The Dumping Ground
On December 5, 2011, personal possessions of Shannan Gilbert, a young
woman missing since April 2010, were located in thick undergrowth of a
swampy area on the shore in Long Island, NY. Suffolk County Police
announced they had recovered a purse containing Shannan’s
identification, a cell phone, a pair of shoes and clothing believed to
have belonged to the missing woman. The discovery of personal belongings
prompted intensive searches of the area that included investigators
with machetes, dive teams, canine searches, a bulldozer, an amphibious
vehicle, even ground penetrating photography equipment provided by the
FBI assisting Suffolk County Police was used to search for and
eventually retrieve Shannan’s remains.
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| Shannan Gilbert |
After Shannan’s disappearance in 2010, authorities began search
efforts in the area she vanished but made the grisly discovery of
decomposed and dismembered remains of ten bodies dumped along the
isolated beach parkway leading to Jone’s Beach. The discoveries created
media frenzy and world-wide news reported authorities believed a single
serial killer had been using the area for nearly twenty years to discard
remains of prostitutes. Additional news reports cite possibly up to
three killers may be responsible for the murders, though one would have
to conclude coincidence that as many as three killers would use the same
dumping ground.
Eight women, the remains of a young Asian man wearing women’s
clothing and a female toddler were all found hidden in the deep thicket
and bramble alongside the road. Only half of the victims have so far
been identified. With the exception of the toddler, believed to be
related to one of the female victims, all are believed to have been
prostitutes.
Authorities Speculate
On December 13, 2011, with an official positive identification still
pending from the medical examiner’s office, Suffolk County Police
Commissioner, Richard Dormer, held a press conference. Dormer announced
to reporters remains had been located and believed to be that of Shannan
Gilbert and went on to explain if the remains were that of Shannan, the
probable cause of death was accidental. Dormer stated the location
where the remains were located were indicative that Shannan had
attempted to make her way through the wetlands and surmised she had been
trying to get to the causeway where she would have seen lights in the
early morning hours but the rough terrain would have made it impossible
for her. Dormer then offered condolences to Shannan’s family.
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| Shannan and her family |
Despite Dormer’s hurried public announcement, Mari Gilbert, Shannan’s
mother, maintained she would hold out hope until an official
announcement was received from the medical examiner confirming the
identity of the remains. On December 17, four tortuous days later,
confirmation was received the skeletal remains were those of her
daughter.
Based upon Dormer’s comments during the press conference, it is
speculated Shannan may have fallen and drowned. Shannan’s mother also
confirmed Shannan did not know how to swim. Currently, the official
determination of cause of death is still pending. Due to advanced
decomposition, experts agree the exact cause of death may be impossible
to determine.
Though Shannan was confirmed to have been involved in prostitution
and her remains found just east of the other bodies, police continue to
offer conjecture Shannon’s death is unrelated to the other homicides.
Shannan’s family, other victim’s family members that were recovered and
identified and even residents in the area where the bodies were located
are not so sure the crimes are unrelated and questioning why authorities
would so quickly dismiss a connection between the multiple homicides.
The Night of Shannan’s Disappearance – Mystery Remains
The night Shannan vanished, witnesses said they saw her running from a
home in Oak Beach. It has been confirmed in April 2010, 47-year-old
Joseph Brewer responded to an ad Shannan had placed on Craig’s List, a
social networking site commonly used by prostitutes to solicit clients.
Brewer claims a sexual encounter did not occur. He told the New
Jersey Star-Ledger that Shannan began asking him odd questions about
transvestites, leading him to believe she was a man and claims he asked
her to leave when she began acting erratically.
Michael Pak was Shannan’s driver that night and affirmed he drove her
to Brewer’s residence at approximately 2a.m. and waited until 5 a.m.
until he received her call. Upon receiving the call, Pak claims he went
to Brewer’s apartment to get Shannan and witnessed Brewer attempting to
grab her from behind but she escaped his grip and began cowering behind a
couch inside the residence.
According to Robin Sax, an attorney hired by the Gilbert family,
Shannon made a panicked call to 911 that lasted 23 minutes. “She told
911 she was in fear and they were going to get her, they were going to
kill her.” Sax adds, “They is the big question. Who are they?”
According to both Brewer and Pak, Shannan was acting irrational and
paranoid and ran out of Brewer’s residence to a neighbor’s home down the
street. Gustav Coletti, a retired insurance fraud investigator, told
the Star Ledger he heard banging at his door. When he answered and asked
Shannan what was wrong she just responded, “Help me, help me, help me.”
When Coletti informed Shannan he called police and they were on their
way, she then bolted out of his home.
Pak claims he searched the neighborhood but never found Shannan.
Coletti recalled seeing a man driving a black SUV stopping and going as
if he were searching for something. Coletti’s statements to police
indicate he spotted Shannan hiding under a boat in his yard suddenly
running away with the man in the SUV following behind her. She then
seems to have vanished into thin air.
Despite her trail going cold the evening of her disappearance,
questions regarding who Shannan was fleeing from only deepens the
mystery. Was she the one who almost ‘got away’ only to fall victim to
the terrain and tragically drown?
Just Another Prostitute
Nearly one year later, news stories describe how the search for one
missing New Jersey prostitute resulted in the discovery of ten bodies
and providing some families with answers to what happened to their
missing loved ones. The stories also brought attention to the high-risk
lifestyle that accompanies those working in the sex trade industry and
highlighted the dangers of advertising on sites like Craig’s List where
there is little oversight to help ensure the safety of the site’s users.
However, the news reports appeared to sidestep what the families of
those branded as prostitutes went through during the years prior to
discovery of the bodies.
24-year-old, Melissa Barthelemy vanished July 12, 2009. Melissa had
made a move on her own from Buffalo to New York City after graduating
from beauty school. Her family believed she was doing well working as a
hairdresser but following her disappearance, shocked to find out she had
been working as an online escort.
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| Melissa Barthelemy |
Approximately a week after Melissa’s disappearance, Amanda, Melissa’s
15-year-old sister received a call from Melissa’s cell phone. Relieved
and excited, expecting to hear her sister’s voice, Amanda found herself
speaking to a man who authorities believe was Melissa’s killer. During
the call, the man said sexually explicit things to the child and began
describing horrific things he was going to do to her. It wasn’t until
the third phone call police finally requested a tap on the phone. On
August 26, 2009 the male caller made his last call to Amanda and
reportedly admitted to killing Melissa. He also warned Amanda he knew
where she lived and would come and kill her too.
The common complaint made by several of the families of the Long
Island victims was the lack of response they received from authorities
when reporting their loved one missing. Lynn Barthelemy, Melissa’s
mother, attempted to make a missing person report for three days without
success. Finally, family attorney, Steven Cohen contacted NYPD in an
attempt to make a report and said he was told, “She’s a hooker. She’s a
prostitute. She was – she’s an escort and we are not assigning a
detective to this.”
A family left feeling alone in the limbo of ambiguity. Though reports
were eventually taken, the Long Island victims would never be mentioned
in news headlines that captivated the country like the disappearances
of Natalie Holloway, Laci Peterson or Chandra Levy. Shannan and Melissa
didn’t fit the typical ‘Damsel in Distress’ case of a young missing
woman commonly seen in the news headlines. The families of the Long
Island victims quickly became aware empathy for missing prostitutes is
minimal. In fact, it wasn’t until news of the horrific discoveries of
body after body and the suspicion a serial killer was on the loose that
the two words ‘Missing Prostitutes’ finally were printed on the same the
front page of newspapers.
Not Just Prostitutes
The ‘hooker headlines’ finally spurred national attention but surely
broke the hearts of the families of the victims who were missing a
daughter, sister, mother, father, granddaughter, son, brother, aunt or
uncle. It appeared the Long Island victims lives were now defined by
words that lessened their value as humans who already suffered an
undeserved fate dumped in an isolated personal graveyard of a human
predator.
Stereotypes are used far too often and can’t begin to appropriately
define the value of a human life. In fact, by using stereotypes it can
reduce the compassion felt for the victims and even hinder efforts to
recruit the support necessary to effectively search for the missing
person.
Labeling victims is dehumanizing and can create a lack of public
empathy for the victims, media and even within the investigating law
enforcement agencies. Diminishing a victim’s importance in society can
even hamper efforts to educate the public which is key to ultimately
saving others from becoming victims.
Lessons Learned
During my nearly twenty years serving as founder and former CEO of the
National Center for Missing Adults, I learned to be an effective
advocate we must speak out for those who are unable to speak for
themselves. Early on in my career, two young women who were best friends
vanished and later found murdered, one body placed on top of the other
discarded in a remote desert location. While working closely with a
Glendale Police Sergeant shortly after their disappearance, I urged the
Sergeant to meet with the families at a restaurant rather than the
precinct. He reluctantly agreed to accompany me. The families shared
stories and the devastation they were experiencing could not be ignored.
Upon the Sergeant’s retirement he informed me that one experience had
changed the way he handled all missing person cases. From that day
forward he said he no longer permitted his investigators to refer to any
missing person as a case and required them to always refer to a missing
person by their name. He thanked me but I thank every victim’s family
I’ve ever been honored to serve for showing me that maintaining strength
and courage is possible while enduring the unimaginable and that
tragedy does not discriminate - it can happen to anyone.
Reducing the dehumanization can start by simply acknowledging every
victim has a family who loves them regardless of where they come from or
the choices they may have made. Most importantly remember the victims –
for every one has a name and all grew up with dreams.
Author – Kym L. Pasqualini
Founder, National Center for Missing Adults
& Social Network Advocate
Missing Persons Advocacy Network
Phone: 800-889-3463 (FIND)
48 Hours Mystery Episode – Who is the Long Island Serial Killer?
