Previously unidentified victim now positively linked to the Gilgo Beach murders

I’ve been following the Long Island Serial Killer case for years, and I think this might be the biggest reveal we’ve seen yet. In 1997, nineteen years ago, a woman’s torso was discovered in Hempstead Lake State Park. Her identity is still unknown, but investigators have been calling her “Peaches” since the discovery, referring to a heart-shaped peach that was tattooed onto her left breast. Her torso was found wrapped in a black plastic bag and placed inside a green Rubbermaid bin that was left in a wooded area in Rockville Centre. Police know that Peaches was a black woman between 20 and 30 years old. Her torso showed signs of a surgical Cesarean section scar.

Image of peaches tattoo from murder victim "Peaches"Now investigators are connecting Peaches via her DNA to partial skeletal remains that were discovered at Jones Beach State Park in 2011 (Jane Doe #3). Along with those skeletal remains were the remains of a child, since dubbed “Baby Doe.” The skeletal remains of the woman and the baby were wearing similar jewelry, suggesting they were mother and daughter. We now know that Peaches was Baby Doe’s mother and they were murdered around the time Peaches’s torso was found, in 1997.

This is a HUGE development, in my opinion. Many have suspected for a long time that Peaches was a victim of the Long Island Serial Killer and this revelation confirms it. Not only that, but it really extends the LISK’s killing timeline. This killer has been active for decades. Peaches and her daughter’s remains were located not far from where Jessica Taylor’s skull, hands, and forearm were discovered (the rest of her was discovered in Manorville, in July of 2003).

Many people believe that the victims located in the Gilgo Beach area could be the work of two separate serial killers, but I am on the fence about that. Arguably, there are different methods of disposing the bodies here–some have been dismembered and their remains scattered about different locations, others (the newest victims) were wrapped in burlap and placed in their final resting spots–but I think another possibility here is that the killer could have tired of dismembering and scattering body parts in different locations. After all, he wasn’t caught! Why go through the trouble of dismembering a body if you don’t have to?

While this information will certainly electrify the case, what bothers me the most about it is that police have had Peaches’s remains for nearly two decades–and they have had Baby Doe and her mother for six years. Why did it take so long to update the public about this connection? What is the Suffolk County police doing to solve this case and provide the community with answers? In one of my next posts, I’ll break down the victims by their known timelines, location, and manner in which they were found.

As a last note, if you are interested in this case, I would highly recommend watching the new docu-series on A&E called The Killing Season. In it, filmmakers Josh Zeman and Rachel Mills hunt for LISK and other similar killers in the U.S. I am so happy someone is finally taking a hard look at this case and actually making some progress. They were the ones who placed an inquiry to the Nassau medical examiners’ office about updating the case file of Jane Doe #3, which led investigators to reveal the connection of Peaches with Baby Doe. Kudos to Zeman and Mills for their efforts to make some progress here!
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10 thoughts on “Previously unidentified victim now positively linked to the Gilgo Beach murders

  1. I have this case from afar as most have. The odd disappearance of Shannon Gilbert, the proximity to a popular nightspot The Oak Beach Inn ( during the 90’s – I believed closed down by 2000) , the discovery of multiple corpses & particularly strange ensemble cast of individuals that make the casual observer ask “What in Blue Blazes is going on here?”

    Within 24hrs of the DNA Link of “Peaches Jane Doe” ( Georgia ?) & Gilgo Beach – I see Gilbert estate attorney John Ray has found an person willing to join this array – an escort who allegedly can bring Disgraced Suffolk County Police Director into a shadow of a doubt. I hate to say it but boy is John Ray the Quintessential Sleezey lawyer type or what? – I have no good feelings about James Burke or Former Person Of Interest Dr. Charles Hackett – Ray sure seems to pick his limelight timing quite well.

    After 2014 arrest of John Bittrolff I was pretty confident the case was solved but it ain’t gone go well if we keep lining up new people of interests

    Great material M’am Happy Holidays to you & yours

    Pat Brown

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    • Thanks for your comment, Pat! I have been sitting here today reading all the coverage on the press conference yesterday. I do think Bittrolff is probably our guy, but I think everyone should be investigated to the fullest extent. Especially considering Burke’s refusal to allow the FBI to get involved in the case. I am not surprised to hear allegations that he is connected to prostitution and drugs in the Oak Beach area, but that does not make him a serial killer. So interesting to see how quickly things are starting to pick up in this case. I do hope we have our answer soon! Happy holidays to you! Thanks for reading.
      JJ

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  2. I think it’s a group of well-heeled educated men who are tied to this case. And by the way, not every police officer is a choir boy. Their personalities run the spectrum, just like people in society. NO ONE should be above suspicion. Those call girls’ phone numbers were on a lot of important people’s phones.

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  3. Also, the fruit tattoos could suggest these girls were related, knew each other or belonged to the same pimp. Question is-Who was their pimp and why were these girls disposable? Maybe rough sex gone wrong? Could the dead toddler be the perp’s daughter?

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  4. That tattoo was semi recent. The ink hadn’t any time to fade or the lines to bleed. Tattoo artists have good memories of the designs they do,and artists can spot each other’s work. Now that a time frame has been established, the tattoo might be a good lead to chase down.

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  5. The tattoo was linked to a tattoo artist in Connecticut who remembers tattooing an African American woman but couldn’t remember much more. This DNA hit is amazing. I suspect it’s the disgraced Suffolk County Chief. I do not co-sign the theory of any of the other Oak Beach reisidents helping him though.

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  6. I think Peaches and the baby are gonna be the key! I think its crazy to think a prostitute took her baby along but however that maybe the serial killer didnt kill her but tried to have a relationship with her taking her daughter with her but eventually the serial killer couldnt contain himself and killed them both. I think he tried to hide her identity by putting her hands and skull in a different place than the rest of her an burying the baby so far away bc he could be connected to them! i wonder when the last time their dna has been run to try to identify them. If no hits there I think they should do facial reconstruction on peaches and get her identified and see who was in her past. I think she is the key! Her parents maybe too poor to list their DNA into the data banks looking for their child or she maybe from a poor country! Just my thoughts! The baby’s DNA should be run for ancestral connections, as well as peaches because the baby doesnt make sense! The male does because he was probably trans an picked up by mistake which is why he was beaten to death! Just my thoughts! I think its the Doctor!

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  7. Killer intentionally buried mother and child at different locations to throw off their scent–as to not connect them. So , could the father of baby be the killer, someone like James Burke! Compare DNA!! This looks like a giant sex ring of cover- up involving high level police dept corruption!

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  8. Pingback: A Closer Look at the Long Island Serial Killer and John Bittrolff | JJ Slate

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