27 years after her partial remains were discovered, one of the victims of the Gilgo Beach murders, formerly known as the “Jane Doe Seven,” has now been identified, according to authorities.
In a news conference on Friday, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney revealed that Karen Vergata, 34, had been identified through DNA genetic genealogy.
The news represents the most recent development in the infamous Gilgo Beach murders, in which since 2010, eleven sets of human remains have been discovered in or close to Ocean Parkway on Long Island. While the majority of the remains have been named, some have not.
On Fire Island’s Davis Park, the bones of Jane Doe Seven were discovered in 1996. According to a Suffolk County police timeline of the case, DNA later connected these bones to another set of remains discovered April 11, 2011, along Ocean Parkway in Nassau County.
Vergata vanished on February 14, 1996, according to Tierney’s statement on Friday. She had formerly resided in Manhattan and was reportedly employed as an escort. He said that no missing persons report had been made at the time of her disappearance.
Identifying factors for Jane Doe Seven
A mile west of Davis Park Beach on Fire Island’s Bayside shore, in April 1996, a female’s legs and feet were discovered.
On April 11, 2011, fifteen years after the original discovery, additional remains, including a skull, were found in Tobay Beach in Nassau County. The two sets of bones were identified as belonging to the same individual in July 2011 by the Suffolk County criminal lab using DNA analysis. This victim was called “Jane Doe Seven” or “Fire Island Jane Doe.”
The DNA profile “suitable for genealogical comparisons” was created from the remains in August 2022, six months afterwards the Gilgo Beach task force was established. The FBI then carried out a genetic genealogy assessment and was able to “presumptively” identify her in September 2022. In October 2022, authorities were able to positively identify Vergata thanks to a buccal swab from a relative.
Authorities did not, however, make the discovery public while a secret probe into the killings was ongoing.
According to officials, Vergata’s family was informed of her disappearance, and the inquiry is still ongoing. Tierney mentioned there aren’t any charges right now.
Investigation of the killings at Gilgo Beach
The Long Island neighborhood was on edge for years following the discovery of the bodies of many sex workers near Gilgo Beach.
Rex Heuermann was detained on July 13 after more than ten years of inquiry, and he was charged with three charges of murder in the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27. In addition, it was claimed that he was the main suspect in the 2007 disappearance of a fourth lady, 25-year-old Maureen Brainard-Barnes. The women were referred to as the “Gilgo Four.”
According to investigators, the victims were all thought to be sex workers who advertised on websites.
Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect from Manhattan, has entered a not guilty plea and is being detained without bond.
In a brief on Tuesday, the prosecution asked Heuermann to submit buccal samples, which they said would “provide further relevant evidence of the defendant’s identity as the perpetrator of the crime” and could be compared to DNA found at the crime scenes.
Investigators claim that DNA from a pizza that was thrown away connected Heuermann to a male hair that was discovered on the burlap used to wrap Waterman’s body.
On Tuesday, Heuermann made an appearance in Riverhead, New York, court. “We will defend this case in a court of law and then we will go to trial in this case,” his attorney Michael Brown declared.
In a prior statement, Brown stated that his client is “a man that has never been imprisoned before. Since the beginning of this case, he has steadfastly maintained his innocence.
On September 27, there will be another pretrial conference hearing.