Suffolk County police are about to release the identity of a Giglo Beach victim whose remains were first unearthed 20 years ago and linked to the mysterious Long Island serial killings.
The remains of Jane Doe #6, were found in woods within the hamlet of Manorville in 2000; additional remains belonging to the same woman surfaced on Gilgo Beach in 2011.
Suffolk County Police Department officials say they will reveal who the woman was “in the near future” on a newly-launched Gilgonews.com website dedicated to the still-unsolved killings.
Eleven bodies found at or near the beach between 2010 and 2011 are believed to be linked to one or more uncaptured serial killers.
Police found a set of Doe #6’s remains two decades ago, but didn’t connect them to the Gilgo murders until the second set was found 11 years later.
The department worked with the FBI and used a new DNA technology called genetic genealogy analysis to identify the woman.
Former NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told Newsday the latest development in the infamous cold case was a “game-changer” that could lead to additional evidence, including cellphone records and credit card data revealing how the victim spent her final days.
“I was hoping for this,” Boyce said. “It is kind of a breakthrough.”
New evidence has trickled out in recent months after a long silence concerning the case.
In January, Suffolk Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart unveiled photos of a portion of a black leather belt showing the embossed letters “HM” or “WH” that could be linked to the killer.
“We do believe that the belt was handled by the suspect, and did not belong to any of the victims,” she said at a news conference this winter.
Authorities have previously said the slayings could be the work of at least three killers, with the area around Gilgo Beach “used to discard human remains for some period of time.”
The news conference announcing the belt photos came the same day Netflix released its online trailer for “Lost Girls,” a movie based on a 2013 book about the case that began streaming on the site in March.
Source: NYPost
