Pizza box and hair help police find suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer.
The Capture of the Gilgo Beach Serial Killer: A Tale of Hair and Pizza
In a stunning turn of events, the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer was finally apprehended thanks to a few key pieces of evidence: his wife’s hair and a discarded pizza box. This gripping story unfolded last week when the 59-year-old suspect, who had eluded identification for over a decade, was arrested for the murder of three women whose bodies were discovered on Gilgo Beach in Long Island, New York, back in 2010.
The Daily Wire, in adherence to its policy of denying mass killers the notoriety they seek, has chosen not to disclose the suspect’s name.
A Chilling Discovery
The bodies of Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello were all found within a few days of each other. The first breakthrough came when Barthelemy’s remains were stumbled upon during a police training exercise with a K9 on December 11, 2010. Two days later, the bodies of Brainard-Barnes, Waterman, and Costello were uncovered during a subsequent search of the area. While the suspect has yet to be charged for Brainard-Barnes’ death, he remains the prime suspect.
All four victims were believed to be sex workers who had been enticed to Long Island by an unknown individual using burner phones. Shockingly, after their deaths, the killer even used the cell phones of Brainard-Barnes and Barthelemy.
A Task Force Reopens the Case
In January 2022, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office established a task force to reinvestigate this chilling cold case. Led by County Commissioner Rodney Harrison, the task force meticulously reviewed every piece of evidence from the original investigation. Approximately two months after reopening the case, they made a breakthrough: they identified a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche that belonged to the suspect. Notably, a witness had previously spotted an Avalanche at the scene of Costello’s murder.
However, connecting the suspect to the Avalanche was just the beginning. As investigators delved deeper into his personal life, they uncovered alarming links to the burner phones used to lure two of the victims. They also discovered taunting calls made to Barthelemy’s sister after her disappearance, which were traced back to the suspect. Furthermore, cell phone records revealed that he had checked Brainard-Barnes’ voicemail after she vanished. The suspect resided in Massapequa Park, where the victims were believed to have disappeared from, and worked in Midtown Manhattan, where the taunting calls were placed.
Travel records provided a crucial piece of the puzzle: the suspect’s wife was out of the country when Barthelemy, Waterman, and Costello went missing.
A Web of Burner Phones and Online Accounts
Police also uncovered additional burner phones and online accounts associated with the suspect, further linking him to the crimes. They discovered that he had a profile on the dating app Tinder under the alias Andrew Roberts. This account was connected to a burner phone through an AOL email address using the name John Springfield. Shockingly, the suspect had sent several selfie photographs to others using this account. Cell phone records revealed that he had used his own phone to access the fictitious AOL account on December 11, 2022, the same day Barthelemy’s phone activity abruptly ceased. The associated burner number was also used to access the account.
Investigators found that the additional burner phones had been extensively used to hire prostitutes between 2021 and 2023. They also discovered another email account associated with the suspect, which had conducted searches related to sex workers, torture porn, and child pornography. This account had also performed over 200 searches related to the Gilgo Beach killings and the task force investigating them.
The Hair and Pizza Breakthrough
During the examination of Brainard-Barnes, Costello, and Waterman’s remains, the Suffolk County Crime Lab made a chilling discovery: unidentified female hair. This hair was sent to a forensic laboratory, which determined that it all belonged to the same woman who was not one of the victims. On July 21, 2022, an undercover detective from the Suffolk County Police Department collected 11 bottles from the suspect’s trash. DNA analysis of the contents linked the DNA to the hair found on the victims, and it is believed to belong to the suspect’s wife, who is not suspected of involvement in the murders.
Furthermore, a male hair was found on Waterman’s remains, and the forensic lab used it to develop a DNA profile. Investigators retrieved a pizza box from the suspect’s garbage can and matched the DNA from the box to the male hair strand found on the victim. Astonishingly, the DNA profile excluded 99.96% of the North American population, but the suspect could not be excluded.
On July 13, the suspect was arrested and now faces the possibility of multiple life sentences without parole if convicted.
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