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A mother-daughter pair of victims found on Long Island 14 years apart have finally been named.
Authorities in Nassau County, New York, revealed on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, that the unidentified remains of a “Jane Doe” have been conclusively identified as Tanya Denise Jackson, a 26-year-old U.S. Army veteran. Tanya Jackson’s remains were found on June 28, 1997, at Hempstead Lake State Park in Lakeview after being left there by unknown individuals, as reported by NBC News, approximately 20 miles from Manhattan.
The unidentified woman had been referred to as “Peaches” Jane Doe, owing to a tattoo of two peaches on her chest, and over time, a photograph of this tattoo had been extensively shared.
This case remained unsolved until 2011 when investigators examining the notorious Gilgo Beach murders in nearby Suffolk County found more remains linked to “Peaches” Jane Doe and also discovered remains of a young girl named “Baby Doe.” Officials from Nassau County have now identified the child as Tatiana Marie Dykes, who was 2 years old.
DNA testing previously linked the then-unnamed victims as mother and daughter in 2016, according to The Doe Network.
About the murders of “Peaches” Jane Doe and “Baby Doe”
In 1997, a hiker found Jackson’s torso wrapped in a black garbage bag and crammed inside a Rubbermaid container in the wooded Lakeview area. However, the unidentified victim’s arms, head, and legs (below the knee) were found in April 2011 along Ocean Parkway, where police had recently discovered murder victims Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes in December 2010.
The victims, widely known as The Gilgo Four, were believed to be the work of an uncaptured killer referred to as The Long Island Serial Killer (L.I.S.K.), The Craigslist Killer, and other monikers.
Extremities belonging to Jackson — still unidentified at the time — would be one of six additional sets of human remains law enforcement discovered in their months-long search of coastal shrubland. Those victims included suspected L.I.S.K. victims Valerie Mack and Jessica Taylor, in addition to the recently identified Karen Vergata, an unknown Asian male, and Jackson’s daughter.
The toddler was discovered wrapped in a blanket in the thickets of the shore, according to the New York Times.
Although Jackson and Dykes’ proximity to the others connected them to L.I.S.K., so far, neither one has been officially named as victims of the same killer.
How the victims were identified
In 2020, county officials and the FBI enlisted the help of the Texas-based Othram labs to make a genetic inquiry into the unidentified mother and child. Othram scientists — who successfully identified “Fire Island Jane Doe” as Vergata in 2023 — found Jackson was an Alabama native born on October 22, 1970.
They identified her daughter, Tatiana Dykes, through the same line of inquiry.
Nassau County Police detectives said Wednesday that Jackson served her country “honorably” and lived as a single mother in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park at the time of her death, according to NBC News.
“She was possibly employed at a doctor’s office, in a medical assistant capacity, while living in Brooklyn,” homicide detective Stephen Fitzpatrick told reporters. “While she was going to work, it was reported to us that there might have been a female friend or neighbor who would watch the baby.”
Fitzpatrick said Jackson served in the military between 1993 and 1995 and lived on several bases between Texas, Georgia, and Missouri, according to CNN. He said due to estrangement from her family, she was not immediately believed to be a missing person.
Jackson gave birth to Dykes on March 17, 1995, according to NBC New York.
Were Jackson and Dykes the victims of a serial killer?
Investigators are still looking into the possibility that both victims were connected to L.I.S.K., but nothing has been officially ruled, according to NBC News.
“Although Tanya and Tatiana have commonly been linked to the Gilgo Beach serial killings — because of the timing and locations of their recovered remains — we are not discounting the possibility that their cases are unrelated from that investigation,” said Det. Fitzpatrick.
Manhattan architect and reported family man Rex Heuermann of Massapequa, New York is currently awaiting trial for the murders of the Gilgo Four, plus Taylor, Mack, and Sandra Costilla. He has not been charged in connection with the deaths of Jackson and Dykes.
The Nassau County Police Dept. asks the public for help
Authorities are asking for the public’s help to gather more information about Jackson and Dykes’ deaths.
The Nassau County Police Department issued a press release Wednesday, showing a photo of a black 1991 Isuzu Geo Storm like the one Jackson drove.
“Our work has just begun,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly, per the New York Times. “Every little thing we can learn about her leading up to her death will help us solve this horrific crime.”
Meanwhile, Det. Fitzpatrick said both were recently laid to rest, with Jackson earning “full military honors,” according to CNN.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Nassau County’s Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS or visit www.nassaucountycrimestoppers.com. Callers can remain anonymous. A $25,000 reward is in place for any information leading to an arrest.
