Who Was 'Asian Doe?' Police Release Sketches of Possible Victim of Alleged Long Island Serial Killer
Suffolk County authorities say the victim, determined to be of southern Chinese descent, was between the ages of 17 and 23
Suffolk County Police Department; James Carbone-Pool/Getty
'Asian Doe' (left); Rex HeuermannAuthorities in New York State have released information a suspected victim of alleged Long Island Serial Killer Rex Heuermann — a person of Asian ethnicity investigators have dubbed "Asian Doe."
The victim, whose remains were found in April 2011 in Nassau County, was of southern Chinese descent, according to authorities, who say the person may have been a sex worker, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office announced on Monday, Sep. 16. The office said the victim is estimated to have died during or before 2006.
"Unfortunately, this victim suffered a violent death," Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said at Monday's press conference, adding that the victim died from blunt force trauma.
Tierney alleged "Asian Doe" was a biological male and was found in women's clothing, including a pair of women's pants and a bra. The victim died between the ages of 17 and 23.
Gilgo Homicide Task Force/ National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Gilgo Beach Asian Does: female version (left); and male version.The remains of "Asian Doe" were found on April 4, 2011, per the DA's office.
At Monday's press conference, the DA's office released several facial reconstructions of "Asian Doe" depicting what the victim may have looked like prior to the killing. They released sketches of the victim as a male and a female, because the victim's gender identification is unclear.
The DA's office also released information on "Asian Doe" in four other languages: Cantonese, Mandarin, Thai and Bahasa Indonesian.
"Prior to 2006, this person had friends, possible classmates or coworkers, and a family – someone must know who they are," Tierney said in a statement on Monday.
Related: Read PEOPLE's 2023 Cover Story on Gilgo Beach Serial Killer, Who's Now Charged with 6 Murders
Heuermann was arrested on July 13, 2023, and has been accused by authorities of murdering six women, with the latest charges being announced in June of this year.
He has been charged with murder in connection with the deaths of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla and Jessica Taylor, the DA’s office has previously said.
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Costilla’s body was found with sharp injuries on Nov. 20, 1993, in a wooded area, according to an indictment released in June.
On July 26, 2003, a witness discovered Taylor’s body with a “severely obliterated” tattoo on her torso and with her arms cut off, the indictment said.
Waterman, Barthelemy, Costello and Brainard-Barnes disappeared between 2007 and 2010. The remains of the four women, who worked as online escorts, were all found in an area on Gilgo Beach in December 2010.
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