In May 2010, Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old sex worker, fled after an appointment with a client. Crazy, she composes the rescue number, saying that someone is trying to kill her, and strikes the doors of the neighborhood to get help. However, no one answers her and the young woman disappears without leaving a trace.
Research is then launched, leading to the macabre discovery of four other bodies: young women, all prostitutes, found near Gilgo beach, on the southern coast of Long Island (New York). They will be sadly nicknamed the “Gilgo Four”, before new bodies are added to the terrible list.
Despite a strong media coverage and the mobilization of the families of the victims, the investigation stagnates and will not advance for more than a decade relates the Vox site. The mini documentary, Missing, the killer of Long Island, Released on March 31, 2025 on Netflix, returns to the hunt for the serial killer, taking an interest in the victims, their loved ones, but also in the flagrant shortcomings of the investigation. The latter is in fact in a context of serious corruption within the Police of the County of Suffolk.
At the time of the facts, James Burke, then chief of the police, firmly opposed any collaboration with the FBI and prevents the exploitation of several key elements of the investigation. He was in fact especially occupied, at the time, to hide a strange scandal: the orchestration of the tobacco passage of a man suspected of having stolen a bag containing sextoys and pornographic equipment in the trunk of the car … of James Burke himself.
The man had been arrested, beaten and threatened, all without being authorized to see his lawyer. The case had been hidden by James Burke and his colleagues, who had falsified their reports. The police chief will ultimately be sentenced, as is the county prosecutor involved in the case. It was not until 2021, with the arrival of a new police chief, Rodney Harrison, that the investigation finally experienced a significant advance.
A thirteen -year -old mess that will harm justice
Shortly after taking office, Rodney Harrison announced the creation of a new working group responsible for resolving this case. After only six weeks of investigation, thanks to the analysis of telephone communications hidden by James Burke, Rex Heuermann is identified as the main suspect. Arrested in 2023, he was charged with the murders of “Gilgo Four”.
The man was recently connected to three other victims: Jessica Taylor, Valerie Mack and Sandra Costilla. From the Correctional Center of Riverhead, in the county of Suffolk, this New York architect claims his innocence, pending his trial.
Today, some bodies are still unidentified or have not been officially associated with Rex Heuermann, such as that Karen Vergata, found on an island off Long Island and whose death was not formally linked to the serial killer. A woman nicknamed “Peaches” because of her fishing tattoo, as well as her child, have still not been identified. The same goes for two other corpses found in the region.
During a press conference, the County Prosecutor of Suffolk, Ray Tierney, said that the current phase of the investigation, involving the first seven victims, was closed. The fate of the other four associated victims is now very uncertain.
