Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect arrested on suspicion of Long Island murders

A suspect has been arrested on suspicion of being the infamous Gilgo Beach serial killer responsible for the murders of at least 10 women on Long Island . Police sources told News 12 Long Island that an individual had been taken into custody in connection with the unsolved murders which terrorised the community in Suffolk County more than a decade ago. Swathes of New York State and Suffolk County police officers were on the scene of First Avenue in Massapequa Park on Friday morning but would not confirm an arrest had been made, the local outlet reported. The identity of the suspect is currently unknown and it is not clear what led to the sudden breakthrough in the case over a decade after bodies began being dumped along remote beaches. The Gilgo Beach murders have long stumped law enforcement officials in Suffolk County who believed it could be the work of one or more serial killers who targeted sex workers and dumped their bodies along the remote beaches on Ocean Parkway. The case began in May 2010 when Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old sex worker, vanished after leaving a client’s house on foot near Gilgo Beach. She called 911 for help saying she feared for her life and was never seen alive again. During a search for Ms Gilbert in dense thicket close to the beach, police discovered the remains of another woman. Within a matter of days, the remains of three more victims were found close by. By spring 2011, the remains of a total of 10 victims had been found including eight women, a man, and a toddler. Ms Gilbert’s body was found in December 2011. Her cause of death is widely contested with authorities saying it is not connected to the serial killer or killers but that she died from accidental drowning as she fled from the client’s home. A map shows the location of 10 victims’ remains found along Gilgo Beach since 2010 However, an independent autopsy commissioned by her family ruled that she died by strangulation and her mother believes she was murdered. Like Ms Gilbert, most of the victims targeted were sex workers. Four victims are still yet to be identified more than 10 years on from the discovery of their bodies. Several theories have been mulled over the years but no one had ever been charged with the killings. Authorities have previously said they believe that three separate serial killers could be responsible for the slayings over a period of around 20 years. News of the shock arrest comes after Suffolk Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison vowed to finally close the case and bring the killer or killers to justice when he was appointed to the role in early 2022. ‘I want to make a commitment to the residents of Suffolk County as well as the family members,’ Mr Harrison, a former NYPD chief said in his first press briefing in his new role at the Long Island beach at the center of the murders in January 2022. ‘We will not rest until we bring those accountable to justice.’ He added: ‘There’s a commitment, a relentless pursuit to identify the individuals and bring them to justice. That’s for the family members to hear, to let them know that we will not rest, and we will make sure we do everything we have to do to hold them accountable.’ The newly-appointed commissioner said that, with ‘a set of fresh eyes’, he has faith that he can get the cold case ‘across the finish line’. Months later, 911 calls connected to the case were released to the public – something that Ms Gilbert’s family had been calling for for years.