The task force investigating the Gilgo Beach murders for which Long Island architect Rex Heuermann is being prosecuted released sketches Monday of an unidentified victim known only as “Asian Doe.”
The victim’s remains were recovered in April of 2011, and investigators are reaching out to the public to help finally establish an identity.
Forensic scientists and anthropologists used the recovered remains to create new renderings of what the subject likely would have looked like, officials said.
They described “Asian Doe” as a biological male of southern Chinese descent. They were between 17 and 23 when they were killed and left along Ocean Parkway, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said at a news conference.
The victim “was wearing exclusively women’s clothing” at the time of death and “it is possible they identified as a woman or was known by others as being a woman,” Tierney said.
“We are hopeful that with this new information and the community’s assistance we will be able to identify ‘Asian Doe’ and bring a resolution to the case,” Tierney said. “The task force does not forget victims and we will not stop in our pursuit of justice.”
A $2,500 reward has been offered for information leading to the victim’s identity. Tierney urged anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 220-TIPS.
Tierney said the victim “suffered a violent death” by blunt force trauma and that the remains were along Ocean Parkway for at least five years before being discovered in 2011.
The victim may have been a sex worker before disappearing in 2006 and likely spent time in New York City, Tierney said.
It was not immediately clear if “Asian Doe’s” death can be tied to Heuerman, who has already been charged with six of the Gilgo Beach murders.
Investigators found 10 other bodies on a stretch of beach along Long Island’s South Shore.
Tierney did not say that Heuerman was a suspect in the unidentified victim’s death.
“Each one of these victims is a separate crime scene — start from that separate crime scene and work your way up,” Tierney said. “And it’s all nice to speculate but basically, it doesn’t matter until you can bring charges, and we’re certainly not at that stage. We don’t talk about it until we’re able to charge someone.”
Heuermann was first charged in July 2023 with the deaths of women known as the “Gilgo Four” — Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes and Amber Costello — whose bodies were recovered in December 2010.
Investigators have since charged him with two more murders — the 2003 death of Jessica Taylor, and the 1993 murder of Sandra Costilla.
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the murders, which span three decades. He is currently being held without bail.
