Long Island murders: Jane Doe #6 identified as Philadelphia escort after 20 years through genetic genealogy
An unidentified victim in the Long Island Serial Killer case has now been identified 20 years later. The partial remains of the victim were found by Gilgo Beach in 2011 while the search for a missing woman, Shannan Gilbert, had been on. It was Gilbert's disappearance that led to a serial killer theory and the discovery that there was a serial murderer on the loose. Some of the previously unidentified remains had been found in 2000 in Manorville, the Suffolk County Police Department revealed. The remains were matched to the ones found in 2011 and were labeled under Jane Doe #6.
The woman has now been identified as a Philadelphia escort who went missing 20 years ago near Atlantic City in New Jersey. Valerie Mack, who also went by the name Melissa Taylor, vanished at the age of 24 in 2000, Oxygen reports. Her naked torso was found later that same year but was not identified. Her family had last seen her in spring or summer of 2000 around the Port Republic area. The fact that Mack has been identified seems to show some progress in the case. On Thursday, May 28, the police revealed that Mack had been identified via genetic genealogy technology, Daily Mail reveals. In a statement, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said, "For two decades, Valerie Mack´s family and friends were left searching for answers and while this is not the outcome they wanted, we hope this brings some sense of peace and closure."
The DNA had been uploaded into a database that matched with some of Mack's relatives and her son who is currently in his 20s. Via Mack's son, the authorities were able to identify the remains as Mack herself. Hart explained that Mack had been working as an escort and had been arrested three times on prostitution charges. "Valerie Mack was left without parents at an early age," Hart shared as she added that Mack had gone into foster care before being adopted. When she vanished, she was living with her boyfriend. "She had a normal life. Nothing really stood out. She just didn’t come home one day," Hart added.
Between 2010 and 2011, eleven sets of human remains were found alongside Gilgo Beach. Most of the remains found belong to young prostitutes. The Gilgo Beach killings have made national headlines and were the subject of Netflix's recent film 'Lost Girls'. A few of the other victims who have been identified are Megan Waterman, 22, Amber Lynn Costello,27, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, and Maureen Brainard Barnes, 25. In the Netflix film, it was alleged that the past or earlier Suffolk investigators had disrespected many of the victims. Hart was determined to make it clear that all the victims are the priority. "We have a really, really strong team here that is aggressively pursuing every avenue that is open to us. We’re going to keep moving forward. We're not going to stop. We are going to make every attempt we can to solve this and find justice for these families," she shared.