New details were revealed in the Gilgo Beach killings, including a more detailed sketch of a potential victim whose remains were found more than a decade ago. Investigators released new sketches of a potential victim, which could be the first-known male victim of alleged serial killer Rex Heuermann, who thus far has been charged with murdering six women. NBC New York’s Greg Cergol reports.
Law enforcement officials released enhanced images Monday as they seek to identify one of the as-yet-unknown victims whose remains were found along a coastal highway in New York's Long Island more than a decade ago, part of a string of deaths known as the Gilgo Beach killings.
Suffolk County officials shared forensic reconstruction images as well as informational flyers regarding the so-called "Asian Doe," a biological male who was wearing designer women's clothing and possibly identified as female at the time of his death. He may have been a sex worker. The victim was between 17 and 23 years old, about 5-foot-6 and of Southern Chinese descent.
The victim died of blunt force trauma and "suffered a violent death," according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.
The remains were found in 2011 along Ocean Parkway. Investigators have said they believe the unidentified man died five to 10 years before being discovered.
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"Let’s help get this victim identified and give this victim their name back," Tierney said at a Monday press conference. "This person had family. This person had friends. We’re reaching out to anyone who might have known this individual."
Officials published renderings of what he may have looked like that were made through anthropological reconstruction in hopes of generating new leads.
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Local officials released a more basic sketch of the victim back in 2011.
DNA records from Asian people are less common in U.S. genetic databases, making it difficult to compare and identify the remains through traditional methods, according to investigators. They hope someone will remember a person who looked like the person in the photos who disappeared around the same time.
Police also shared the information in Mandarin, and were going to distribute posters in different languages throughout the five boroughs as part of an effort to reach and engage with the city's Asian community.
"They’re trying to get someone who can say, 'Yes, I recognize that person,'" said former NYPD detective and John Jay college professor David Sarni.
No one has been charged in the death. A local architect is accused in the killings of six women, some of whose remains were found near the unidentified man’s.
Rex Heuermann, 61, was arraigned in June in connection with the deaths of two young women long believed to have been preyed upon as sex workers.
The charges came after recent police searches of Heuermann's home and a wooded area on Long Island.
Jessica Taylor disappeared in 2003 and Sandra Costilla was killed 30 years ago, in 1993.
Costilla's inclusion in the case indicates prosecutors now believe Heuermann was killing women far longer than previously thought.
Heuermann was previously charged with killing four others: Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes and Jessica Taylor. The remains of "Asian Doe" were found near the remains of alleged Gilgo victims Waterman and Taylor.
Since late 2010, police have been investigating the deaths of at least 10 people — mostly female sex workers — whose remains were discovered along the isolated highway near Gilgo Beach.
Heuermann, who lived across the bay, was arrested last July.
He has pleaded not guilty and his attorney, Michael Brown, has denied any wrongdoing on his behalf. The Suffolk County district attorney did not characterize Heuermann as a suspect in the case involving "Asian Doe."
"It’s all nice to speculate but it doesn’t matter until you can bring charges and we’re certainly not at that stage," said DA Tierney.
