A woman whose torso was found on a beach in Westchester 13 years ago and legs washed up on the North Shore of Long Island could be tied to the Gilgo Beach murders.
Suggesting the possible connection in interviews with local media in Westchester were Village of Mamaroneck Police investigators reportedly renewing their efforts to identify the victim known as Cherries Doe, due to her most identifiable feature: A tattoo of a pair of cherries.
“The violence that was done to these women was very similar,” Mamaroneck Village Police Det. Sgt. Mark Gatta told WNBC-NY on Friday. “Are they related? It’s possible. It’s possible because this sort of thing is not an every day occurrence.”
Of the 10 sets of human remains that Suffolk County police found along Ocean Parkway about a decade ago while searching for Shannan Gilbert, who was also found dead, four were similarly mutilated in what’s been dubbed the Long Island Serial Killer case.
“We are aware of the case but will not comment further,” Suffolk police said in a statement when asked to respond to the Mamaroneck police speculation about a possible Gilgo connection.
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Cherries Doe’s torso was found in a suitcase on Harbor Island Beach on March 3, 2007. Because that was the initial discovery, Mamaroneck police are leading the investigation into her case, but her remains were scattered across three counties.
Her right foot and leg washed up in Cold Spring Harbor in Suffolk County on March 27, 2007. And her left leg and foot washed up on the property of Madison Square Garden CEO James Dolan’s Oyster Bay estate in Nassau County the following day. But her head and arms have not been found.
Similarities appear in the cases known as Peaches, whose torso was found in Hempstead Lake State Park in 1997 and limbs and remains of her child were found off Ocean Parkway in 2011, and Fire Island Jane Doe, whose legs were found in 1996 at Blue Point Beach on Fire Island and skull was found near Tobay Beach in 2011. Similarities also appear in the cases of two women whose torsos were found in Manorville in 2000 and 2003 and skulls were also found off Ocean Parkway in 2011: The woman known as Jane Doe No. 6 and a young woman named Jessica Taylor.
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In the Mamaroneck case, police are hoping that by re-releasing the photo of Cherries Doe’s tattoo, they may generate tips from the public that could help identify her and eventually find her killer. They are also hoping to find her family through her DNA.
“Our hope is if we can identify her then maybe that would give us an investigative lead to move the case forward,” Gatta told the Journal News. “Maybe someone believes that this might be, based on the description we have, which isn’t the best, this might be aunt so-and-so, this might be my mother’s sister that we always heard about but never met. That’s kind of what we’re hoping for.”
Cherries Doe is believe to be between 35 and 45 years old, was wearing a size medium Coconut Republic brand v-neck velvety camisole, and a size 33B bra with an underwire, according to investigators.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Det. Sgt. Mark Gatta at 914-825-8588.
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