Karen Vergata.Photo:Suffolk County District Attorneyâs Office
Suffolk County District Attorneyâs Office
On Friday, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney announced that the remains of a woman previously known as Jane Doe No. 7 are those of Karen Vergata, who was 34 when she went missing in 1996.
Some of Vergata’s remains were found on Long Island’s Fire Island on April 20, 1996. Additional body parts were discovered on Long Island’s Tobay Beach in April 11, 2011.
Tierney said investigators used genetic genealogy to identify her.
Investigators uncovered at least 11 sets of remains along a stretch of Ocean Parkway in Long Island, N.Y., including the remains ofMelissa Barthelemy,Amber Costello,Maureen Brainard-BarnesandMegan Waterman, known as the Gilgo Four.
All four women had worked as online escorts and had been missing between 2007 and 2010.
from top clockwise: Maureen Brainard-Barnes; Melissa Barthelemy; Megan Waterman; Amber Lynn Costello.Suffolk County Police Department; Barthelemy family; Suffolk County Police Department (2)
Suffolk County Police Department; Barthelemy family; Suffolk County Police Department (2)
Tierney said Vergata worked as a sex worker at the time of her death and disappeared from Manhattan on Feb. 14, 1996.
“We are going to continue to work this particular case as we did the Gilgo Four investigation," said Tierney. “This is a confidential investigation.”
Tierney did not comment if her death is linked to the slayings of Barthelemy, Costello, Brainard-Barnes and Waterman.
Rex Heuermann.James Carbone-Pool/Getty Images
James Carbone-Pool/Getty Images
Last month, authorities arrested 59-year-old architect and father of twoRex Heuermannfor the murders of Barthelemy, Costello and Waterman.
He is a prime suspect in the killing of Brainard-Barnes.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
He was also traced to a Chevrolet Avalanche that was registered to him that was seen at the time of Costello’s disappearance.
“In a 14-month period, he had over 200 searches pertaining to the Gilgo investigation,” Tierney previously told PEOPLE. “Not only was he looking at investigative insight, he was trying to figure out, ‘How is the task force using cell phones to try to figure out what’s happened? What are the developments with regard to the task force?’ ”
Vergata was identified in Sept. 2022 but investigators held off releasing her identity to the public because they were involved in the grand jury process in the case against Heuermann.
Genealogy was also used in 2020 to identify Valerie Mack, another victim tied to the bodies found on Gilgo Beach.
source: people.com
