The United States law and police are still biting their nails for not being able to close the Long Island serial killer case that came their way a couple of decades ago. Around 15 prostitutes have been murdered during this long time span. Long Island’s corpse-laden South Shore is the only strong evidence to catch the suspect, which did not fructify over the years.
First Murder Investigation in 2010
The investigation began with the incident of a 24-year old prostitute missing from a client’s home located in the Long Island’s Oak Beach area. Her name was Shannan Gilbert, and she was the first case to be investigated that led to the discovery of 4 female body remains following their burial several years ago. Another 10 corpses were found in the Oak Beach and Gilgo beach as well as their adjoining areas within a year’s time between 2010 and 2011. But nowhere could they find Shannan, either alive or dead, and it still remains a mystery.
A Span of 20 Years Fell Short to Identify the Killer
Over the years, the United States’ law-enforcing authorities could only suspect but not catch hold of the actual serial killer. The list of suspects narrowed down to a final number of 4 following the repeated police interrogations.
Peter Hackett
The first among the accused is Dr. Peter Hackett, who has a connection with the disappearance of Shannan Gilbert, as proved by his action following that incident. He informed Mari Gilbert (Shannan’s mother) about running a wayward girls’ home just after the incident occurred. Policemen came to know about this phone call from her, and it underwent an inspection. The investigation result proved Mari Gilbert’s statement true and found out this suspect’s real name, which is Charles Peter Hackett. The court records confirmed the name and his occupation being a doctor for emergency services who resided in Oak beach locality.
The disparity between his media confession and his answers to the police interrogation failed to prove whether he is the culprit. The doctor denied the phone call to Mari and seeing Shannan while responding to the media. On the other hand, a renowned crime investigation show on CBS News got his assent to the statement of having called Mari Gilbert. His statement in 2011 assures of letting Shannan in his house but refusing to provide her with any treatment.
His impression of a storyteller on the police department included his name amidst the suspects of this case. Shannan’s family had filed a death suit against him, but they withdrew it later due to the unavailability of any proof against him. This suspect leads a peaceful family life in Fort Myers, Florida, instead of being behind bars.
James Burke
The second name revealed by the investigation is that of James Burke, who was a police officer himself and even received a promotion in 2011. In 2016, he went to prison on the ground of having flouted civic rights by assaulting a local. The latter filed a legal complaint against Burke. He disclosed the information on being attacked within the police station’s premises.
As claimed by Leanne, a prostitute, Burke had hurt her head during their oral sex. This convinced people about the possibility of him taking drugs or running an illegal business. The New York Times stated Burke being charged with sexual activity while remaining on duty. In 2018, he came out of prison only to be sent to a rehabilitation center. His attempt to stop the Long Island investigation by the FBI during his term as the presiding Police Chief counts him amongst the offenders.
James Bissette
He counted him out of the suspects’ list by bringing an end to his life within his car, inside the Mattituck Park. From the strangulation marks of burlap on the corpses of those prostitutes, the investigation concluded burlap as the means of their death. Brisette was known to be a leading supplier of this product to the serial killer.
John Bittrolff
Amongst the aforementioned suspects, he is the only one to be held guilty of this crime. But, he didn’t have to waste time in police custody for this serial killer case. He resided in Suffolk County but was held guilty in 2017, September 12, for having killed 2 prostitutes and was expected of murdering a third person. He belonged to the profession of carpentry and got arrested in context to the presence of his DNA on the bodies of Rita Tangredi and Coleen McNamee. They were the victims of homicide and were discovered in Long Island’s investigated murder sites back in 1993 & 1994. The doubt regarding him being one of the murderers was confirmed in 2017 when he went to prison for a period of 50 years. He is suffering the punishment till date at the New York, Hudson Valley’s Downstate Correctional Facility.
Who Were the Victims?
In between 2010 and 2020, the set of corpse remains, or dead body numbers, adds up to 10 in total. 4 of the dead bodies got identified back in 2010, in the month of December. Those were the corpses of the missing sex workers, and each of their services showed up on Craiglist in the form of advertisements.
The names of these victims are Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Even today, Missy Cann remembers Maureen Brainard-Barness (her sister) calling her over the phone at the late hours. She recollects the commotion of the train station while talking to her sister. The call traced by investigators reveals a Long Island cell tower.
2011 witnessed the discovery of more corpses, but the police could identify only 2 of them through DNA analysis. These two victims, namely, Valerie Mack and Jessica Taylor, were aged 24 and 20 years, respectively, at the time of death.
The latest evidence to this case was presented back in 2020 January by the Suffolk County police department. They came across a leather-made black belt in one of the crime zones and took a photograph of it to release it in public. Its connection with the ‘Long Island Serial Killer’ case has been emphasized by the law-enforcement authority.
Geraldine Hart, the Police Commissioner of Suffolk County, stated that his department is hopeful about the photograph in bringing out more suspects or the information on how that item reached the crime scene.
With the serial killer’s whereabouts remaining a secret over the years, there is hardly any information on whether he is dead by now or is still living. The privilege of remaining unidentified might boost his courage to become active again in the same region. The question that keeps bothering the mind is. Will ever a mother’s cry for justice be answered by the investigators and law enforcement officers?
The detective chief in 2010, Dominick Varrone, came by burlap enwrapped human remains along the Ocean Parkway of Gilgo Beach, Long Island. The month of December was packed with surprises in the form of dead remains of female mortals that kept on appearing. The inhuman behavior of the serial killer is evident from the manner the bodies were packed and placed at intervals of 500 feet approximately.
The details provided by Dominick Varrone presents a similarity of physical features, with each of the dead bodies having a height of 4 feet and 11 inches, hazel green colored eyes, and a dainty appearance. Despite his retirement from service, the then detective chief cannot do away with the anxiety of being unable to arrest the serial killer till date.
Investigations may be renewed but not the lost lives that had been preyed on by the animal-natured ‘Long Island Serial Killer.’ Treatment of women as mere sex commodities is that barbarian aspect of modern civilization that goes unpunished, then what to speak of those attempting it?
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