victim back in 2011.
Tierney said DNA records from Asian people are less common in U.S. genetic databases, making it difficult to compare and identify the remains through traditional methods.
No one has been charged in the death. A local architect is accused in the killings of six women, some of whose remains were found near the unidentified man’s.
Rex Heuermann, 61, was arraigned in June in connection with the deaths of two young women long believed to have been preyed upon as sex workers.
The charges came after recent police searches of Heuermann’s home and a wooded area on Long Island.
Jessica Taylor disappeared in 2003 and Sandra Costilla was killed 30 years ago, in 1993.
Costilla’s inclusion in the case indicates prosecutors now believe Heuermann was killing women far longer than previously thought.
Heuermann was previously charged with killing four others: Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
Since late 2010, police have been investigating the deaths of at least 10 people — mostly female sex workers — whose remains were discovered along an isolated highway near Gilgo Beach.
Heuermann, who lived across the bay, was arrested last July.
He has pleaded not guilty and his attorney, Michael Brown, did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Monday and over the weekend.
By PHILIP MARCELO
Associated Press
