A new piece of evidence in the Gilgo Beach serial killer case was unveiled today by Suffolk County police: a black leather belt, embossed with the letters HM or WH, that was "handled" by the suspect and did not belong to any of the 10 victims linked to the killer, authorities said.
In a news conference at Suffolk Police headquarters in Yaphank, Commissioner Geraldine Hart called the belt "a significant piece of evidence" in one of the biggest mysteries in Long Island history, and asked for the public's assistance in identifying the belt and any other leads.
She declined to specify exactly how the belt may have been handled, if the belt was considered a weapon, whether the suspect wore the item, what size it was, or where it was found.
Hart said the belt was recovered nine years ago during the "initial stages" of the investigation. She declined to say why the photos of the belt are being released now.
Suffolk police found the first of ten bodies in the grassy lands along Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach, just east of Jones Beach, in 2010 while searching for a woman, Shannan Gilbert of Jersey City, who was reported missing in the area.
Gilbert's body was eventually discovered in Oak Beach about nine miles away from Gilgo Beach, and police say her still-unsolved murder was unconnected to the other bodies.
But the search for her led investigators to find the remains of eight women, a toddler and an adult male over the following year. Four of the bodies have been identified as Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello. Like Gilbert, the other four women were all reported missing between July 2007 and September 2010, and all five had advertised on Craigslist for escort services.
Another set of remains discovered in the area in March 2011 were identified as Jessica Taylor, whose partial remains were previously discovered in 2003 in Manorville.
Two other sets of remains were discovered in April 2011 -- an unidentified woman whose partial remains were also first discovered in Manorville in 2000, and the remains of a female toddler approximately two years old. The remains of an unidentified Asian male believed to be between 17 to 23 years old were also discovered. A week after those three remains were discovered, two more sets were found in the Nassau County stretch of Ocean Parkway -- including a woman linked to the toddler as her mother.
Four sets of remains, including those of the toddler and the adult male, are still unidentified.
No arrests have ever been made.
Suffolk police said the letters "WH" or "HM" were embossed in this black leather belt "handled" by the Gilgo Beach suspect.
Hart said a new website has been set up to gather information and tips from the public and provide updates. Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at P3Tips.com or by phone at 1-800-220-TIPS.
The police will release further evidence, including "additional photos of the belt" via the website in the future, Hart said.
Police investigators have also provided DNA samples from the unidentified victims to the FBI for genetic genealogy testing -- though Hart said it was unclear how long the process will take to upload the DNA and compare to public genealogy databases to find family matches.
"The Gilgo Beach investigation is perhaps the most well-known and complex case this department has undertaken," Hart said at the news conference. "It is important that the families whose loved ones were murdered know that we remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver justice and some sense of closure."
