Investigators have identified a “Jane Doe” in the larger investigation into remains found on Long Island that include the three victims now attributed to Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann.
Heuermann is charged with the deaths of Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, and Melissa Barthelemy and has been named the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, as CrimeOnline has reported. Their bodies were found on Gilgo Beach in December 2010, wrapped in burlap, and were known collectively as the Gilgo 4.
Seven other bodies were found on Long Island, including a man and a toddler. Sources told ABC News that Suffolk County authorities are announcing the identity of one of them — Jane Doe No. 7, whose remains were found on Fire Island in 1996 — at a news conference Friday morning.
The sources said Jane Doe No. 7 was linked by DNA with other remains found near Gilgo Beach in the months following the discovery of the Gilgo 4. They did not say if the case had been linked to Heuermann.
Additionally, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told Newsday that authorities believe they’re close to identifying three other victims in the larger investigation.
“We’re honing in on that, and I think we’ll have information on that — on some of the identifications shortly,” Tierney said.
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Those victims are a woman nicknamed “Peaches” because of a tattoo, a toddler found with her, and a man found separately.
Tierney also told Newsday that a belt embossed with the initials “WH” or “HM,” previously revealed as a piece of evidence, was used to bind Brainard-Barnes. “WH” are the initials of Heuermann’s father.
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[Featured image: FILE – Rex A. Heuermann, center and his lawyer Michael J. Brown arrive in court for a hearing earlier this week. (James Carbone/Newsday via AP, Pool, File)]
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