newjerseynewsroom.com

BY ALICIA CRUZ

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The murders of two prostitutes are being investigated as possible link to several bodies of other prostitutes found between Jones, Oak and Gilgo beaches since December 2010.

According to the New York Post, police have revisited the case of 39-year-old East New York resident, Tanya Rush whose dismembered remains were found stuffed in a suitcase. Rush's remains were found June 27, 2008 along the Southern State Parkway in Bellmore on June 27, 2008. She was the mother of three.

The New York Post source would not disclose any details about the second victim. Suffolk investigators believe at least two killers have dumped the eight bodies found within the past few months.

The investigation into the suspected serial killer, who dumped his victims near Jones Beach State Park in Nassau County, New York and Ocean Parkway, and Gilgo and Oak Beaches in Suffolk County, concluded more than a week ago with police finding no additional human remains, Newsday reported.

Authorities began the expedition around 9 a.m., May 2, searching both sides of the Wantagh State Parkway from Merrick Road to Ocean Parkway. According to an Associated Press report, a police officer familiar with the investigation said FBI agents seized a the laptop of alleged Craigslist pimp, Akeem Cruz, hoping to find a list of clients, the Daily Mail reported.

While Cruz is not considered a suspect in the investigation, police say he was last seen with Megan Waterman at a Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge last June. Waterman, described as a prostitute, was a 22-year-old mother from Maine. Her remains, along with four others, were found in December 2010 on Gilgo Beach along a secluded stretch of the beach, ABC News reported. Cruz’ attorney, Robert Napolitano said his client has cooperated with police and gave permission to have his computer searched last month. Cruz, of Brooklyn, is currently imprisoned in Maine on a cocaine conviction.

Initially, police were searching for Jersey City resident Shannan Gilbert who vanished after arranging to meet a client from Craigslist on Fire Island when they stumbled upon the first four bodies. Gilbert, missing since May 1, 2010, still has not been found. She was last seen begging for help at the home of an Oak Beach resident, but disappeared after the man called 911.

According to the Bayridge Journal, three men have been questioned in connection with Gilbert’s disappearance, including Dr. Peter Hackett, the former head of the Suffolk County Emergency Medical Services, who said he saw Gilbert running at night near Oak Beach, CBS.com reported.

In all, ten bodies have been found over the past five months. Six additional remains were found within the past two months. It remains unclear if the same person killed all of the victims. Last month, the New York Post and New York Times, citing unnamed sources, reported that investigators believe the killer may be a former cop or someone familiar with law enforcement procedures. An unnamed Suffolk County Police Department official would not confirm that suspicion, reported FoxNews.com.

Retired FBI Agent and internationally recognized expert in the analysis and interpretation of violent criminal behavior, Mark Safarik said he was not aware of any evidence that suggested a former cop might be involved in the murders. Safarik added that he would “not even speculate” about [the killer being an ex-cop]," discovery.com reported.

Four of the women found dead in Atlantic City were prostitutes, while four of the 10 bodies found on Long Island were identified as online call girls, Philly.com reported. They are:

Molly Jean Dilts, 20 of Black Lick, Pa.

Discovered: Nov. 20, 2006, behind the Golden Key Motel near Atlantic City.

Facebook: Profile lists her friends as the three other Atlantic City victims and one Long Island victim.

Kim Raffo, 35, of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Found: Nov 20, 2006, behind the Golden Key Motel.

Facebook: Profile lists the other Atlantic City victims as friends.

Barbara Breidor, 42, of Ventnor, N.J.

Found: Nov. 20, 2006, behind the Golden Key Motel.

Facebook: Profile also lists the other Atlantic City victims as friends.

Tracy Ann Roberts, 23, of Bear, Del.

Found: Nov. 20, 2006, behind the Golden Key Motel.

Facebook: Two profiles are set up for Roberts. One is friends with the three Atlantic City women; the other is friends with Long Island victim Megan Waterman.

Amber Lynn Costello, 27, of Wilmington, N.C.

Found: Dec. 13 near Gilgo Beach, N.Y.

Facebook: Her profile lists Molly Jean Dilts and a Jane Doee as friends.

Megan Waterman, 22, of Scarborough, Maine

Found: Dec. 13 near Gilgo Beach, N.Y.

Facebook: Profile shows her as a member of the "In Memory of Kim Raffo" group and as a friend of Tracyann Roberts.

Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, of Norwich, Conn.

Found: Dec. 13 near Gilgo Beach, N.Y.

Facebook: Her profile lists no friends.

Melissa Barthelemy, 24 of Buffalo, N.Y.

Found: Dec. 11 near Gilgo Beach, N.Y.

Facebook: Several profiles are under this name, one with no friends.

Some of the more notable or famous serial killers in U.S. history include:

Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski was a contract killer for Newark's DeCavalcante mob crime family, for which HBO modeled the fictitious mob family, "The Sopranos", and New York City's Five Families. Kuklinski, of Dumont, claimed he murdered over 250 men, including Jimmy Hoffa, crime data web site about.com reported. Kuklinski was convicted of five murders and sentenced to consecutive life sentences in 1988. He died of natural causes in March 2006 at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton.

Charles Cullen, the most prolific serial killer in New Jersey history, killed approximately 40 patients during the 16 years he worked as a nurse at 10 hospitals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Cullen told detectives about the murders following his December 2003 arrest where the Orange native admitted to killing two patients at the Somerset Medical Center where he worked.

Theodore "Ted" Bundy strangled and mutilated approximately 35 women and one child during the 1970s. Described as an intelligent, charming man, investigators said rejection by a former lover sent the devastated Bundy into a murderous rage. His last victim was 12-year-old Kimberly Leach in February 1978. Bundy was executed January 24, 1989 in Starke, Florida.

John Wayne Gacy dubbed the Killer Clown, murdered 25–30 male teenagers in Chicago from 1972 through 1978. Gacy was manager of a KFC by day and Pogo the Clown by night. For six years, he stacked the bodies of his victims in the crawlspace of his home. He was arrested after his last victim escaped following a night of torture. The arrest led to the discovery of 29 bodies on Gacy's property. On May 9, 1994, Gacy was executed by lethal injection at the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, Illinois.

Andrew Cunanans three-month cross-country murder spree left five people dead and earned him a place on the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. While Cunanans body count was low, he was infamous because of the type of victims he selected: wealthy older men, including billionaire fashion designer, Gianni Versace. The Filipino native, described by acquaintances as a sadomasochist, murdered former US Naval Officer, Jeffrey Trail, of Minneapolis and architect David Madson, of Minnesota in April 1997. The following month, Cunanan drove to Chicago where he killed prominent real estate developer Lee Miglin, 72.

Using Miglin’s Lexus, he then drove to Pennsville, New Jersey where he shot and killed Finn's Point National Cemetery caretaker William Reese in order to steal his truck. Cunanan arrived in Miami, Florida in July 1997 where he shot his fifth and final victim, Versace. The haute couture designer was shot in front of his Ocean Avenue mansion in South Beach. Eight days later, Cunanan committed suicide on the Miami houseboat of Tensin Reisnik, owner of a Gay "members only" club in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cunanan’s reasons for killing all five men remains a mystery, but Findadeath.com reported that he believed he was HIV positive (an autopsy revealed he was not) and began acting irrationally. There was no evidence that Miglin or Versace knew or met Cunanan prior to their murders, TruTV.com reported.

Henry Louis Wallace, a young fast food employee and former U.S. Navy sailor raped and strangled ten women in Charlotte, North Carolina and his hometown of Barnwell, South Carolina before he was arrested in March 1994. The crack-addicted serial killer, who also strangled the 10-month old son of one victim, was charged with nine counts of first-degree murder. On January 7, 1997, Wallace was found guilty of nine murders and sentenced to death. He awaits execution at Raleigh's Central Prison where he married former prison nurse, Rebecca Torrijas in 1998. No execution date has been set.