Twenty years ago Wednesday, a landscaper cleaning the wooded property of a newly constructed home in Moriches found the partial remains of Andre Isaac, a professional drag performer known as “Sugar Bear.”
Investigators later used DNA to confirm the remains belonged to the 25-year-old from East New York, whose severed head ice skaters previously found embedded in the frozen Forge River on Jan. 25, 2003. Isaac’s dismembered torso dressed in a bodysuit and skirt was found in Far Rockaway on Dec. 17, 2002, less than a month after he was last seen alive shortly before Thanksgiving. In the decades since, questions have been raised about whether the unsolved murder may be linked to the Gilgo Beach case, also known as the Long Island Serial Killer investigation — partly due to the fact that Suffolk County police included the victim’s profile on a hidden page of gilgonews.com, the department’s clearinghouse for information on the larger probe.
“If Andrew Isaac’s information is included on a website set up by the Suffolk County police Department as part of the LISK investigation, then why haven’t they mentioned him in connection with this case before?” journalist Alexis Linkletter asked on the podcast Unraveled that explored the case. “And more importantly, why isn’t his information visible for the public to see?”
Police have said that they do not believe that Isaac’s case is connected to the Gilgo Beach murders in which authorities found 10 sets of human remains along Ocean Parkway in 2010 and 2011 while searching for missing New Jersey woman Shannan Gilbert who was later found dead in Oak Beach.
“Before the official roll out of the website, [Isaac’s] case was utilized as a test during [the] layout process and was briefly live on the site,” police told the Press in a statement when asked about the still-functioning link to Isaac’s profile on the police website. “If you navigate to the website, not utilizing that link, that page no longer exists.”
Isaac’s mother, Kim Jordan, reportedly believes that his son’s murder is connected to the Gilgo investigation and said she has been in touch with Homicide Squad detectives to discuss it. There are few details of the case publicly available, but his head was found with a bullet hole in it.
“He just went downstairs and got in a red sports car and that’s the last they ever saw of him,” Jordan told WPIX-TV. “I used to dream, have nightmares, about his head on a platter.”
In the Gilgo case, three of the victims remain unidentified to this day: An Asian male who was wearing women’s clothing, a woman dubbed “Peaches” because of her heart-shaped fruit tattoo, and the woman’s toddler daughter.
Rex Heuermann, a 60-year-old architect from Massapequa Park, was arrested last year and has pleaded not guilty to murdering four women — Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, Melissa Barthelemy, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes — found dead in the brush in Gilgo Beach. They were all last seen between 2007 and 2010. Authorities have said they are still investigating whether Heuermann may be responsible for any of the other victims found along the barrier island that stretches from Jones Beach to Captree.
Some of the victims he has not been charged with killing were dismembered with their remains scattered in different locations, similar to Isaac. Remains of Karen Vergata, who until recently was known as Fire Island Jane Doe, were found near Davis Park and Tobay Beach. Peaches’ remains were found at Hempstead Lake State Park and Jones Beach. Valerie Mack and Jessica Taylor were each found in Manorville and near Cedar Beach. All four were killed between 1996 and 2003.
Prosecutors have not blamed Isaac’s death on Heuermann, who is due back in Suffolk criminal court on April 17 for his latest pre-trial hearing.
Individuals can anonymously submit information online to Crime Stoppers by visiting P3Tips.com, calling 1-800-220-TIPS or visit gilgonews.com to submit tips online.
Related Story: Westchester Victim May Be Tied To Gilgo Beach Murders, Police Say
Related Story: Who is The Girl With The Peach Tattoo?
Related Story: Was Fire Island Jane Doe Karen Vergata Last Seen at Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Suspect Rex Heuermann’s House?
For more Long Island Serial Killer coverage visit longislandpress.com/tag/long-island-serial-killer
