Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Craigslist Ripper” Pt. 2 - The Long Island Serial Killer

Episode Date: December 10, 2018

Many of the details surrounding the murder of 16 women in Long Island remain a mystery, the only connection is that the women all used Craigslist. Investigations have yielded no concrete suspects. Only 35 miles from Manhattan, a serial killer remains at large.  If you enjoyed this episode, give us a nice review, it really helps new listeners find the podcast! Sponsors! Calming Comfort - Go to CalmingComfortBlanket.com and use promo code KILLERS at checkout to receive 15% off the displayed price. Ring - Save up to $150 off a Ring of Security Kit when you go to Ring.com/SERIALKILLERS. SimpliSafe - You can save hundreds of dollars if you go to SimpliSafe.com/KILLERS.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Broadway musicals, pizza, world-class comedy. But the beaches are rarely the main attraction. However, in 2011, New York's game. Gilgo Beach was put on the map when ten corpses were found there, along Ocean Parkway. The killer responsible has been named the Long Island Gilgo Beach serial killer. And as police delved into the case, they realized that he may have been responsible for far more murders than those initial 10. As police began to revisit cold cases and make connections to the victims at Gilgo Beach, they came to a startling realization. A serial murderer was in the case.

their midst, and he may have been stalking the streets of Long Island undetected for over 30 years. Hi, I'm Greg Polson, and this is serial killers on the Parkast Network. Today we're continuing our deep dive into the Long Island Gilgo Beach serial killer, who is the suspected murderer of as many as 16 people. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. Many of you have been asking us how you can support the podcast. If you enjoy the show, one of the best ways to help us is to leave a five-star review wherever you listen to podcasts. While you're there, you can listen to previous episodes of serial killers, as well as Parcasts, other podcasts. A new episode comes out every Monday. You can also find us on Facebook and

Instagram at Parcast and on Twitter at Parcast Network or in our website, parkast.com. Last week, we discussed the 10 victims who police have linked to the case of the Long Island Gilgo Beach Killer. First, there was the Gilgo Beach Four, Marine Brainerd Barnes, Megan Waterman, Melissa Bartholomey, and Amber Lynn Costello. Their bodies were found on Ocean Parkway, near Gilgo Beach in December 2010. In addition, we discussed Jessica Taylor, Jane Doe No. 6, Jane Doe number 7, Peaches, Baby Doe and John Doe. Police found the remains of those victims around Gilgo Beach and Nassau County on various dates throughout 2011. The official count of victims that police have linked to the Long Island

Gilgo Beach Killer is 10. We had also looked into the case of Shannon Gilbert, who disappeared in December 2010. In searching for her, police inadvertently found the ten bodies connected to the Gilgo Beach killer. Her remains were found in December 2011 in the marsh, but police have not officially linked her murder to the Long Island Gilgo Beach killer. At the moment, there are no official suspects in the case. The identity of the killer or killers is unknown. In order for police to make an arrest in a criminal case, the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution states that the reason or

belief that a crime has indeed been committed must be established. However, the concept of probable cause is fluid depending on the jurisdiction and the charges. Traditionally, the press will publish the name of a suspect once criminal charges are filed. The Long Island Gilgo Beach killer case is different in that not many actual suspects have been named or identified. In this episode, we'll examine five more of the killers suspected but unofficial victims. Police haven't officially linked these bodies to the Long Island Gilgo Beach killer case, but the victim shares some similarities with the 10 victims initially found on Gilgo Beach. We'll also take a look at how web sleuths and the FBI's involvement have become major factors in the case.

The first unofficial victim of the case could also be the killer's earliest victim, dating back to 1982. 19-year-old Tina Folia lived in Brentwood and worked as a home health aide. She loved rock music and enjoyed seeing shows at Hammerheads. The club on Sunrise Highway in West Islip was famous for hosting rock bands, like Twisted Sister, Blue Weister Cult, and the Ramon. At one point, Folia mentioned a man she met at Hammerheads to her older sister, Amy Folia Galiardi. In an interview with WPIX, Galliarty recalled, quote, she said she met a doctor.

He took her out a couple of times. She said she really liked him a lot, end quote. Follia never mentioned the doctor's name to her sister. It's unclear if he played a role in Folli's murder. Folia routinely hitchhiked to the club, although Galiardi warned her not to do so, On the night of February 1, 1982, Folia likely hitchhiked to hammerheads to see a Queen's-based band called Equinox. She was last seen exiting the club at 3 a.m. Two days later, on February 3, 1982, Folia's family reported her missing. Later that afternoon, Department of Transportation Highway workers found three bags on the shoulder of the northbound Sagto-coast Parkway.

Workers noticed that the bags were oddly shaped. As one worker got closer to the bags, they noticed hair sticking out. Inside, the workers found Folia's body parts. Then Chief Deputy Medical Examiner for Suffolk County, Michael Bodden, told Newsday that Follia died, quote, as a result of asphyxia by smothering, end quote. Police tried to link Folias murder to a man named Timothy O'Toole of Seville. At the time, he was facing a murder charge for the fatal 1981 shooting of a 31-year-old bartender. Patricia Finn.

He was also a suspect in five other slayings all around the same time as Folia's murder. In 1983, O'Toole was convicted of second-degree murder in Finn's case. But in 1989, the conviction was overturned on appeal, and he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter. As for his potential link to Follia's death, investigators could not find any evidence to support it.

In the years following Foliah's mysterious death, police investigated any possible possible leads, friends, family, acquaintances, even members of the band she went to see, but none of them panned out. Nevertheless, in July 2017, New York State Police Senior Investigator Simon Ocampo said it was possible that Folia could have been an early victim of the Long Island Gilgo Beach killer. It had everything to do with her body's proximity to Gilgo Beach. Folia went to the club in West Islip, which is located 15 miles east of Gilgo Beach.

Her body was found in those three garbage bags on the shoulder of the Sagto-coast Parkway, a few miles north of the highway that connects to Gilgo Beach. Accompo told WPiX, quote, there's always the chance. It's not something we would rule out. That's not an active avenue of the investigation, end quote. On March 3, 2007, a storm approached New York, and with it came flooding. During the storm, a suitcase washed up on the shore of Harbor Island Park,

in Mamereynec, located 50 miles from Gilgo Beach. It contained a woman's torso. The torso had several stab wounds. A tattoo of two cherries was located above the victim's left breast, which caused investigators to give her the nickname, cherries. Police also found ripped up scraps of paper inside the suitcase. When pieced together, the paper looked like it was once a calendar page.

The text on the page read, Sinko, which means five in the suitcase. Spanish, and the phrase, begin to live, written in English. Because Cherry's torso washed up on the shore during a storm, investigators theorized it could have come from anywhere. A few weeks later, on March 22, 2007, a dismembered leg washed up in Cold Spring Harbor. The leg's foot was missing a few toes. Those remaining were painted with pink nail polish. The next day, another leg emerged off Cove Neck along Nassau County's Gold Coast. This leg's foot was much the same.

Half the toes missing, pink nail polish on the toes that remained. A DNA test confirmed that the legs and torso all belonged to Cherries. Investigators theorized that Cherries was an African American or Hispanic female. Much like some of the victims officially linked to the Long Island Gilgo Beach killer, Cherry's body was dismembered and her torso was found in an unusual container. She also had a tattoo of fruit on her body, which is also reminiscent of the Gilgo Beach victim Peaches, who had a tattoo of peaches on her torso.

While both these women had unique tattoos, they had no other common identifiers, fingerprints, teeth, hair colors, or eye colors, which may have been the reason why they remain unidentified. Despite these familiar details, Cherries is not officially linked to the Long Island Gilgo Beach killer, but she wasn't the only suspected victim to be found in a suitcase. case. 39-year-old Tanya Rush was last seen on June 23, 2008, at 3 a.m. Surveillance video showed her

leaving her apartment at the Van Dyke Houses, a Brooklyn public housing complex at 345 Livonia Avenue. The video shows Rush entering her apartment building's elevator. Another woman and a man were inside as well. It's not clear if Rush knew them. Rush, the man and the woman got off the elevator when it reached the ground floor. They all left the building through a side exit. The man walked to the right while Rush walked to the left. She headed to the elevated subway train stop. It's unclear where the other woman in the elevator went. Police found that Rush had been addicted to narcotics for about two years, and she had turned to sex work in order to support her habit. Rush had been in and out of her three children's

lives, but she called them every day. After not hearing from Rush for a few days, her 15-year-old daughter, Tamla Turner, filed a missing person's report. Turner described her mother as kind, sweet, and funny to WPIX in a 2014 interview. She also expressed that she hoped that people didn't judge Rush on her drug use and sex work. On June 27, 2008, a state road cleaning crew found a small black canvas suitcase on a grassy shoulder of the Southern State Parkway in Belmore. The dismembered remains of Rush were inside. State Police and Investigator Michael O'Sullivan described the state of the remains to Newsday. Quote, it was a particularly brutal murder.

There was a lot of rage in this, end quote. Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or a psychiatrist, but she's done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. In Catherine M. Ramsland's book, Inside the Minds of Serial Killers, Why They Kill, Rage is commonly expressed by serial killers to add to how satisfied they feel about their crimes. She wrote, quote,

Some serial killers keep the embers of rage glowing hot so they can stoke the fire of action when needed. And for them, that often becomes highly satisfying, even erotic, end quote. It's unclear where Rush's killer murdered her. O'Sullivan said that police believed Rush was killed in one place and dumped in another. Police interviewed many of the drug dealers who sold Rush narcotics, but no leads emerged. He told Newsday that her, high-risk lifestyle as a sex worker meant that there are many possible scenarios in her murder.

And one possible scenario could be that Rush was killed by the Long Island Gilgo Beach killer. Like Cherries, Rush's remains were stored in a suitcase. Rush's body parts were found in Belmore, which is located 13 miles away from Gilgo Beach. Rush was also a sex worker, like many of the killer's suspected victims. In January 2015, police told the New York Post, that rush was being considered among the possible victims of the Long Island Gilgo Beach Killer, but she had not been officially linked to the case. Most of the victims have so far had unique tattoos or were discovered in recognizable containers.

The next possible victim didn't have a tattoo like the others. She wasn't inside a suitcase either. Her key identifying feature was her necklace. We'll learn more about this unidentified victim in just a moment. Looking for support in your weight management journey? Zepbound, terseptitide, may be able to help. Zepbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with obesity, or some adults with overweight who also have weight-related medical problems to lose excess body weight and keep the weight off.

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On January 23, 2013, an unidentified woman was walking her dog along the shore of Sheep Lane in Ladingtown, located 33 miles from Gilgo Beach. During that walk, the dog sniffed around the sand. Soon, the dog discovered a mysterious bag. Inside, the bag contained human bones, women's pants, underwear, and a 24-carat necklace with a pendant shaped like a pig. Nassau County police said that the necklace was their biggest clue in this case.

Based on the necklace, police theorized that this Jane Doe may have been Chinese. According to Nassau County Police Homicide Squad Detective, Lieutenant John Azada, the pig pendant could have represented the year of the pig in the Chinese zodiac. Recent years represented by the pig are 1971, 1983, 1912, 19, 1995 and 2007. Azata also made the following observation about the pendant. Quote, 24 carrots is big in the Asian and Indian community jewelry stores. In the United States, most people want 14 carat.

This is 24 carat, end quote. That caliber of gold is the metal in its purest form. Based on the skeletal remains, police estimated that Jane Doe was between 20 and 30 years old. Nassau County Police noted that her bones had, obvious signs of trauma. They were not sure how long the body had been in the bag. Her killer has not yet been found.

Azata concluded that it was possible this Jane Doe may have been a victim of the Long Island Gilgo Beach killer, but there was no official link yet. He said, quote, bodies were found near the water. That's a similarity. But there are other discrepancies. So it's much too early to say that we definitely have a connection, end quote. The last possible victim has a seemingly clearer connection. to the Gilgo Beach killer, but she's not yet officially linked to the case.

31-year-old Yugoslavian woman, Natasha Yugo, was last seen leaving her Queen's Village home on March 13, 2013 at around 4.30 p.m. She was wearing a black robe, pink pajama bottoms, a gray hooded sweatshirt, and black boots. Yugo never returned home. Police began to search for Yugo, and she became a known missing person. A few days later, on March 8th, A woman found Hugo's driver's license and wallet in the sand of Ocean Walk on West Gilgo Beach.

She called 911 to report it. Police searched the area and found Hugo's car, a 2009 Toyota Prius on Gilgo Beach. They observed footprints leading from the beach to the shore, where police found a bathrobe and pajamas. The clothing they discovered fit the description of what Hugo was wearing when she disappeared. Police began their search for her. On June 24th, 2013, around 9 p.m., passers by on Gilgo Beach noticed a body in the water. They watched the body wash up on the shore. Police did not say how long the body had been in the water or if the victim had shown signs of any trauma.

Three days later, on June 27, 2013, Suffolk County Police identified the body as Hugo. Hugo's mother told police that her daughter had a history of paranoia, and Hugo often thought she was being followed. It's unclear if that was what motivated Hugo to drive to Gilgo Beach. According to Mental Health America, paranoia is often accompanied by psychotic disorders, although there's no official diagnosis to know what disorders Hugo may have been living with. However, if Hugo became convinced that someone was following her, and if she had paranoia in tandem with another psychotic disorder,

it would have been nearly impossible to convince her otherwise. If the ocean felt like a safe place to escape her pursuer, she may not have been thinking clearly enough to watch for undertow or to stay close to shore. Despite the fact that Hugo's body was found on Gilgo Beach, police told Newsday in June 2013 that they don't believe that Hugo's murder had any connection to the Long Island Gilgo Beach killer case.

Her murderer has still not been found. These possible victims of the serial killer are just as important as the bodies that police officed. officially linked to the case, because in 2016, one of these possible victims led police to an unexpected suspect, a police chief. The FBI became involved in the Long Island Gilgo Beach Killer case in January 2016. Two publicly unidentified agents began to assist the Suffolk County Police Department and plan to do a full profile of the killer or killers.

Suffolk Deputy Police Commissioner Tim Sini told CBS New York, quote, they have tremendous technical expertise and resources to help us move this case forward, end quote. A few months later, the FBI got involved with the Suffolk County Police in a different way. Then Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke had been police chief starting in January 2012. In 2012, a 26-year-old heroin addict named Christopher Loeb regularly, He broke into parked cars on Long Island to support his drug addiction. In December 2012, he broke into a GMC Yukon in St. James Long Island and stole a duffel bag containing a gun belt, ammunition, sex toys, and pornography.

The SUV belonged to Burke. On December 14, 2012, police arrested Loeb at his mother's home. He was transported to the Suffolk County Police Department's 4th District headquarters in Hopog. Loeb was handcuffed to the floor of the interrogation room. Burke entered the room. Burke bashed his fist into Loeb's face. He threatened to give Loeb a fatal dose of heroin. Loeb fired back and called Burke a pervert for the sexually charged contents of his duffel bag.

In response, Burke physically attacked Loeb once again. A detective entered the room and had to pull Burke off Loeb. In February 2015, Loeb filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that the county, Burke, and six police officers violated his civil rights. The FBI and federal prosecutors launched an investigation into the matter. Burke resigned on October 27, 2015, while undergoing a federal probe. In December 2015, Burke was indicted and arrested for the assault on Loeb and for having the police department attempt to cover up his actions. In February 2016, Burke pleaded guilty to assaulting Loeb,

orchestrating the police department cover-up, and violating Loeb's civil rights. In November 2016, Burke was sentenced to serve 46 months in federal prison, along with three years of supervised release. But even more about Burke's tenure as the highest-ranking officer in the force came to light, starting in December 2015. Unnamed federal sources told the New York Post that Burke refused to keep the FBI informed and in the loop about the Gilgo Beach case because he knew the FBI was investigating him.

Suffolk County Police has not publicly confirmed that information. Rumors also circulated that Burke had used the services of many sex workers. At a December 15th, 2016 press conference, a sex worker known only as Leanne, alleged that Burke was a regular client of hers in 2011. Leanne claimed that during their mini-trist, Burke was aggressive during sex. She said that they had sexual intercourse at parties in Oak Beach.

Leanne said at the press conference, quote, he seemed to like to choke me, aggressive, arrogant, untouchable, end quote. A lawyer named John Ray claimed that Leanne's allegations connected Burke to the Gilgo Beach murders. Ray told CBS New York the following in 2016, quote, it certainly puts him right at the center of the pool of suspects for the death of Shannon Gilbert, end quote. Burke's own attorney, Joseph Conway, called Ray's claim, quote, completely outrageous. There's absolutely not one shred of evidence linking him to the Gilgo Beach case, end quote.

Ray is the attorney for the family of the late Shannon Gilbert, who is one of the suspected victims of the Long Island Gilgo Beach killer. In the previous episode, we discussed the 2010 disappearance and death of 24-year-old sex worker Shannon Gilbert in detail. Police do not believe that her death has any connection to the Long Island Gilgo Beach killer, but the search for her body led to the discovery of the Gilgo Beach victims in 2010 and 2011. Gilbert disappeared after visiting a first-time client named Joseph Brewer on the night of May 1, 2010. Gilbert's remains were found on December 13, 2013, in a swampy marshland near Oak Beach. then Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer

believed that Gilbert may have been under the influence of drugs, panicked, got lost, and accidentally drowned in the nearby marsh. Gilbert's most outspoken advocate, her 52-year-old mother, Mary, frequently spoke to the New York media about her daughter. She publicly tried to push police to make more progress in her daughter's murder case when it seemed to stall out. Gilbert believed that her daughter was murdered. She appeared in several documentary TV scenes,

series that examined the Gilgo Beach murders, including the killing season, crime watch daily, and People magazine investigates. But all of that sadly came to a halt on July 23, 2016. On that day, Mary was found beaten and stabbed to death in Ellenville. It seemed too tragic and odd to be true. Mary's 28-year-old daughter, Sarah, stabbed Mary with a 15-inch kitchen knife 227 times. beat her with a fire extinguisher, sprayed her with the foam, and stripped her naked. Sarah had suffered delusions due to an unspecified mental illness.

Additionally, Mary had had temporary custody of Sarah's young son, which could have contributed to the murder. During the trial, Sarah's lawyer said, quote, I think Sarah will kill someone in prison. It's almost certain, end quote. The prosecution claimed that Sarah planned to kill Mary after Mary had Sarah arrested, for killing a poppy a few months prior. An Ulster County court jury convicted Sarah of second-degree murder on April 27, 2017. And before your imagination runs wild, no, Sarah didn't kill her sister. She was never considered a suspect in Gilbert's unsolved murder.

But due to Mary's death, Gilbert no longer had a vocal advocate, and it seemed like her case might fall to the wayside. To understand how the next suspect was identified, we need to discuss the current culture of armchair detectives who actively try to solve cult cases online. Fascination with true crime has been around since the days of pulp magazines like True Detective, but in the modern age of the internet,

the true crime web universe is vast and interactive. There are many active true crime websites, TV series, and podcasts on the subject, like the one you're listening to right now. Amateur internet sleuths obsess and theorize as a hot, Deborah Halber wrote about this phenomenon in her 2014 book, The Skeleton Crew, How Amateur Sloots Are Solving America's Coldest Cases. She told the BBC Future in 2014 that amateur internet sleuthing seems to be an intellectual outlet for many people.

She said, quote, many of these people don't have an outlet in their everyday lives that's intellectually challenging to them. Some of them have not necessarily gone to college, but they're extremely bright. bright. They could be working in jobs for chain stores, such as cashiers, for example, or they may be behind the scenes. One of them is a police dispatcher, end quote. This is almost to be expected, according to neuroscientist Daniel Bohr, a research fellow at the University of Sussex in England. Humans love puzzles, and we love solving them. The human brain is hardwired to register success when we discover patterns or solve a mystery, so the feeling can become addictive. While older generations got their fix playing Sudoku over morning coffee,

today's puzzle masters are finding a home on sites like web sleuths.com, where they can solve murders on their lunch break. It's rewarding, and the community surrounding the sleuths only enriches the experience. Even police have at the forums occasionally. In April 2015, a Nevada detective asked thewebsleuths.com forum for help identifying a logo for an unsolved murder case from the 1990. According to the Sydney Morning Herald in 2015, even Australian authorities monitor web sleuths.com, but did not specify which threads and discussions.

A new South Wales police spokesperson told the publication, quote, where appropriate, criminal investigations by police will include online inquiries, end quote. And that brings us to the next suspect that emerged, thanks to the internet. Several of these armchair detectives picked up on a possible suspect in an episode of A&E's The Killing Season that aired in December 2016. The Killing Season was an eight-episode series that followed documentary filmmakers

Joshua Zeman and Rachel Mills as they examined the Long Island Gilgo Beach Killer Case as well as other unsolved murder cases. They consulted with websluse.com forum members during the series. In the second episode of the series, the killing season producer Lauren Franklin noticed a deleted 2012 edit

by an anonymous user in the log of the Long Island Gilgo Beach Killer's Wikipedia page. Franklin said in the episode that the Wikipedia was edited to replace the text the Gilgo Killer to an actual name, Joe Foti. And the user who made the edit, it would seem, may have firsthand experience to back up her claim. Next, we'll learn more about this possible killer. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can, can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points.

Never fly during a Scorpio full moon. Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade. Stop taking bad travel advice. Start comparing hundreds of sites with kayak and get your trip right. Kayak, got that right. Now, back to the story. Joe Fode is a retired Suffolk County Corrections Sergeant.

According to the Long Island press, five female inmates filed a lawsuit in 2013, alleging that they were subjected to sexual assault, sexual harassment, and sexually degrading treatment by Sergeant Joseph Foti. The April 23rd, 2012 Wikipedia edit was quickly erased. This edit involving Foti's name could have been done by anyone. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that accepts anonymous user edits for better, or worse. Literally, anyone can add or alter information in the articles on the website. This site does, however, log the IP address of each edit. An internet protocol address, better known as an IP address, is a set of numbers assigned to each device that's connected to the internet. An IP address

contains information about the kind of device you're using, the network you're on, your location, and more. The edit log of the Long Island Gilgo Beach Killer Wikipedia page had showed that the Joe Foti Edit IP address was registered to the Suffolk County Police Department. The Long Island Press verified this information in a December 2016 article. As of 2018, the edit is still recorded

in the Wikipedia article's log. It's still unclear who made the edit and why. Circulating theories include that the edit was made by a coworker who suspects FOTI or a rogue employee who wanted to leak information. But all of this is speculation. If the police are investigating Foti, they haven't let on. Suffolk County Police declined to comment on the edit. The killing season's filmmakers asked Foti himself about the edit.

He told them, quote, that's not good. There's really nothing to discuss. It is what it is. End quote. Foti was not considered an official suspect in the Long Island Gilgo Beach Killer case. The only potential evidence seems to be the suspicious Wikipedia edit. Other than that, Foti has no other known connection to any of the Gilgo Beach victims. But recently, another suspect emerged in the case in the most unexpected of ways.

He was accused of being the Gilgo Beach killer while simultaneously being convicted in a completely unrelated murder case. The latest suspect in the Gilgo Beach murders emerged on September 12, 2017. A jury convicted 51-year-old carpenter John Bitralf for fatally beating two sex workers, 31-year-old Rita Tangretti, and 20-year-old Colleen McNamee. Tangretti was last seen on November 2, 1993, hitchhiking on Montauk Highway. Her body was found the next day on November 3, 1993, in the woods of East Patchhog. She had been arranged post-mortem in what police called a unique pose. The details of the unique pose have not been publicly released.

She had been beaten and strangled. McNamee was last seen on January 5th, 1994. She had gotten into a blue car outside the Blue Dawn Diner in Ilandia. She had visited South Shore Treatment Center nearby. Her body was found nearly a month later on January 30, 1994, in the woods of William Floyd Parkway in Shirley, located 36 miles from Gilgo Beach. McNamee had also been beaten and strangled.

She was found naked and in the same unique pose. Police found unidentified male DNA on both women's bodies. Throughout the years, police have tested that DNA as technology advanced. Police actually found John Bitrolf through his brother Timothy. In June 2013, a senior probation officer named Elena Mackey collected a swab from 44-year-old Timothy Bitroth, who was being convicted of violate. an order of protection.

When Timothy's DNA entered the system, the Suffolk County Homicide Squad received a notification that there was now a partial familial match in the database for Tangretti and McNamee's case. Police narrowed down the match to one of Timothy's male siblings. Suffolk County Police placed both John and his brother Kevin Bitrolf under surveillance in hopes of obtaining DNA.

Detective Sergeant Charles Lacer recalled this about John, Quote, from day one, he knew we were following him, end quote. Lacer remembered that John would try to spot police as he performed carpentry on roofs, and when he stopped at a railroad crossing, waiting for the detective's car to pass him. Police found a way to get Kevin's DNA while on the road. Kevin threw a cigarette out of his car window one day. He drove off as an unmarked police car stopped in front of the bud. One of the detectives got out to quickly retrieve it on the parkway.

Kevin's DNA turned out to be just a partial match, like Timothy's DNA. The police decided to concentrate their efforts on John. He still seemed to sense that the detectives were following him, and unlike Kevin, John never discarded his personal belongings in public. Detectives even kept an eye on his trash, hoping that he'd throw away his beer bottles and cans. Lacer told the Daily Beast, quote, That never happened.

He had tons of beer bottles. I don't know what he did with them. end quote. The Suffolk County police decided to test all of his garbage. They were in luck. The results indicated that the trash had the DNA of John's wife, his two kids, and John himself. The full match they were looking for. Detectives questioned John Bitrolf in July 2013 and got him to drink from a cup. They tested that DNA as well, and it resulted in a match. Police arrested BitRolfe for the murders of Tangretti and McNamee. Bitrolf went on trial for the killings in May 2017. On September 12, 2017, he was sentenced to two consecutive 25 years-to-life sentences.

And there were some people who believe that Bitrolf could be the Long Island Gilgo Beach killer. During Bitrolf sentencing, Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Robert Bianca Villa said, quote, there are remains of the victims at Gilgo that may be attributed to the handy work of Mr. Bitrolf. And that investigation is continuing, end quote. But BitRolf's defense attorney, Jonathan Manley, told the New York Daily News, quote, this was never mentioned before. This is a serious accusation with absolutely no factual basis, end quote. Previously, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said that Gilgo and Bittrolf were not related in a July 2014 press conference. Spota said, quote, there is no

evidentiary or investigative link between this case and Gilgo." End quote. It's unclear what changed in Bitrov's case, or the Gilgo Beach case, to prompt the sudden reversal. While it may come out of nowhere, Bitrov as a potential suspect seemed to make logical sense. As a carpenter, Bitrovil lived in Manorville with his wife and two children. His home was located three miles from where the remains of two Long Island Gilgo Beach killer victims were found.

Jessica Taylor and Jane Doe No. 6. Sex worker Jessica Taylor disappeared in July 2003, and part of Jane Doe No. 6's body was found in November 2000. WPIX journalist Mary Murphy was one of the many reporters to cover Bitwulf's conviction. She has a regular segment called Mary Murphy Mystery, which reports on unsolved murder cases in the New York City and tri-state areas. She also maintains a companion Facebook fan page. of the same name, which has over 23,000 followers. On September 12, 2017, she wrote an analysis of BitRolf's conviction and his sudden status as a suspect in the Gilgo Beach murders.

In the article published on the WPiX website, she pointed out that one of her Facebook fans fully supported BitRolf being a suspect due to a suspicious connection. The fan had claimed that the adult daughter of BitRolf's victim, Rita Tengretti, was best friends with Gilgo Beach victim, Melissa Bartholomey. The fan noted that the two women knew each other from Buffalo in upstate New York. While this seems like a major clue, keep in mind that it isn't verified and it doesn't seem like police have publicly taken it into consideration. And that's where the Long Island Gilgo Beach serial killer case is as of now.

There haven't been any developments reported throughout 2018. No other missing persons or bodies have been found on Gilgo Beach recently. But that doesn't mean the story is over. The case is still open and being investigated. And the killer, or killers, are still out there somewhere on Long Island, waiting to add to their collection along Ocean Parkway. Thanks again for tuning in to serial killers. You can find more episodes of serial killers as well as all of podcasts, other podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, Castbox, Spotify, Spotify. tune in or your favorite podcast directory.

Several of you have asked how to help the show. And if you enjoy the show, the best way to help is to leave a five-star review. We'll see you next time. Have a killer week. Serial Killers was created by Max Cutler, is a production of Cutler Media and is part of the Parcast Network.

It is produced by Max and Ron Cutler, sound designed by Russell Nash, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro and Paul Mahler. Additional production assistance by Carly Madden and Maggie Admeyer. Serial Killers is written by Mallory Cara and stars Greg Poulson and Vanessa Richardson. Do you want to hear something spooky? Some monster, it reminded me of Bigfoot. Monsters Among Us is a weekly podcast featuring true stories of the paranormal.

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and the truth gets buried under brush and silence. I've seen something in the road. I instantly thought it was a sleeping bag, and there was a full of blood. Somebody somewhere knows something. I'm Jordan Sillers. Season 2 is out now with new episodes every Thursday. Listen on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.