Long Island serial killings: A timeline of the investigation
Long Island Serial Killings: A Timeline of the Investigation
The Initial Disappearance
Long Island serial killings – The investigation into the Long Island serial killings began with the mysterious vanishing of Shannan Gilbert, a 23-year-old escort, on May 1, 2010. At around 2:00 a.m., Gilbert called 911 from a client’s home, claiming she was being chased by unknown assailants. She described a sense of urgency, stating that people were attempting to kill her before disappearing without a trace. The call marked the first clue in what would become a sprawling case involving multiple victims and a suspect identified as a serial killer.
Despite an extensive search, Gilbert’s whereabouts remained unknown for months. The breakthrough came in December 2010, when a Suffolk County police officer and his canine partner, Blue, stumbled upon human remains near Gilgo Beach. This discovery led to the identification of four women, whose bodies were later linked to the same killer. The victims, known as the “Gilgo Four,” were found in a state of disarray, prompting authorities to retrace their steps and uncover a pattern of crimes spanning years.
The Killer’s Signature
As the investigation deepened, detectives noted a striking similarity among the victims. Dominick Varrone, the Suffolk County chief of detectives at the time, highlighted that all four women were petite, with heights under five feet and weights around 100 pounds. Three of them were also wrapped in burlap, a detail that hinted at the killer’s methodical approach. These characteristics became central to identifying the suspect, as they suggested a specific target profile.
Further analysis revealed that the victims were all in their 20s and had worked as online escorts. This connection raised questions about their vulnerability and the potential role of their professions in the killings. The use of burner phones—a type of disposable, prepaid device that can be purchased without personal identification—also emerged as a recurring clue. Each victim had been contacted by a caller using such a phone, indicating a method of communication designed to avoid detection.
Tracking Back to Earlier Disappearances
The timeline of the investigation extended far beyond the 2010 discovery. One of the earliest cases involved Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who went missing in July 2007. At the time, she was a single mother of two in Norwich, Connecticut, and had recently started posting advertisements on Craigslist to meet clients. Her disappearance was initially unconnected to the others, but the patterns in her case would later align with the more recent crimes.
On July 6, 2007, Brainard-Barnes received a call from a burner phone. Over the next three days, she exchanged 16 messages with the caller, who seemed to know her schedule. Her sister, Missy Cann, recounted the final moments of her life in a 2020 interview. “Maureen said she was going to take the train at midnight,” Cann told “48 Hours.” The call was the last known interaction before Brainard-Barnes vanished without a trace. The case remained open for years, until it was connected to the Gilgo Four in 2010.
A Family’s Grief
The tragedy of Megan Waterman’s disappearance in June 2010 underscored the emotional toll of the investigation. Waterman, a 22-year-old mother from Scarborough, Maine, was last seen alive on June 5, 2010, after receiving a burner phone call. The same device had been activated just hours before, suggesting a deliberate effort to mislead investigators. Her mother, Liliana Waterman, shared the profound impact of her loss in a 2020 television interview. “If I could talk to my mom, I’d tell her how much I love her,” Liliana said, expressing her regret for not being able to convey her feelings before her mother’s death.
“I can’t bring her back,” Liliana told correspondent Erin Moriarty, her voice trembling. “But every day, I miss her.”
Waterman’s case was one of several that led to the uncovering of a larger network of crimes. Her disappearance was confirmed by security footage from a Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge, Long Island, which showed her leaving the hotel at 1:31 a.m. on June 6, 2010, the same night she was last seen. This footage, combined with the killer’s use of burner phones, painted a picture of calculated kidnappings and executions.
The Disappearance of Melissa Barthelemy
Two years after Brainard-Barnes’ vanishing, Melissa Barthelemy, a 24-year-old hairdresser from Buffalo, New York, disappeared in July 2009. She had recently moved to New York City and began working as an escort, a detail that would later tie her to the other victims. Her sister, Amanda, recalled receiving a series of threatening calls from a man using Melissa’s cellphone in the weeks following her disappearance. The first call, on July 17, 2009, occurred at approximately 12:40 p.m. and was followed by several more, each more ominous than the last.
Amanda told police that the caller claimed to have killed her sister. This revelation added a chilling dimension to the case, as it suggested the killer was taunting the families of his victims. The connection between Barthelemy’s case and the others was not immediately apparent, but the shared traits—such as their work in the escort industry and the use of burner phones—would eventually form the foundation of the investigation.
Amber Costello’s Fate
On September 2, 2010, Amber Costello, a 27-year-old escort from Long Island, disappeared after being contacted by a burner phone. Her roommate, Dave Schaller, provided critical information to police, describing her clients and the dynamics of her work. Schaller mentioned one client who resembled an “ogre” and drove a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche, a detail that would later help narrow down suspects. On the night of her disappearance, Schaller recalled that the client offered Costello $1,500 for the night, six times her hourly rate, indicating a pattern of exploitation and violence.
Costello’s case, like the others, was part of a growing list of unsolved disappearances. Her absence prompted police to revisit earlier cases and notice the overlapping elements. The investigation into her vanishing was still active in 2011, when Schaller provided additional insights that helped build the case against the suspect. These testimonies, combined with the evidence from the Gilgo Four, painted a cohesive narrative of a serial killer targeting women in the escort industry.
Connecting the Dots
By the time the Gilgo Four were identified, the investigation had spanned nearly four years. Each case seemed isolated at first, but the repeated use of burner phones and the victims’ shared characteristics pointed to a single perpetrator. Police began to piece together a timeline that linked the disappearances and deaths, highlighting the killer’s ability to operate undetected for months.
The discovery of the four bodies in December 2010 marked a turning point. It provided tangible evidence of the killer’s methods and forced investigators to look back at the earlier cases. The connection between these events was not immediately