Map: Gilgo Beach Killings Locations
Click a marker to view more details. Use the square icon in the top-right corner for fullscreen.
Fire Island, New York
The beach where Karen Vergata was found
On April 20, 1996, two men discovered a woman's legs floating in the water by Blue Point Beach on Fire Island.
The victim remained unidentified for 26 years, during which she was known as Fire Island Jane Doe.
In August 2023, authorities publicly announced that she had been identified as Karen Vergata.
Manorville, New York
The site where Valerie Mack was found
Following Vergata's murder, the killer seemingly went dormant for four years.
In November 2000, three hunters discovered the torso of Valerie Mack at this site near Halsey Manor Road in Manorville.
Manorville, New York
The site where Jessica Taylor was found
In July 2003, he placed Jessica Taylor's torso at the end of this access road in Manorville.
The 20-year-old was found half a mile from the wooded area where Mack's remains had been discovered three years prior.
Although there was speculation that the two murders were related, the case eventually went cold.
Manhattan, New York
The motel where Maureen Brainard-Barnes was last seen
On the night of July 9, 2007, Maureen Brainard-Barnes left this motel in Midtown Manhattan to meet a client for an outcall and never returned.
Brainard-Barnes was the first of the Gilgo Four to go missing.
The Bronx, New York
Melissa Barthelemy's apartment
Two years later, on July 10, 2009, sex worker Melissa Barthelemy disappeared after she left this house on Underhill Avenue in the Bronx.
The police believe that she took a taxi to Manhattan to meet a client.
Later that night, her phone pinged off a number of cell towers on the South Shore of Long Island.
Hauppauge, New York
The hotel where Megan Waterman was last seen
Roughly one year after Barthelemy's disappearance, Megan Waterman (24) left this hotel in Hauppauge to meet a client and never returned.
Camera footage from the early hours of June 6, 2010, showed her walking out of the lobby and turning to her right.
West Babylon, New York
Amber Lynn Costello's house
On September 2, 2010, Amber Lynn Costello vanished after a client picked her up outside this house in West Babylon.
The client in question had offered her $1,500 for an overnight outcall.
Although Costello was the fourth victim to go missing in three years, nobody had connected the dots between their disappearances.
Furthermore, the media had long forgotten about the murders of "Fire Island Jane Doe," Peaches Doe, Valerie Mack, and Jessica Taylor.
Gilgo, New York
The Gilgo Four site
Everything changed in December 2010, when police discovered the remains of Brainard-Barnes, Barthelemy, Waterman, and Costello at this location near Gilgo Beach.
The women had been dumped in the thicket off Ocean Parkway. Three of the remains were wrapped in duck-blind camouflage burlap.
The discovery of the "Gilgo Four" made it clear that an unidentified serial killer had been operating on Long Island for quite some time.
In the months that followed, the authorities broadened their search and discovered the remains of six more victims.
Gilgo Beach, New York
The site where Jessica Taylor's identifying remains were found
On March 29, 2011, the police discovered a woman's skull, hands, and forearm at this section of Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach.
DNA testing proved that the remains belonged to Jessica Taylor, whose torso had been dumped in Manorville eight years earlier.
This discovery was significant, as it indicated that the Long Island serial killer had been operating in both Manorville and Jones Beach Island.
Gilgo, New York
The site where Asian Doe was found
On April 4, 2011, the skeleton of a young Asian male was discovered roughly 0.3 miles east of the Gilgo Four.
The victim remains unidentified to this day.
Babylon, New York
The site where Valerie Mack and Tatiana Dykes were found
On April 4, 2011, a police search team discovered two sets of human remains at this section of Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach.
The first set included the skull, hands, and foot of Valerie Mack, whose torso was discovered in Manorville in November 2001.
The second was the skeleton of a female toddler called "Baby Doe", who was later determined to be the daughter of Peaches. In April 2025, Baby Doe was publicly identified as two-year-old Tatiana Dykes.
Massapequa, New York
The location where Karen Vergata's skull was found
On April 11, 2011, the police discovered the skull of an unidentified woman at this site near Tobay Beach.
DNA testing later proved that it belonged to the same woman whose legs had washed ashore on Fire Island in 1996.
In 2023, the authorities revealed that the victim had been identified as Karen Vergata.
Babylon, New York
The location where Shannan Gilbert was found
In December 2011, the remains of missing sex worker Shannan Gilbert were found in this marsh near Oak Beach on Jones Beach Island.
Although her disappearance eventually led to the discovery of the Gilgo Four, neither the SCPD nor the FBI believe that she was a victim of the Long Island serial killer.
Massapequa Park, New York
Rex Heuermann's house
In July 2023, the police arrested an architect named Rex Heuermann in connection with the murders.
On April 8, 2026, he pleaded guilty to eight of the killings.
Manhattan, New York
The street where Heuermann was arrested
On the evening of July 13, 2023, Heuermann was arrested near the corner of 5th Avenue and 35th Street in Manhattan—just 100 feet from his workplace.
The following day, he was charged with three of the murders.
Southampton, New York
The woods where Sandra Costilla was found
On November 21, 1993, two hunters discovered the remains of Sandra Costilla in North Sea, Southampton.
The 28-year-old was strangled and left in a wooded area beside Fish Cove Road.
Initially, the authorities believed that convicted murderer John Bittrolff was responsible for the crime. However, DNA ruled him out.
In June 2024, authorities indicted Heuermann for Costilla's murder.
Amityville, New York
Rex Heuermann's storage unit
Following his arrest, the authorities raided a storage unit that Heuermann had been renting at Omega Self Storage on Sunrise Highway.
During the search, investigators found thousands of documents.
One of the documents was a Bank of America credit card statement from July 2007, which proved that his wife and children had been out of town when Brainard-Barnes went missing.
Follow
Follow us on social media:
Newest Locations
