Gilgo Beach investigators identify remains of ‘Jane Doe 7’ as Karen Vergata, 34: Remains of sex worker who disappeared in 1996 found on Long Island
Investigators have identified a seventh victim known as ‘Jane Doe 7’ in the Gilgo Beach murders as Karen Vergata, 34, who went missing in 1996.
Authorities from Suffolk County, New York, identified the victim at a news conference Friday.
They said Vergata lived in Manhattan and worked as an escort. She was never reported missing.
Rex Heuermann, 59, was arrested last month in connection with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello, all of whom disappeared in 2009 and 2010. He is the prime suspect in a fourth murder and is being investigated for other murders in the area .
Police declined to comment on whether Heuermann is connected to Vergata’s murder, but stressed that he has not been charged.
Rex Heuermann (pictured Tuesday) was arrested last month in connection with the murder of three women whose bodies had been dumped in burlap sacks on Gilgo Beach.
Investigators have identified a seventh victim known as ‘Jane Doe 7’ in the Gilgo Beach murders as Karen Vergata, 34, who went missing in 1996
Gilbert’s body was found in a swamp nearby a year after the discovery of the bodies of Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Megan Waterman, 22; Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25; and Amber Lynn Costello, 27
A “great dig” took place at Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park. Pictured are state police detectives gathering evidence at the scene
The newly identified victim’s legs were found nearly two decades earlier on April 20, 1996, in a plastic bag in Davis Park on Fire Island’s Blue Point Beach.
Her skull was subsequently found off Ocean Parkway, near Tobay Beach in Nassau County; her torso and hands were never recovered.
Authorities on Thursday requested more DNA be collected from Heuermann as they continue to investigate whether he killed a fourth victim.
He is also believed to be the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who disappeared in 2007. Police told CNN the investigation is “expected to be concluded soon.”
The high-profile case was cracked after DNA from a pizza crust and a napkin Heuermann tossed into a trash can outside his Manhattan architecture office matched 99.96 percent with the DNA profile created from hair recovered from the “bottom of the burlap sack used to transport Waterman’s naked body, according to documents obtained by the New York Daily News.
However, the district attorney’s office is apparently starting to worry that the DNA from the pizza crust may not be enough to convict him.
To get the Massapequa Park resident thrown behind bars, the Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney also filed paperwork requesting a swab of the inside of the suspect’s cheek.
Without the sample, Assistant District Attorney Michelle Haddad argued, forensic biologists could only refer to the pizza crust and napkin as “claimed to have been used/touched” by Heuermann.
“Should the defendant’s DNA from the (cheek swab) fail to match the DNA profile of the pizza crusts and napkin filed for Rex Heuermann, the defense would be given a possible trial defense.
“So there is a clear indication that material and relevant evidence will be found and is crucial for that.”
A cheek swab, she said, “would provide further relevant evidence of the defendant’s identity as the perpetrator of these crimes.”
The first victim, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, was discovered by Suffolk County Police on December 11, 2010. The body of Megan Waterman, 22, was found two days later
Maureen Brainard-Barnes was 25 years old when she went missing (left). Amber Lynn Costello was 27 years old. Their bodies were found near Barthelemy’s the same day
A forensic photographer bends over the tray of excavated items from the backyard of the Heuermann home. Prosecutors say “nothing out of the ordinary” was discovered in the backyard
Police said Heuermann may have killed at least one of his victims at his home in Massapequa Park.
For more than a week after his arrest on July 14, detectives had thoroughly searched the house – which is just a few miles from where the bodies were discovered more than a decade ago.
A yellow excavator scooped dirt into the backyard and drone footage showed a man operating a device that can be used to scan for buried objects.
Exclusive photos from DailyMail.com also showed investigators looking at a bin of items recovered from the backyard dig.
Some experts had speculated they could be human remains, while others warned they could be animal or something else entirely.
Heuermann is accused of killing the women while his family was out of town, with investigators finding his and his wife’s hair on the bodies of some of the alleged victims.
Since his arrest in Manhattan, the once quiet block where the married father lived has become the scene of a media frenzy and a popular destination for crime junkies.
Dozens of people from all over Long Island and beyond have stopped to glimpse the active crime scene as forensic teams search the Massapequa Park home for evidence.
Detectives are now investigating unsolved murders across the country to see if they are related to Heuermann.
Police are investigating whether he operated near Atlantic City and interviewed incarcerated sex workers who interacted with him.
The investigation now covers four states — Heuermann owns a timeshare in Las Vegas and a property in South Carolina — and police are investigating whether he could be linked to unsolved murders there.
Officers executed search warrants at his home in Chester, South Carolina, and found a green Chevrolet Avalanche truck that they believe is connected to the suspect and one of the murders, and transported it back to New York.
Meanwhile, high school classmates of Heuermann’s have claimed he was a “loner” who developed a “mean streak” after being bullied.