Law enforcement released a new sketch of the Gilgo Beach victim known as "Asian Doe" in the hopes of identifying the person.
On Monday, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney held a press conference where officials released new renderings of what anthropologists believe the unidentified victim would have looked like. "Asian Doe"'s remains were recovered along Ocean Parkway in April 2011.
Tierney said police believe the remains were discovered 5 years or more after the victim was murdered- placing their death at around 2006 or earlier. The victim is believed to be of Asian descent and investigators say it is a strong likelihood they were of southern Chinese descent, specifically Han Chinese.
Tierney said DNA records from Asian people are less common in U.S. genetic databases, making it difficult to compare and identify the remains through traditional methods. Local officials released a more basic sketch of the victim back in 2011.
Authorities also believe that the victim may have identified as a woman, and released a rendering with short hair and an additional rendering with longer hair in case the victim identified as female. Authorities believe the victim, who was anywhere between 17 and 23-year-old and about 5 feet 6 inches tall, died as a result of blunt force trauma from a violent assault.
The victim, a biological male, was found wearing women's clothing- including a “Chrysantheme” blue ribbed short-sleeve shirt with crew neck, a “Rafaella” brand shirt, “Bill Blass” pants, and a “Bill Blass” bra, Tierney told reporters.
Police believe the victim may have spent time in New York City before their death, and possibly worked as a sex worker. "Prior to 2006, this person had friends, possible classmates or coworkers, and a family – someone must know who they are," Tierney said.
Flyers with the renderings and a description of the victim and the clothes they were found wearing are being distributed in Asian communities across New York and will be translated into a range of languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai and Indonesian, he said.
It is not clear if "Asian Doe" is a victim of Rex Heuermann, the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer , who is connected to six murders in the area the unidentified body was discovered. The Long Island architect was initially accused of killing four women and leaving their bodies scattered along a coastal highway.
He was then charged in the deaths of two more people after prosecutors said they gathered new DNA evidence and discovered a computer document he had used to "blueprint" his crimes. Since late 2010, police have been investigating the deaths of at least 10 people — mostly female sex workers — whose remains were discovered along an isolated highway not far from Gilgo Beach on Long Island's south shore.
The victims disappeared over fourteen years, some of them going missing back in the nineties. Heuermann lived across the area from where the bodies were recovered. He has pleaded not guilty to the murders.
Crimestoppers is offering a $2500 reward for information leading to identification. Anyone with information regarding this case or the identification of the victim is asked to contact Crimestoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS or via email or the mobile app on the flyer. You can do so in your native language. Translation services are available.
Local News
Comments / 0