Yesterday, Long Island authorities announced they have identified the remaining three female bodies dumped on Gilgo Beach last month.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, of Norwich Conn.; Melissa Barthelemy, 24, of Erie County, N.Y.; and Amber Lynn Costello, 27, of North Babylon, all were prostitutes in their 20s who advertised their services on Craigslist.
Last Wednesday, police identified the skeletal remains of a body found on the same barrier beach as missing escort Megan Waterman, 22, of Scarborough, Maine, who also advertised online.
“Both District Attorney Thomas Spota and myself have determined that this has all the marks of a serial killer,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer told Metro. “Four bodies of women all engaged in the same occupation, bodies dumped in the same area, same age range and all missing women.”
Spota downplayed any correlation to the bodies of several missing Craiglist prostitutes that were discovered in Atlantic City in 2006. “There are similarities in the cases, but I don’t think there is a connection,” said Spota. “We’ve decided it is not the work of the same person.”
Spota urged women who are engaged in advertising their services online to be on high alert.
“I think there are women out there who are involved in prostitution with information that would be of great assistance in helping us solve this case,” said Spota. “We want these women to come forward. We are interested in catching a murderer, not arresting them for prostitution.”
