New York officials released Monday forensic sketches and informational flyers about a possible new victim in the Gilgo Beach serial killings case, in an effort to identify them and get new leads in the roughly 20-year-old homicide.
The remains of the victim, referred to as “Asian Doe,” were found in 2011 near the bodies of at least 10 others near Long Island, New York’s Gilgo Beach.
“Asian Doe” was described by authorities as a “biological male” of Asian descent who was wearing women’s clothes when their body was discovered.The new forensic images are facial reconstructions depicting the victim as both as male and female. It is not clear how the victim identified at the time of death, and previous sketches released in 2011 only depicted the victim as male-presenting.
Speaking at a news conference Monday, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Asian Doe may have been a sex worker, as were most of the identified women whose bodies were found nearby. Sex work is a common form of work for transgender people due to a lack of economic opportunity as a result of job discrimination.
Asian Doe was likely a descendant of Southern China, stood between 5’3” to 5’9” tall and was between 17 and 23 years old at the time of death, Tierney added. Asian Doe suffered a “violent death,” homicide by blunt force trauma, at least five years before being discovered in 2011, according to the flyer distributed by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
“Prior to 2006, this person had friends, possible classmates or co-workers and a family,” Tierney said. “Someone knows this individual and we need that person or persons to contact us.”
Authorities have not charged anyone in connection with Asian Doe’s homicide.
Long Island architect Rex Heuermann, 61, was arrested last year in connection with the Gilgo Beach serial killings. Heuermann was initially charged with killing three women — Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Melissa Barthelemy — and dumping their bodies near Gilgo Beach. Since then, authorities have charged him with killing three more women — Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla — potentially stretching Heuermann’s alleged killings back to 1993.
Heuermann pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. His attorney did not immediately return a request for comment.
Included in the thousands of internet queries linked to an email account associated with Heuermann were searches for “asian twink tied up porn,” according to Heuermann’s initial indictment. (The term “twink” is often used to describe thin, young gay men.)
When asked at Monday’s news conference whether there’s a connection between Asian Doe’s homicide and the other found bodies nearby, and if Heuermann is a suspect in the case, Tierney noted that Asian Doe’s body was found roughly 300 feet from that of Megan Waterman’s, but he would not confirm a connection.
“It’s all nice to speculate but it basically doesn’t matter until we can bring charges,” Tierney said. “We’re certainly not at that stage.”
The informational flyer released Monday indicates that “Asian Doe” was wearing a “Chrysantheme” blue ribbed short-sleeve shirt with crew neck, a “Rafaella” brand shirt, “Bill Blass” pants and a “Bill Blass” bra. Authorities previously disclosed that “Asian Doe” was wearing women’s clothing, but did not provide further details.
Tierney said that the images and informational flyers will be shared online in multiple languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai and Indonesian. He added that the New York City Police Department will disseminate the images and flyers throughout the city’s large Asian community for leads.
Authorities are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the identification of “Asian Doe.”
Asian Doe and the other victims found near Gilgo Beach were discovered during a search for Shannan Gilbert, a sex worker who was last seen running through the nearby gated community of Oak Beach after leaving a client’s home in 2010. Gilbert’s body was eventually found near Gilgo Park in 2011, but authorities maintain “her death was unrelated to the homicide victims whose bodies were found nearby.
For more from NBC Out, sign up for our weekly newsletter.
