Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
On May 1, 2010, a 24-year-old girl named Shannan Gilbert disappeared after dialing 911 near Long Island’s Oak Beach. Several reports indicate that Shannan called 911, believing someone was following her. Two days after the disappearance, the Gilbert family filed a missing report. When they couldn’t find any information about Shannan, they drove to Oak Beach and started looking out for her.
As the investigation progressed, authorities began discovering the remains of numerous people in and around Gilgo Beach. As per ABC7, police searched the Gilgo Beach area and announced that a serial killer might be responsible for these brutal murders. On the other hand, Shannan’s mother, Mari Gilbert, continued her search to find her daughter. She kept pressurizing on the authorities to solve her daughter’s case. In an interview with NBC News, Gilbert said, “More lives could have been saved if they would have taken Shannan’s case more seriously, if they would have looked for her sooner.”
Finally, after searching for almost one and a half years, investigators found the remains of Shannan on Gilgo Beach, reported The New York Times. Even though the police said the remains possibly belonged to Shannan, her mother noted that she wouldn’t believe that it was her daughter until she saw the autopsy report. Mari Gilbert said, “Until I hear positive confirmation that it’s my daughter, I’m going to believe it’s not.”
The autopsy revealed that Shannan Gilbert might have died because of strangulation, per CNN. However, they didn’t have enough evidence to prove the actual cause of death. Almost 13 years later, police apprehended a man in Manhattan for the murders of three women whose remains were found on Gilgo Beach. The outlet reported that police charged him with three counts of first-degree murder.
Has Shannan Gilbert’s killer been caught?
As per CNN, police apprehended a man named Rex Heuermann for murdering three women. However, the New York Post reported that authorities ruled Shannan Gilbert’s death as a “tragic accident.” In May 2022, authorities released the 911 calls that Shannan made right before her disappearance. According to CBS News, the calls indicated that Shannan was nervous and told the dispatcher that “somebody” was after her. The call recordings also clarified that she knocked on several house doors to save herself.
After the release of the 911 calls above, Shannan Gilbert’s family reiterated that she was in danger and ran for her life. Shannan’s sister said, “It doesn’t matter if people believe she’s a victim of the Long Island serial killer or not. Something happened to her that night. She ran for her life. She was in fear.” The family also slammed the Suffolk Police for not taking the case seriously and calling Shannan’s death “accidental.”
How did the police catch Rex Heuermann?
Police identified Rex Heuermann as a suspect in March 2022, after which they started following him. ABC6 reported that to acquire his DNA, police started gathering “pieces of garbage.” After following him for several months, investigators finally received the sample of Heuermann’s DNA. Citing the investigators, the publication mentioned that the DNA discovered on the victim matched the DNA found on the pizza box thrown away by Heuermann.
Police apprehended Rex Heuermann in July 2023. According to CBS News, the suspected killer pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charges. In January 2024, authorities charged Heuermann with the death of another woman that took place almost 30 years ago, per The New York Times.
