Going West: True Crime - Shannan Gilbert // 313

Episode Date: June 14, 2023

In May of 2010, a 23-year-old woman went missing after meeting at a client’s house on Long Island. Her last known interaction can be heard on a strange and eerie 911 call that was over 20 minutes long. The woman’s body was discovered 19 months after she disappeared on a beach in the neighborhood from which she vanished. But she was not alone. Also buried on the beach were ten other bodies, all of which are believed to have been claimed by the prolific Long Island Serial Killer. This is the story of Shannan Gilbert. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-west-true-crime/id1448151398 Patreon: patreon.com/goingwestpodcast CASE SOURCES 1. Gilgo News: https://www.gilgonews.com/Vics/melissabarthelemy 2. Heavy: https://heavy.com/entertainment/2020/03/mari-gilbert-daughters-real-life-today/ 3. Cosmopolitan: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/movies/a31468650/lost-girls-netflix-true-story/ 4. Slate: https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/07/a-long-island-serial-killer-who-targeted-prostitutes-murdered-melissa-barthelemy-the-case-remains-unsolved.html 5. Melissa's Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/224085326/melissa-m-barthelemy 6. Gilgo News: https://www.gilgonews.com/vics/AmberLynnCostello 7. Gilgo News: https://www.gilgonews.com/vics/MeganWaterman 8. Gilgo News: https://www.gilgonews.com/Vics/maureenbrainardbarnes 9. Amber's Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64693380/amber-lynn-costello 10. Maureen's Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64693289/maureen-brainard-barnes 11. Megan's Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64693232/megan-amelia-waterman 12. Shannan's Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064537006161 13. Oxygen: https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/lost-girls-who-were-the-victims-of-the-long-island-serial-killer 14. Mari's obituary: https://www.loucksfh.com/obituaries/mari-gilbert 15. Celeb Suburb: https://celebsuburb.com/shannan-gilbert-truth-about-her-mysterious-death-of-mari-gilberts-daughter/ 16. Daily Freeman: https://www.dailyfreeman.com/2017/04/20/gilbert-driven-by-jealousy-to-kill-mother-sister-testifies-at-murder-trial/ 17. The Cut: https://www.thecut.com/2020/03/the-true-crime-tragedy-behind-lost-girls.html 18. History versus Hollywood: https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/lost-girls/ 19. Lost Girls: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3111426/ 20. 48 Hours: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2174239/ 21. CBS: https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/long-island-serial-killer-inside-the-investigation/13/ 22. Portland Press Herald: https://www.pressherald.com/2020/06/22/for-the-first-time-daughter-of-long-island-serial-killer-victim-from-maine-speaks-out/#:~:text=Waterman%20became%20estranged%20from%20her,although%20the%20two%20later%20reconciled. 23. New York Post: https://nypost.com/2011/12/07/officials-recover-missing-sex-workers-jeans-shoes-id-and-cell-phone-during-dredge-of-li-marsh/ 24. CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2016/02/12/us/new-york-shannan-gilbert-case/index.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on true crime fans? I'm your host Tee. And I'm your host Daphne. And you're listening to Going West. Hello everybody, welcome big thanks to Nicole, Mandy, Olivia, Jenna, and Lester for recommending this case to us today. And the Long Island serial killer case, which we do touch on in this episode, was recommended by Kyle, Kate, Megan, Heather, and Laura. So thank you guys as well. Because in this episode, we do touch on the Long Island serial killer case a whole lot.

Also known as Lisk. Yes, absolutely. So we were originally going to just cover that case as a whole, but there are so many details that would have been a multi-part episode, which we have weirdly never done on this show. I know, we don't have any two-parters, I don't think. I know, we don't, it's really weird.

But because we had so many recommendations for Shannon's case in particular, we wanted to kind of make her the highlight essentially, but of course go into the other victims as well. So let's get going, because we've got a lot for you today. Absolutely, all right guys, this is episode 313 of Going West.

So let's get into it. In May of 2010, a 23-year-old woman went missing after meeting at a client's house on Long Island. Her last known interaction can be heard on a strange and eerie 911 call that was over 20 minutes long. Her body was discovered 19 months later on a beach in the same neighborhood that she disappeared from, but she wasn't alone. Also buried on the beach were 10 other bodies, all of which are believed to be claimed by the prolific, long island serial killer. This is the story of Shannon Gilbert. Shayne and Maria Gilbert was born on October 24, 1986 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and a year

later, she was joined by a younger sister named Sarah. Then a year after that, by another sister named Cherie. The girls' parents were young when they had them, and their father was reportedly struggling with a heroin addiction and schizophrenia. So eventually, their mom Mary Gilbert had enough and took her young daughters back to her hometown of Ellenville, New York, which is about two hours north of New York City, so they left Pennsylvania for New York. Mary eventually met another partner, giving her three daughters a half-sister named Stevie,

but that relationship ultimately didn't last either, and Mary found herself the single mother of four young girls. While Mary always made sure that she had everything her daughters needed, it was very difficult juggling four small children on her own, so they moved in with Mary's mother June Rose while they got back on their feet. From a young age, Mary observed that Shannon was kind of prone to outbursts and mood swings and she reportedly felt that she was just not able to handle Shannon's growing needs alongside her other daughters, so Mary actually made

the difficult decision to play seven-year-old Shannon in foster care. Shannon did however continue to see her family, even attending school alongside her sisters and growing up in the same community, but the separation seemed healthy for Mary and Shannon, and Shannon thrived in school. Attending new Palt's high school, Shannon graduated at just 16 years old so two years ahead of schedule. Mary remembered, quote, she wasn't street smart, but she was book smart. Unsure of what to do next, Shannon moved in with her grandma and picked up a series

of odd jobs. These included working as a secretary at a school, a hostess at Applebees, and the kitchen at a senior center, and also as a receptionist at a hotel. But her dreams were bigger and brighter than what was being offered to her in Ellenville. Her sister Sheree remembers that Shannon wanted to be a singer, an actress, a writer, or maybe even a fashion designer, but it was around this time that she began drinking alcohol, as many teenagers do. Her family also remembers that she would frequently opt out of taking her bipolar medication, complaining that it made her feel tired and not like herself.

Back at home, her family's trials continued when a boyfriend of Mary's assaulted her two middle daughters, Cherie and Sarah. As the oldest in the family, Shannon knew that she needed to get out and lay down the groundwork for a better future for herself and her sisters, just like the caring person that she was. So still, as a teenager, she relocated to New York City, but she settled in Jersey City, just across the Hudson River from Manhattan. Shannon still had her sights set on a career in entertainment, even in rolling and writing classes, but for the time being, she needed a way to support herself.

So she started working with a now-defunct company called Lace Party Girls, which is an Escort Service, and Shannon was aware of the risks that can sadly be involved in her line of work, but according to her sister Sarah, quote, she pretty much just thought, you know, it would never happen to her. Shannon found herself becoming more entrenched in this lifestyle as the money came fairly easily to her for the first time in her life. Allegedly, she even began dabbling in drug use with clients, which is something that Mary always claimed that Shannon had been completely against.

So she was arrested multiple times for solicitation, including as part of a sting to take lace party girls down. When that operation closed after legal action was taken against them, Shannon, who was unwilling to give up this newfound freedom of her life in the city, as well as the money that she was coming into, resorted to finding clients on her own. She was doing so well that she even was able to send money back to her mom and sisters at home, which felt really good. During her time at L lace, she met a man named Alex Diaz, who worked as a driver there, and the two began dating later moving in together,

but her family recalls a tumultuous relationship, saying that Alex was quick to get physical with her. One night when Shannon returned home late after meeting with a client, she and Alex got into a fight so intense that he smacked her in the mouth and put her in the hospital. And she actually wound up needing surgery and a metal plate was inserted into her jaw. Through it although, Shannon continued working, picking up clients on Craigslist and Backpage, and she and Alex unfortunately did continue living together and Shannon met and started working with another driver named Michael Pack who would drive her to and from clients' houses. Outside of work she continued to focus on her dream of being a singer and she even had

started like auditioning for productions in the city so she was working towards that goal. On the evening of April 30, 2010, Alex and 23-year-old Shannon picked up Taco Bell for dinner and then they went to a movie. Afterward she met up with her driver Michael to head to a client's house in a gated neighborhood in Oak Beach on Long Island, which is about an hour and a half away from her home. But by the time the pair arrived, it was around 2 a.m. Shannon was meeting with a new client named Joseph Brewer, who had previously worked as a financial advisor

and was recently separated from his wife. Now, according to his neighbors, this was not the first time that he'd hired an escort to come to his house since his wife had moved out. As usual, Shannon's driver Michael waited outside in his car. But what happened between the time that she arrived and when Joseph summoned Michael for help two and a half hours later at around 4.30am is a complete mystery. But something seemed to have gone seriously wrong.

Joseph went out to Michael's car where Michael was waiting to take Shannon back to the city. Joseph informed Michael that Shannon seemed agitated and afraid, and that she was refusing to leave. Michael went inside to help and found Shannon hiding behind a couch, on the phone with 911 telling the operator, quote, they're trying to kill me. Now it's unclear who Shannon was referring to in her accusation and please for help, whether it was Joseph, Michael, or someone else, because she never actually clarified this to the 911 operator, or offered a description or a name.

Shortly after Michael entered Joseph's home, Shannon fled from the house, still on the phone with 911. So after she vacated Joseph's house, he washed his hands at the situation, frustrated at how the night had unfolded. He later said that the two had never engaged in sexual activity and that he didn't want to, but this was never confirmed or denied as they had been together for over two hours. Now because of how the night ended, he hadn't even paid Shannon for her time. So with that, Joseph locked up

the house and went upstairs to bed. He maintains to this day that he did nothing to harm or scare Shannon and that he didn't know or understand why she had made the call to 911 that night, or what she had been so afraid of. This call, which was placed at 4.51 AM and lasted for about 23 minutes, became a pinnacle talking point in Shannon's case. Police stated that it proved that she was incoherent as she was intermittently slurring words

and was sometimes unresponsive and other times screaming. Shannon said multiple times that she was confused and she didn't know where she was. Police released both an unedited version and a version with narration and explanations by police. But in the background of the call, her driver, Michael Pack and her client, Joseph Brewer, can be her talking and trying to figure out how to get Shannon to leave with Michael. She seemed calm at first and continued to say, there's somebody after me. At this point she was

still inside Joseph's house and when asked where she was, she said she didn't know only that she was at a house. The operator asked for her phone number, which Shannon could not provide either. Shannon then asked if the operator could trace the call, which she said she could not. So while the operator attempted to get more information out of Shannon, Shannon mostly ignored the questions and talked to Michael and Joseph. Around four minutes into the call, Joseph growing very frustrated at this point said to Shannon quote, I'm going upstairs, you leave. I'm going upstairs, okay?

You leave, please. Later, Michael can be heard saying gently, quote, Shannon, let's go, okay? To which Shannon continuously replies, please. Around the 8 minute mark, Shannon seems to think that the men were ganging up on her and tells Michael, quote, you were part of this all along, to which Michael responded, I just met him just now. Still on the phone with 9-1-1, Shannon then runs from Michael at Joseph's house, located at 8 the Fairway Drive in Oak Beach to Gus Colletti's house, located at 8th the fairway drive in Oak Beach

to Gus Coletti's house, located at 17th the fairway drive. As she ran, she could be heard screaming, but doesn't explain why despite the operator continuing to ask her. Joseph's neighbor Gus was concerned for her, asking her questions and continued to inquire about what was wrong, to which she simply responded, I need help. After a few minutes, Gus could be heard saying, quote, wait a minute, where are you going? What are you doing?

So like I said, this 911 call is very long, it's about 23 minutes, so we're not going to play the whole thing, which was actually only released last year in 2022. So 12 years after the fact, but we'll play parts of it now so you can kind of get a sense of what's going on. Hey, please, Triple Freight. Stay, please. Yeah, there's somebody asked me. I'm sorry. There's somebody asked me. Where are you?

There's somebody asked me. Okay, where are you? There's somebody asked me? Where are you? Is somebody asking me? OK, where are you? Is somebody asking me? Where are you, ma'am? I don't know. Are you driving right now? No, I'm in front of the house. I'm sorry?

I'm inside the house. What house? I don't know. Can you trick where I am? I'm sorry? Can you trick where I am. No, I can't. What's your call back number you're calling from? Huh?

What phone number you're calling from? What is that for you? Clear. Are you in Suffolk County or NASA County? Um, I'm in Long Island. Where on Long Island are you? Okay, look for me. I'm in Suffolk County. No, you're in Suffolk. We're on Mulniland are you? Okay, let's talk to you. Let's talk to you.

No. No. No. No. No. No, stop, no. We're in Mulniland, do you? You got the county?

Yes, the county. Huh? Oh, all right. How do you call me by my name? Why? County you on the line? Stop. Stop, you're a police. You stop.

I'm just stepping over there. Please. You should have gone. line. Stop it please. Please, should I go up? No, time to go. Please. Go that way please. please, I can't get it. Go for it. Come on, let's go. We'll go outside. Just like that. Like, we'll go outside.

We'll go all the spots. We'll go outside. No, please. Please, come on. Please. Come on. Why? I'm looking for you.

I'm looking for you. I'm looking for you. How are you looking for me? Okay. Please, please. Please, get your ticket. Why? Why? What's the matter? What are you looking for? How do you upstairs? Okay, please, please get out of here. Why, why, why, you're supposed to matter, are you okay? What is it, what is it, though?

Bring it in the door, please. Let's go back to the hall. All right, we're out of the water. We're up near the water, sir. We need to start. Hello? I'm going to leave the door. Hello? This is Dr. R. I'm doing this for Dr. Move.

Hello? Please. What's the problem? What's the matter? What happened? Please, give me out of here, please. Shannon. Shannon. So after Shannon fled Joseph's house, like Heath said, she ran to Joseph's neighbors' house, which is 75-year-old

Gus Colletti, and he was in his bathroom shaving at the time, having just woken up for the day around 5 a.m. So Shannon pounded on his front door begging for help, and again screaming that someone was trying to kill her. When Gus answered the door, Shannon, who was distraught and still on the phone with 911, told him that she was afraid for her life. But she couldn't quite articulate what had happened, or who was threatening her. So Gus offered a call 911, but claimed that Shannon declined his offer and instead just

continued to repeat that she needed help. So after a few minutes of this back and forth, Michael emerged from his car and again tried to retrieve her. Shannon ran into Gus' front yard and hid from Michael behind Gus' boat before she took off running down the dirt road, heading to another neighbor's house to seek help. Gus called 911 to report the incident at 5.21am. Shannon then fled to the house of Barbara Brannon, who was so frightened by someone knocking that early that she called 911 without answering

the door. And after arriving to Barbara's house is when Shannon is believed to have ended the 911 call. When police arrived to speak with Gus and Barbara around 6am, so 40 minutes later, neither knew where Shannon had gone. Michael took off driving after her in his SUV but was unable to catch her or convince her to get into the car with him. So frustrated and without knowing where Shannon wound up, he left the area to drive back to the city when the sun came up and never cross paths with the police who were summoned to the area. Later that day, Shannon's boyfriend Alex was growing increasingly more concerned

that Shannon wasn't returning home, not that he really gives a shit he's an abusive ass. So attempting to retrace her steps, he even drove out to Oak Beach himself. He contacted her driver Michael to figure out what had happened that morning and Michael explained to him that he believed Shannon had been on drugs and that she had refused to get in the car with him. Alex dropped by Joseph Brewer's house himself, asking him questions and stopped by the local police station as well, just hoping to report or missing. But according to Alex, he was brushed off by police so he apparently walked the Oak Beach area alone looking for Shannon.

When no one seemed to know where she wound up, Alex called her mom and sisters back in Ellenville to break the news. Mary and her daughters dropped everything and drove to Jersey City to reporter missing, where Alex had also filed a report. Mary then drove out to Long Island to talk to the Suffolk County police and to search for her daughter herself. They knocked on doors in the area just asking if anyone had seen anything or anyone. They passed out and hung up missing flyers and combed the exact route that Shannon had taken that night looking for just any sign of her. the exact route that Shannon had taken that night, looking for just any sign of her. In what would become a reoccurring theme in Shannon's story, Mary remembered being shut

down by police just as Alex had been, seeming to place the blame on Shannon because she was living what police like to refer to as a high-risk lifestyle, they continued to maintain that Shannon had likely left on her own volition. Mary quickly became her daughter's strongest advocate, knowing that the circumstances under which Shannon disappeared did not support the theory that she left on her own. Mary obtained the records for her daughter's multiple cell phones and noticed something the police hadn't put together yet, that 23 23 minute 911 call. Because remember, in the call, she didn't give her name or location, so police weren't

able to connect it to her missing persons report originally. Or sorry, she at least gave her first name on the phone and general location like the operator Newshoew is on Long Island, but no other specifics to her location. So this call had not been considered resolved, like no police were ever sent to look for her, because the police who visited the neighborhood that morning were summoned by Gus and then Barbara. According to police, Shannon's call had been transferred from local police to New York State Police, because they couldn't determine where her call was

originating from, and she had given them very little information as to whereabouts. The other two emergency calls had been fielded by local police who just assumed that Michael had picked her up and taken her home for whatever frickin' reason. So frustratingly, it wouldn't be until a week or so later that police finally connected Shannon's call for help to the two other emergency calls that morning.

And Shannon's Missing Persons report. Mary and her daughters were hitting roadblock after roadblock looking for Shannon, and as news outlets slowly picked up the story, faced endless judgment because Shannon had been working as an escort. And according to Shari, I love this quote from her, quote, no matter what she did for a living, it shouldn't give anybody the right to take her life. The search for Shannon would shed light on the dark, seedy side of this wealthy, idyllic community, and bring answers to four other

families who are waiting to find someone. Because shockingly, amid the search for Shannon on Gilgo Beach on Long Island, authorities discovered a mass grave. Four other bodies were recovered, all young women fitting a similar description to Shannon's, and all of whom had been working as escorts. Police then happened upon more remains, some unidentified, and some which were additional remains of the victims of unsolved murders from years prior. But Shannon was still nowhere to be found.

So let's dive into this massive discovery of remains. On December 11, 2010, over seven months since Shannon had disappeared, police stumbled upon human remains, initially believing them to belong to Shannon. But strangely, they did not. Instead, they found four young women. These women were all buried in the same manner, naked, free of jewelry, or any articles of clothing, wrapped in burlap, and spaced out almost evenly in the sand and brush of Gilgo Beach. The media dubbed them the Gilgo Beach 4. It was a shocking and disturbing discovery for the small community,

but it was not necessarily a surprise. All the way back to 1996, so 14 years earlier, the area had been experiencing women known to be sex workers turning up deceased. On April 20, 1996, partial remains of a young woman who to this day has not been identified, turned up on Fire Island, 45 minutes down the beach from where the Gilgo Beach 4 were found. The following summer on June 28th, 1997, partial remains of another young woman were found. She has also remained unidentified, her only identifiable characteristic being a tattoo of a peach. Nicknamed Peaches, this victim was found in Hemsted Lake State Park, so about 30 minutes

northwest of Gilgo Beach. On November 19, 2000, Valerie Mack, who was a woman from Philadelphia, was found dismembered in Manerville, less than an hour from the beach. Less than three years later, on July 26, 2003, another woman, 20-year-old Jessica Taylor, was found dismembered there as well. Eerily, all of these women fit a similar description. Five feet tall or shorter, around 100 pounds, under 30 years old old and working as escorts. With the Gilgo Beach 4 adding to the tally, Long Island Police suspected what had long been rumored that they had a serial killer was born. 24-year-old Melissa Barthelemy was the first victim found of the Gilgol Beach 4, again

found in 2010, but was believed to be the second one who was killed. Melissa hailed from the Kensington Bailey neighborhood of Buffalo in upstate New York. Her parents were just teenagers when they had her, but they said their sites on raising a strong, outspoken daughter who would stick up for herself. And her mom Lynn said that's exactly who she was. Brash, formidable, and outspoken. Melissa spent her childhood between New York with her mom and Texas with her dad, eventually graduating high school back in Buffalo, New York. She then attended school for hair styling and started

working at a local supercuts but dreamed of working in a big city salon. So in 2006, she and her boyfriend decided to relocate to New York City. Lin was concerned for her daughter's safety, but Melissa's mind was made up, like she was desperate to get out of the struggling neighborhood that she was raised in, and she wanted to be able to care for her mom and her little sister Amanda. So Melissa moved into a small basement apartment in the Bronx, and struggled to make ends meet working part time in a barber shop. Lin also remembers that her apartment was overrun with cats because Melissa couldn't resist taking in any strays that she found. Which was really sweet of her,

you know? Yeah, I mean, yeah, she's just trying to be a good person, but honestly, maybe don't bring in every stray cat, right? Yeah. Well, unbeknownst to her family, Melissa started working with an escort service on this side to make extra money. And although she was more protected working for an organized escort service, then just going out and finding clients alone, she was splitting her money with the company that she was working for, which she didn't prefer. So Melissa started branching out on her own, posting her services on websites like

Craigslist and Adult Friend Finder, but occasionally she would even walk the streets looking for clients. She and her boyfriend had broken up at this point and she had started seeing the man who was fielding her clients for her, which really complicated her work life. When she found clients on her own, she would kind of hide them from her boyfriend who was nicknamed Blaze and keep all the profits for herself. But this was definitely a riskier practice because there was no one looking out for her.

On July 12, 2009, Melissa was sitting on the curb outside of her apartment building in the Bronx by herself. Her cell phone records show that she called to check in with her boyfriend that afternoon. Blaze said later that Melissa told him that she had lined up a client for that evening on Long Island, so he offered her a ride, but she declined for unknown reasons, and instead she took a taxi. The next day when her mom, sister, and boyfriend all attempted to get in touch with her, there was no answer, and eventually her phone was going straight to voicemail.

Lynn, knowing that this was very uncharacteristic of her daughter, who talked to them almost every day, filed a missing persons report from Melissa in Manhattan. She remembers them downplaying it, telling them Melissa was likely missing of her own volition and would be back soon. But after 10 days of Melissa being MIA and Lynn pressuring them to open up an investigation, they searched her neighborhood and subpoenaed her phone records. They even pulled DNA from her toothbrush just in case, which is what would confirm to investigators that the body recovered

belonged to her when it was found about a year and a half later. Her phone records show that her cell phone last pinged in Massapiqua, New York, located on Long Island. Police canvassed the area, but found no trace of her, and according to Lynn, didn't seem to be prioritizing the search. But in a terrifying twist to Melissa's story, her teenage sister Amanda began to be tormented by a mysterious man from Melissa's cell phone. Shortly after Melissa disappeared, Amanda received a call from Melissa's phone.

Thrilled and relieved to be hearing from her sister, she immediately picked it up, only to be greeted with the voice of an adult man who sounded like he was in his late 20s to late 30s. Melissa, she asked into the phone, to which the caller replied, oh, this isn't Melissa. According to Amanda, he's spoken in eerily calm and controlled manner. This is such a freaky part of the case to me like we're not horrifying. So the man actually called her eight times, always teasing her with the horrible things that he'd apparently put Melissa through, and sometimes taunting Amanda that he was

going to find her and do the same things. Police believed that this man was most likely Melissa's killer and after the third call, investigators were able to trace the location, but it was simply midtown Manhattan and no more specific than that. The caller, every time in his signature controlled tone, described sexually explicit things that he had done to Melissa and threatened Amanda with sexual violence as well. In one call, he even told Lynn that he was in the NYPD and asked if they had submitted a missing persons report yet. But this essentially went nowhere,

and the family went a year and a half without answers until that fateful December day when she was found. Two days later, on December 13, 2010, the next three of the Gilgoboch 4 were found. The second victim they discovered was 27-year-old Amber Costello, who lived nearby in Babylon, New York. Amber suffered with substance abuse for much of her life and when she went missing in, like sometime in September of 2010, we don't have an exact date. She had recently relapsed and she was using heroin again.

Amber shared a small house with two men and a female roommate and both she and her female roommate were escorts and the men would help them field calls in their house. On one particular September evening, a client on Long Island called Amber multiple times, insisting that she see him that day and even offered her $1,500 to stay the night, which far exceeded her nightly fee. So Amber with that left without a purse or a cell phone and as she walked away from the porch she said to her roommates, if my sister calls, tell her I love her. And that

was the last time that she would ever be seen. Amber was very close with her sister Kim but their dad was battling cancer in North Carolina at the time, so Kim had been very distracted with that, and of course Amber had been as well. But sadly, Amber's friends and family were so usurper being transient that she was never even reported missing. Three months since she had last been seen, her roommate recalled police showing up on their porch, stating that they found her body. Her sister Kim later provided a DNA sample that would confirm that the remains belonged

to her sister. And she remembers, quote, when her soul left this earth, mind shattered, I'm trying to pick up the pieces. The next body that was discovered belonged to 22-year-old Megan Waterman, who had disappeared on June 6, 2010. She was last seen leaving a holiday and express on Long Island, but she never returned. Coincidentally, Amber had been asked to meet at this same hotel by a mysterious client a few months prior to her disappearance, but she felt that something was off and had declined the appointment.

Megan's boyfriend and family grew pretty concerned when Megan hadn't called to check on her three-year-old daughter, who she talked to every day, even if she was out of town for work. Megan lived in Portland, Maine, but left her daughter with family to head towards the city for a few days to work. Her mom, Lorraine, called Megan a wonderful girl and a great friend and mom to her beloved daughter Lily. Lorraine remembered that everything Megan did was for her daughter and to bring them a better life, saying quote, she put family first and all else next. Megan usually met clients with a male counterpart for, you know, added security, but somehow,

this mysterious client was convincing these women to come on their own. She was last seen on security camera footage at the holiday end, leaving around 1.30 a.m. She called her male co-worker, who usually did house calls with her, to tell him that she was going to a convenience store nearby and would then be meeting with a client. Two years later, this man was arrested on trafficking charges, but he is not believed to be involved in Meghan's murder. The fourth and final member of the Gilgoyle Beach For is Marine Brainerd Barnes, who was 25 years old at the time of her death.

She was last seen by her family on July 9, 2007, and Maureen had two young children in 8-year-old and a 1-year-old, and at this time she was really struggling to find work in her hometown of Norwich, Connecticut. Three days before she disappeared, she took an Amtrak train to Manhattan and got a hotel room on the west side to meet clients out of. At 11.43pm on July 9th, 2007, she told a friend back in Connecticut that she was leaving the hotel to meet a client for an out call, but she never returned to the hotel. When she didn't come home to Connecticut, when she said she would, Maureen's brother and brother-in-law drove down to New York City to search for her, but they found no trace of her outside of what she had left in her hotel room.

After her disappearance, her sister Melissa found a notebook filled with pages of leads on jobs and submissions that she made and interviews that she was arranging. Melissa said, sadly, quote, she didn't turn to Craigslist because she wanted to. She turned to Craigslist because she felt like there was no way out. Maureen was the first to disappear and the last to be found. And just to break that all up over a timeline, Maureen Brainer Barnes was the first to go missing on July 9, 2007, then Melissa Barthelemy, about two years later on July 12, 2009, then Shannon Gilbert about 10 months after that on of 2010 all disappearing in or around the summertime across Three years. It's really scary to think about the fact that

There is a person living on Long Island that is is calling clients or sorry calling Escorts to come meet him, but that nobody nobody nobody knows who this guy is, it's just crazy to think about the fact that so many women had possibly met up with the same person and had been murdered by the same person, you know what I mean? Well yeah, and the fact that some of them who were usually with a male counterpart were not when they met this person, you know, the final person, the person that was likely the one to take their life. Like it's just, it's really, really what makes

this case so mysterious that there is no trace of this person. Yeah, because usually, you know, you would think that there would be some sort of, like list of clients or, you know, like somebody, somebody would know this guy or know his name, but nobody does. I mean, just like, you know, Melissa, who is Maureen's sister, found that notebook with

your leads and all that kind of stuff, all the information about her work, and still, it didn't take them anywhere to find the identity of the sky. It's insane. Very, very sad. So as the story broke in December of 2010, and the small community was on the receiving end of a lot of attention that it was not a custom to the police were met with enormous criticism as all four of the girls families along with Shannon's claimed that no matter where the girls were reported missing the police downplayed concerns

All of the families were told that their missing loved one was not actually missing and later that they had been engaging in loved one was not actually missing, and later that they had been engaging in high-risk behavior, and seemed to insinuate that it was their fault that they had been murdered. A journalist and editor at New York Magazine, Robert Kolker, began reporting on the events as they unfolded, and eventually turned his investigation of the lives and deaths of Shannon and the Gilgo Beach 4 into a true crime non-fiction entitled Lost Girls and Unsolved American Mystery. Which I'm sure many of you have read. Yes.

It has been on my list for a while, I gotta pick it up. Well actually in 2020 the book was even adapted into a Netflix movie of the same name Lost Girls documenting Mary's relentless search for justice for her daughter Shannon. Which we did see. We did watch that Yes, so these four bodies joined the other victims that were previously found all who were thought to have been claimed by the same person The Long Island serial killer also known again as Lisk Then with more excavation of the area, police found even more bodies. Just a quarter mile up the beach from where Megan Waterman was found, investigators found

another body, but this one strangely didn't fit the profile of the rest. This body belonged to a person assigned male at birth, although it is now thought that they may have been a transgender woman. They were the only victim found buried in women's clothing as the rest were nude. This person was known to be of Asian descent, believed to have been between the ages of 17 and 23 years old, stood at 5 feet 6 inches tall and had dental health issues, including four missing teeth. They were believed to have been deceased between

five and ten years. Which is crazy. Like, they've just been there the whole time. It's like, please just keep finding bodies on this beach. Police did actually release a composite sketch, but no one has ever identified them. Yeah, we have included that on our socials with photos of all the other victims as well. So farther down the beach, additional remains of two women who were already identified. Heath mentioned them earlier. Valerie Mack and Jessica Taylor were discovered. And it's sometimes been hypothesized that these two dismembered bodies found in Manorville,

New York, belong to a different murderer, but because of the location of their additional remains, police now believe all of these victims and potentially more belong to the same perpetrator. Between March 29th and April 11th, 2011, police discovered the unidentified Asian victim, more remains from Valerie, Jessica, the Fire Island Jain Doe, and the Jain Doe with the Peach Tattoo, again nicknamed Peaches, as well as the remains of a toddler believed to be Peach's daughter. Of these ten bodies, most had been strangled except for Valerie, Jessica, and Peaches, who

had been dismembered, so their cause of death is unknown, but the cause of death of the Fire Island Jane Doe remains unknown as well. But there was still no sign of Shannon amongst all of these remains. In May of 2022, like I touched on earlier, police finally released Shannon's 911 call, allowing the public to hear the eerie final moments before Shannon vanished. Michael continued to follow after her when Shannon fled to the neighbors, and later claimed that he never touched or did anything to harm her and that he was simply attempting to

get her back in the car. After she ran from Gus's house to Barbara's house, then back into the road, Michael lost track of her and never saw her again. And both Michael and Joseph, by the way, have passed polygraph tests, and they have been ruled out as suspects in her case and the other cases as well. Strangely, just two days after Shannon disappeared, another suspect inserted himself into the discourse, making himself a person of interest. While the man has never been arrested or charged in connection with Hackett, a long time resident of Long Island, used his wife's cell phone to call Mary Gilbert, claiming that Shannon had been under his care.

Also, it's just weird that he used his wife's phone, like as if you're trying to conceal yourself a little bit. Yeah, weird. So according to Mary, Dr. Hackett alleged that he had been running a home for what he described as wayward girls out of his house, and that he knew and had been taking care of Shannon. Then he explained that he didn't know where she had gone and he was looking for her. So Mary asked him some questions and was alarmed about this man's potential involvement with her daughter, especially because it was that same day that Shannon's boyfriend Alex alerted

Mary that Shannon was missing. Now later, as Mary and her daughters combed the area looking for any sign of Shannon, Mary confronted Dr. Hackett about the claims that he had made on the phone, but he feigned ignorance. So here's the thing about Dr. Hackett. He was basically known as being a serial exaggerator, even claiming that he had been a lead investigator in a 1996 plane crash that happened in the area, which he was definitely not. He was also accused by neighbors of treating patients under the table from his residence and over prescribing opioids.

I just can't trust this guy as a doctor or a man. Yeah, not a good look. So he was found to be lying about running a service for endangered young women. As he had told Mary, and he even claimed that he never called Mary and that he had never met Shannon saying, quote, I don't know her. I've never seen her. So what did you say you did? Yeah, and why'd you call Mary? Uh, doesn't make any sense. But when Mary reported this encounter with the police, phone records in fact proved that he had called her that day, which was May 3, 2010, two days after Shannon went missing. He has continued to deny this and claims that if he had ever called her,

he doesn't remember, and that he was likely just trying to help out his community. remember, and that he was likely just trying to help out his community. The chief of detectives at the time explained, quote, he's an individual who likes to get involved. He's a storyteller and exaggerator. On December 7, 2011, investigators in Suffolk County announced that a year and a half after Shannon had gone missing. They recovered her wallet, including her identification, as well as her lip gloss and the shoes and jeans that she had been wearing the day she disappeared.

A week later, a quarter mile or four tenths of a kilometer away, in the marsh behind Oak Beach, they recovered Shannon's body. The Suffolk County District Attorney announced quote, we believe at this time that they belong to the missing Shannon Gilbert. Brambles and thick brush in terrain would have made it impossible for her to get to the causeway. It would be easy to get exhausted, fall down, and not move. That marsh was known among residents for its very harsh terrain as it was thick with reeds and soggy earth beneath it, so it was not somewhere that locals ever went walking

through. But to Mary's devastation, they believed that Shannon's death was simply an accident. And even though it seemed very shocking to suggest that an escort could die by accident in the same area where multiple escorts turned up dead, the police chief at the time explained quote, I understand that's very difficult to believe. It seems very counterintuitive, but again, if you knew all the facts, you would believe it as I do. While it's not definitive evidence, Shannon, who stood at 5'5", was inches taller than the Gilgoye Beach 4. Police surmised that Shannon, who was spooked by the events of the evening and trying to avoid Michael catching up to her, ran into the marsh. Confused and scared, they believed her death was a tragic accident coming from shock, fatigue,

and exposure. But Mary and Shannon Sisters disagreed. Mary became the spokesperson for her daughter and the Gilgho beach for, making sure their unsolved cases didn't fade from the spotlight simply because so many didn't like how they made their living, and she swore that she would keep fighting for them and for Shannon. The autopsy conducted by the state ruled that both the manor and the cause of Shannon's death were, quote, undetermined. However, in 2016, Mary had an independent autopsy conducted. Now this autopsy found that while not conclusive, it was possible that she had died by strangulation.

According to the autopsy, Shannon's quote, Larynx was missing and only the body of the hyoid bone was found. The two greater horns of that neck bone were missing. These structures, the larynx and the hyoid bone, are often fractured during homicidal manual strangulation. End quote. bone are often fractured during homicidal manual strangulation." While it's not definitive, it pointed to homicide as a possibility, and Shannon did not seem to have any drugs in her system at the time of her death. Mary, while devastated

at the loss, and steadfast in pursuit of justice for Shannon, was really grateful that the search for Shannon led to closure for so many other families. She said, quote, my case linked them all together. Without Shannon, there'd never be a case. She and the mothers and sisters of the other victims joined forces to spread awareness about the case and hopefully bring answers to almost two decades of unsolved murders. Police have said that at least for now, Dr. Hackett, who now apparently lives in Florida, is not a suspect in Shannon's death, nor the murders of Long Island serial killer victims.

A profile of the potential killer reads, he is most likely a white man in his mid-twenties to mid-forties. He is married or has a girlfriend. He is well-educated and well-spoken. He is financially secure, has a job, and owns an expensive car or truck. He may have sought treatment at a hospital for poison IV infection.

As part of his job or interest, he has access to or a stockpile of burlap sacks. Sadly, no one has ever been apprehended for the murders of the 10 victims of the Long Island serial killer, or the potential murder of Shannon Gilbert. Authorities continue to maintain that Shannon's death was just an accident and most likely not tied to the Long Island serial killer, which again, a lot of people don't believe, but nothing is really concrete at this time. But sadly, the hardships were not over for the Gilbert family.

Shannon Sister Sarah was also known to suffer from mental health issues, and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizophrenia-effective disorder, which is a combination of schizophrenia and a mood disorder, such as bipolar disorder or depression. Sarah had been hospitalized more than seven times for this affliction, and was also medicated, but her mom and sisters claimed that her mental health really declined after Shannon was found deceased. Sarah dropped out of high school and started dating a man who was known to deal drugs.

And the two then had a son together, but with Sarah's mental health deteriorating, she struggled to take care of him. Her boyfriend was also reportedly abusive, and she and her son sought help from shelters for victims of domestic violence. But it is known that Mary helped out with childcare when she could.

But things really took a turn in February of 2016 when Sarah took her eight-year-old son out to a wooded area with her and threatened to kill him, believing he was an evil God. Mary apparently reported her daughter for this and Sarah was livid. Off of her anti-psychotic medication at the time, Sarah began believing that her mother was a demon and was practicing black magic. On July 23rd, 2016, Sarah summoned Mary to her apartment, which was in the same building, saying that she needed help. And when Mary arrived, Sarah attacked her with a 15-inch kitchen knife, stabbing her

227 times. Damn, that is so many times, so many stab wounds. Yeah, she also bludgeoned her mom Mary with a fire extinguisher and sprayed the foam in Mary's mouth and then stripped Mary's lifeless body naked, believing that her mother was drawing power from her own spilled blood. When police finally arrived to the scene, Sarah reportedly told the officers, I killed my mom and then called Mary the devil.

Later she asked an officer, she's still alive, right? Is this like a joke? I know something is going to happen. My mom is not dead. My mom is not dead. And for this, Sarah was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison where she remains today. It's kind of sad though because obviously this seems to be an issue of mental health. So the fact that I mean, I understand she was convicted for a murder, but I think probably she needed and hopefully she's getting that where she's at right now. Hopefully she is. Hopefully she's getting the help that she needs and the medication that she needs.

But Mary left behind her three remaining daughters, four grandchildren, and a fiancé. Stevie and Sheree continue to seek answers for their sister Shannon, continuing the legacy that their mom left behind. The family's attorney, John Ray, continues to represent Sheree and Stevie and their search for answers for Shannon. John said after Mary's death quote, she was broken down and depressed, and she was a poor, poverty-stricken person. She was a single mom trying to raise kids and grandkids. She did what any mother would try to do for her kids.

I just can't not do it. This is what Mary would have wanted. She pursued this case relentlessly. Sharree still runs the Facebook page, praying for Shannon Maria Gilbert, where she still posts memories and updates about her sister. The Long Island serial killer is not to have as many as 18 victims, potentially including Shannon Gilbert.

If you have any information about Shannon's death or the murders of the Long Island serial killer, please call Suffolk County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode and on Friday we'll have an all new case for you guys to dive into. Yes, make sure that you share this case. I know a lot of you guys had probably heard it and we do try to cover lesser known cases for the most part, but we just had so many recommendations for this that we wanted to

cover, especially since it's unsolved, which is, you know, heathenized preference, just because we wanna try to help with this platform as much as we can. So thank you everybody for tuning in and for recommending it. Yeah, I mean, I just honestly feel like at some point, this is gonna be one of those things where it's almost like the golden state killer where I feel like genealogy is probably gonna put this one away

and it's probably gonna solve it in the future. Hopefully that'll happen sooner than later because there are still, I mean, this didn't happen that long ago. This was 13 years ago and beyond. So, these families are still waiting and many of them are still alive, just hoping for that good news. So...

Of course, we will try to update you guys if there are any updates on this case. Yes, as we do on our socials, actually, we just had a couple of cases that we covered have updates where remains were found. Somebody was sentenced to life in prison. Those are all on our socials. So go check us out on Instagram

at going West Podcast, Twitter, at going West Pod, and we're also on Facebook. Yeah, those two cases with the updates that came out just recently were Madeline Kingsbury and Madison Scott. So if you haven't listened to those episodes, please do because those are crazy. You're right. Actually, I was thinking about the, I think we called the episode the Malibu Creek murder, the suspect in that case was sentenced to prison.

So anyway, just go check for all the updates because we, there's a lot of them. We've covered over 300 episodes by now. Yeah. So many updates coming and just continuing to come. So yeah, please share this story and yeah, we'll see you guys on Friday. Yeah. All right, guys. So for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. Thank you.

you