it looks like NY has a prostitute killer. that's not unusual. they are a very vulnerable demographic, historically, back to Jack the ripper and beyond. and there are many (around 30 or so) serial killers operating in the U.S. at any given time.
this one "likes" petite hookers.
New York (CNN) -- All four women found dead in Long Island, New York, last month were prostitutes who advertised on the website Craigslist, and were probably slain by a serial killer, according to Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer.
The bodies of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, of Norwich, Connecticut; Melissa Barthelemy, 24, of Erie County, New York; and Amber Lynn Costello, 27, of North Babylon, New York, were discovered on an isolated strip of waterfront property in Gilgo beach, according to a Suffolk County police statement.
Authorities last week identified a fourth body found in the same area as that of 22-year-old Megan Waterman of Scarborough, Maine.
The bodies were discovered by accident when police were searching for a missing woman, Dormer said. Police are waiting for a break in the winter weather before resuming their search for Shannon Gilbert, who remains missing, he said.
The four bodies were in various stages of decomposition, and at least one could have been there for as long as two years, he said.
All were discovered on a quarter-mile stretch of land, "which indicates they were dumped there by the same person or persons," Dormer said. "It's too coincidental that there were four bodies in the same location."
"Common sense tells us it's not a coincidence," Suffolk County Detective Lt. Gerard Pelkofsky said.
A strange series of events preceded the discovery in December when a Long Island resident -- who lives a few miles from where the bodies were found -- said a young woman who "looked like she was partying all night" came to his door about 5 a.m. on May 1.
"She was screaming 'Help me, help me!' and said somebody was chasing her," said Gustav Coletti, who lives in the town of Oak Beach.
He described the woman as a "young, light-brown-haired person in her early 20s."
Coletti said he called 911 after opening his front door to the woman, prompting her to flee into the weeds along an embankment near his house.
Moments later, Coletti said, an Asian man driving a dark-colored sport utility vehicle pulled up alongside his home, looking for the woman.
"Things got out of hand at a party and I'm just looking for her," Coletti quoted the man as saying.
When Coletti told the man that he had called police, the man said he "should not have done that" and drove toward where girl had fled, Coletti said.
Authorities were searching the area when they found the first body, and three more were discovered the following week, Suffolk County police said.
Police are offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case, asking anyone with tips to contact the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.
i don't think craigslist is the problem. there will always be prostitutes regardless of how they attract business, online or in the street. and they will always be at risk/easy prey. that's the nature of the 'job'.
Craigslist banned hooker ads amid outrage over a killer who trolled for victims online - but it remains a bustling marketplace for sex for sale.
The Daily News had no problem finding ads that were posted by women and men who expected compensation.
"I charge, hon. Full service is $200 for the hour, $150 for the half hour," a woman calling herself Chloe told The News after being contacted through a listing in "Casual Encounters."
A poster named Kim was asking "$200 for full service."
"I'm beautiful, from Brazil," the prostitute told a reporter.
"What you see is what you get - 100%. I'm 36DD, 22, 40, curvy body....What time do you want to come over?"
Kim then texted a picture of a penis with the message, "This is 4 U BB."
"I get thousands of calls a day," Kim later said, declining to discuss craigslist dealings.
Craigslist had long taken heat from authorities for its "Erotic Services" section, in which prostitutes paid $10 a pop to advertise.
In 2009, after grad student Philip Markoff was busted for targeting prostitutes on the site - killing one - the company changed the section to "Adult Services," and vowed to monitor the content.
Still under increasing criticism, craigslist abruptly shut down the section in September. But steamy listings are all over other areas of the site. Many quickly get taken down - but sex with a pricetag is readily available for the sharp-eyed.
Craigslist did not respond to a request for comment.
Impossible to control the internet. Craigslist might try to take the ads down but I'm pretty sure yahoo personals (and other "personals" websites) have the same types of ads. Not that I'm out there trying to hook up or anything.
(CNN) -- Gary Ridgway, the confessed "Green River Killer," is expected to plead guilty Friday to a 49th slaying -- that of a 20-year-old mother more than 28 years ago.
The arraignment and plea will take place at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, authorities in Washington said.
Authorities filed an aggravated murder charge against Ridgway related to the slaying of Becky Marrero, whose remains were uncovered last December by teens exploring a steep ravine near the town of Auburn. The count is the first filed against Ridgway since he admitted to serial killings in 2003.
"The Marreros have the right to face the man who killed Becky and the opportunity to remind us all about what was taken from them," Satterberg said. "They finally have the answers, and with these charges and the anticipated guilty plea, they will have obtained the truth, accountability and ... a degree of justice."
The most prolific known serial killer in U.S. history, Ridgway is already serving 48 consecutive life sentences for murdering women. Forty-six of the bodies were found near Seattle -- which is part of King County -- while two were in Washington County, Oregon.
In a plea deal dating to November 2003, when he was sentenced on 48 counts of aggravated murder, prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty against Ridgway if he agreed to "plead guilty to any and all future cases (in King County) where his confession could be corroborated by reliable evidence," Satterberg said.
"Ridgway confessed to killing Becky Marrero, but he was unable to provide sufficient details to warrant a charge," Satterberg said. "The discovery of Ms. Marrero's remains now gives us the evidence we need to file this charge."
If he pleads guilty Friday, Ridgway would be given a 49th life sentence and returned to his prison cell at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.
Ridgway may still face the death penalty if convicted of murder outside King County. Satterberg said his predecessor, Norm Maleng, opted to eliminate that option in King County in hopes of resolving more cold cases.
"When the late Norm Maleng made the difficult decision in 2003 to trade the possibility of the death penalty for the truth about unsolved cases, he had cases like this one and families like the Marreros in mind," Satterberg said. "It wasn't about what Gary Ridgway deserved. ... It was about what the families' deserved."
Marrero left her 3-year-old daughter with her aunt on December 3, 1982, headed toward Seattle's Sea-Tac airport, and was never seen alive again. Satterberg offered few details about the victim, beyond that she "was in an area engaged in activities that made her vulnerable to crime, (and) particularly to Mr. Ridgway's method of operating."
Her remains were found about 100 feet away from where searchers in 2003 found another of Ridgway's victims, according to Satterberg. The Green River Task Force had made periodic visits to the area over the past seven years, but found nothing new, he said.
Ridgway was arrested in 2001 in King County and accused in the murders of five women. Two years later, when prosecutors were preparing seven separate murder cases, he offered to confess to those seven and 41 other murders.
The "Green River Killer" moniker came from a river south of Seattle where Ridgway began dumping his victims in 1982.
Most of the women were prostitutes, officials say. Ridgway has said he targeted prostitutes "because I thought I could kill as many as I wanted without getting caught."
He said he killed because he hated prostitutes and didn't want to pay them for sex, and claimed he killed so many women he had a hard time keeping them straight.
While not indicating any news on the horizon, Satterberg did not close the door to further murder charges against Ridgway.
"It's quite possible that more remains will be found someday," he said.
another NY body. full story and lots of photos at link below:
Human remains that were discovered last night are believed to belong to missing prostitute Shannan Gilbert and the fifth victim of the 'Craigslist killer'.
The human bones were found half a mile from the Long Island Beach where the decomposed bodies of four other prostitutes were unearthed last year.
Police and sniffer dogs discovered the remains after resuming their search for Miss Gilbert, 24.
that guy is a local, not a traveler. i base that on his dumping ground. he won't quit that area until he moves elsewhere, is dead, or imprisoned for other crimes.
Serial Killings In Long Island, New York ----- This was in December 2010
This week more bodies were found.
According to police, the bodies were found in different stages of decomposition, stuffed into bushes along an isolated strip of waterfront property.
One of the bodies is believed to be at least two years old, said Dormer.
The original search was for the missing 24 year old Shannon Gilbert of Jersey City, New Jersey.
Gilbert was last seen alive on May 1, 2010, according to a CNN affiliate from WABC.
According to Lt. Gerard Pelkofsky, detective of Suffolk County police department, Gilbert was a prostitute who allegedly met with a client on Fire Island nearly a mile from Oak Beach.
Pelkofsky says it’s not a coincidence when a Long Island resident called 911 on May 1 after a young woman knocked on his door screaming “help me, help me”.
The young woman apparently told the resident that someone was chasing her and she needed help.
The resident told the woman to flee in the bushes while he called 911. Later that night an Asian man drove around looking for the woman.
The man talked to the resident and mentioned that things got out of hand at a party and he just wants to find her.
When the resident told the man he called the police, the man told him he should not have done that, jumped in his car and went into the direction the young woman fled earlier that evening.
One of the four victims found on Oak Beach is now believed to be the missing 22 year old Megan Watermen.
Watermen disappeared earlier this year from Scarborough, Maine.
Searchers looking for more victims of a suspected serial killer along a remote New York beach area have now found a total of eight sets of human remains.
Authorities discovered the latest set of human remains while searching for missing online escort Shannan Gilbert. It's not known whether Gilbert is among the latest remains found.
Gilbert, 24, of Jersey City, N.J., was last seen May 2010 in a shorefront community nearby.
The bodies, all wrapped in burlap bags, were identified as
RIP
Amber Lynn Costello, 27, originally of Wilmington, N.C. disappeared September 2010.
Megan Waterman, 22, of Scarborough, Maine Vanished June 2010.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 28, of Norwich, Conn. who grew up in The Bronx, N.Y. Vanished 2007.
Melissa Barthelemy, 24, of Buffalo, N.Y. grew up in North Babylon, N.Y. Vanished 2009.
A medical examiner was trying to determine Wednesday if the remains are Shannon Gilbert's of Jersey City, Vanished May 2010.
The bones were found about half a mile up the beach from the others.
Daily Mail
full article and more photos at link below.
The discovery that Shannan Gilbert's remains were not among three new sets now raises the body count to nine.
Police looking for more victims of the 'Craigslist Ripper' have expanded their search on a desolate New York beach amid fears that the bodies of even more victims have been dumped somewhere in the dense undergrowth.
Investigators and search dogs are scouring the area around Long Island's Oak Beach after three bodies were found on the north side of Ocean Parkway, the road running along the stretch of beaches to the popular Jones Beach, yesterday.
The gruesome discovery brought the total number of victims found on that side of the road to eight.
Today police began searching the south side of the road.
Craigslist killer: The bodies of Amber Lynn Costello, 27, (top left), Megan Waterman (top right), Melissa Barthelemy, 24, (bottom left) and Maureen Brainer-Barnes, 25, were discovered in shallow graves in December at Long Island.
also, Shannon Gilbert, still not found.
My mother told me this morning that LE is thinking it is a police officer or retired officer. What do you think LC.? I mean to get rid of this many bodies with no evidence is kinda creepy!
he's pretty sophisticated, that doesn't mean he's a cop. although it wouldn't shock me. he could just be someone who watches all the forensics stuff on TV and reads a lot.
New York Post
Sick cell call is strongest clue in search for Long Island serial killer
By BRAD HAMILTON
April 10, 2011
When a call came in from her sibling's cellphone days after she went missing, Amanda Barthelemy didn't know what to think.
"Is this Melissa's little sister?" a man asked.
"Yes," replied the 16-year-old girl.
"Do you know what your sister is doing?" he said. "She's a whore."
The call, police believe, was made by a sadistic serial killer who abducted and strangled Melissa Barthelemy, an aspiring hair stylist, sometime after she left her Bronx apartment on July 10, 2009.
But not before extracting a secret from the 24-year-old victim, who moved to New York from Buffalo in 2007.
Melissa had not told her mother she was turning tricks to pay her bills, though she'd been booking clients on Craigslist and meeting johns for sex for more than a year.
She lied and said she was an exotic dancer. Only Amanda got the truth.
"No one else knew," said their mom, Lynn Barthelemy.
It was the first real clue about the twisted psyche of a predator who stalked and choked to death at least eight prostitutes in the last five years, and possibly murdered four others.
That's the body count after cops this week linked the murder of Melissa Barthelemy and three other prostitutes found near Gilgo Beach in Suffolk County in December to four dead sex workers left in a ditch near Atlantic City in 2006, sources told The Post. All died from strangulation, their corpses stashed before being dumped.
"It's the same guy," said one law-enforcement source.
A third cluster of four bodies discovered a few miles from Gilgo Beach last week has fueled speculation that a Long Island serial killer used the sandy south shore as his burial ground.
There are conflicting reports about a possible suspect. Suffolk officials said they don't have one, but a police source familiar with the investigation said cops are focusing on a man who lives in the county. They've been watching him for days, the source said.
And they're re-examining every bit of evidence in the cases, including that first call to Amanda, which was followed by a half-dozen more during the next six weeks.
The killer always phoned in the evenings, spoke briefly and in a low voice -- and only to Amanda. He calmly spewed taunts and allegations. He sent text messages.
"He wouldn't talk to anybody but her," said Lynn Barthelemy, who documented the barrage in a journal she gave police. "One time I answered, and he hung up as soon as he heard my voice."
Cops began to triangulate the phone, pinpointing the caller's location to Times Square, Madison Square Garden and Massapequa, a short drive from Gilgo Beach. They showed Melissa's picture around at strip clubs. Did her murderer work in Midtown and commute from Long Island?
The girls were close, and their family wondered: Had the killer gotten a glimpse of Amanda, who twice came to stay with Melissa?
"When Amanda went down there, the first thing they did was to get a manicure and pedicure," said their mom. "They went to the zoo and the Statue of Liberty."
But the sister did not recall anyone who might have been a suspect.
The calls abruptly stopped in August 2009 after a Buffalo TV station revealed their existence.
But by then, police believe, Melissa was already dead. The stories of others would soon emerge.
When Megan Water man went on the road to meet her clients, she'd drop off her 4-year-old daughter, Lily, with her grandparents, borrow a friend's Ford Explorer or catch the bus from Scarborough, Maine, to Long Island.
She would go at the request of her boyfriend, Akeem Cruz, who called himself "Vibe" and doubled as her pimp. He used a laptop to place ads for her services and accompanied her to the Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge. While Waterman, 22, met johns, Cruz visited his family nearby.
"I told her I thought it was so crazy and dangerous," said her friend Nicole "Nicci" Haycock, who dates Waterman's brother Greg. "But Megan was very free."
The couple took a bus to Long Island last spring and checked in at the hotel on June 5. That night, they left together at 8 p.m., and she returned 30 minutes later by herself. At 1:30 a.m., she got a call on her cell from Cruz's cell, then left her room alone.
A witness last spotted Waterman outside, walking toward a convenience store, Haycock said. It was the last time Waterman was seen alive.
Waterman's body was the first to be identified from among the four remains found near Gilgo Beach. Cops grilled Cruz. About three weeks ago, they seized his laptop.
"He's not considered a suspect, but he hasn't cooperated," said Haycock.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes, the earliest Long Island victim, was an energetic single mom of two young daughters who wrote poetry and liked the books of Shel Silverstein.
The 25-year-old brunette came into the city by train with two acquaintances, Brett and Sarah, from Norwich, Conn., on the morning of July 9, 2007, to meet clients, a friend said.
Brainard-Barnes called her friend in distress that night from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, saying she had been robbed of the money she earned that day.
"She just wanted to come home," said the friend. "She said she was coming that night and would check in."
Brett and Sarah returned without Maureen, who had gone off by herself.
"They said they didn't know what happened to her," the friend said.
Amber Lynn Costello, 27, who vanished from Long Island on Sept. 2, was the killer's most recent victim.
A petite woman who stood under 5 feet and weighed only 100 pounds, Costello grew up in Wilmington, NC, where she was physically abused as a youth, according to a friend who asked not to be identified.
The abuse led to drug addiction, which she supported by working for Private Playmates escort service.
After getting divorced, she moved to North Babylon last year and continued her spiral of drugs and prostitution.
The victims might never have been dis- covered had it not been for the disappearance of Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old aspiring singer from Jersey City who, like the others, booked johns through Craigslist.
At 2 a.m. on May 1, Gilbert's driver took her to the home of customer Joe Brewer in the gated, millionaires' community of Oak Beach, a few miles east of Gilgo Beach, and waited outside. At 5 a.m., Brewer called him and complained that Gilbert would not leave.
The driver went in and found Gilbert dressed, "delirious" and on the phone with 911. She said to him, "You guys are trying to kill me" and she ran from the house, the driver said. He followed.
She pounded on the door of neighbor Gus Coletti, saying, "Help me. Help me." Coletti thought she was high but unhurt. She ran off.
The driver returned the next day with Gilbert's boyfriend to continue their search.
Police combed Brewer's house soon after Gilbert disappeared, and their search for her led them to the first cluster of four bodies near Gilgo Beach.
They again searched Brewer's home following last week's discovery of four more bodies. But they found nothing to tie him to the murders.
Police sources would not say what led authorities to link the New Jersey murder victims -- Kim Raffo, Molly Jean Dilts, Barbara Breidor and Tracy Ann Roberts -- to the first four in Long Island. But there were several common elements.
In each case, the killer dumped four prostitutes near water and in close proximity, tossing their remains off remote, desolate sections of highway. The bodies were in various stages of decomposition, suggesting he kept some for a period of time after they died.
All eight were low-level sex workers, and the four in New York used Craigslist. Each had been strangled.
He had removed the shoes from both sets of bodies, though the women in New Jersey were clothed. Those in Long Island had been stripped naked and were found without jewelry or belongings, each wrapped in burlap.
Burlap cloth is a very particular product in todays world, to have a supply of that material, the person is associated with potatos or onions more potatos than onions if it was more west then chilies could be added to the list of sources of burlap , from the distances between the girls the person is more than likely a truck driver who lives in the local area but frequently travels the east coast on a schedule. possibly only as far south as north carolina but also as far north as maine.
chain stores? or potato production facilities, chips, or other production type places that would receive potatos in bulk in bags.
JMO of course.
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
John Adams
This is another albeit older article which has some very
interesting profiling and says this about the bags. "Did they have fertilizer in them? Did they have coffee? What might that mean about his job?"
(04-10-2011, 04:02 PM)IMaDick Wrote: Burlap cloth is a very particular product in todays world, to have a supply of that material, the person is associated with potatos or onions more potatos than onions if it was more west then chilies could be added to the list of sources of burlap , from the distances between the girls the person is more than likely a truck driver who lives in the local area but frequently travels the east coast on a schedule. possibly only as far south as north carolina but also as far north as maine.
chain stores? or potato production facilities, chips, or other production type places that would receive potatos in bulk in bags.
JMO of course.
You have a good point dick, about the potato burlap sacks. Very Interesting! I sure hope they find this sick fuck.
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