The remains found along a Long Island beach highway in recent weeks include the heads and hands of a fifth prostitute and another woman, and authorities say they suspect multiple killers have used the area as a body dumping ground.
Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said Monday that the head and hands of 20-year-old Jessica Taylor were among the 10 sets of remains found along the remote barrier island. The head, hands and right foot of a still-unidentified woman were also found, the DA said.
Despite the fact that four bodies found in the area last December were also prostitutes, authorities said they do not believe the women were killed by the same person.
Some of the remains have been found in Suffolk County, and some in neighboring Nassau County.
Spota said at least two suspects, and possibly more, are believed to be responsible for the killings in his jurisdiction, judging from the methods and circumstances of the crimes.
"It is clear that the area in and around Gilgo Beach has been used to discard human remains for some period of time," Spota said. "As distasteful and disturbing as that is, there is no evidence that all of these remains are the work of a single killer."
Taylor's body was found along a deserted access road in Manorville, N.Y., in 2003. She had been decapitated and her hands removed, but was identified through a tattoo and DNA the following year.
The body of the other woman whose head and hands were recently found was also discovered in Manorville in 2000.
According to "America's Most Wanted" website, Taylor was a prostitute who worked in Washington, D.C., and New York City. She was last seen working in Manhattan in 2003, the site said.
The Suffolk DA said Monday that the remains found in recent weeks on the beach also include a man and a girl younger than 2 years old.
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No suspects have been publicly identified in the ongoing investigation.
The remains search was first set off last year when Shannan Gilbert, a sex worker from New Jersey, went missing after seeing a client in the area. She has not been found.
