Florida man charged in 1997 killing of woman once linked to Gilgo Beach murders

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

NEW YORK (AP) — For years, the 1997 killing of a young woman found in a Long Island state park — her body dismembered, left unidentifiable beyond a tattoo of a peach — seemed destined to remain unsolved.

That all changed in 2011, when investigators discovered new skeletal fragments, along with the body of her 2-year-old daughter, while combing a beachfront strip near Gilgo Beach as part of what would become an infamous investigation into women murdered in the area.

This week, police arrested and charged a man with murdering the woman, since identified as Tanya Denise Jackson, according to two people familiar with the investigation.

Andrew Dykes, 66, is the father of the 2-year-old, Tatiana Marie Jackson, according to those people, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details of a sealed indictment.

He was arrested in Tampa and is being held in Hillsborough County jail in Florida as he awaits extradition to Long Island, records show. The name of his attorney was not immediately available. A spokesperson for the Nassau County District Attorney declined to comment.

Another man, Rex Heuermann, has been charged in seven of the Gilgo Beach killings. Heuermann, a Long Island architect, has maintained his innocence. There is no apparent link between Dykes, a Florida resident, and Heuermann.

A total of 10 sets of human remains were found in the sand along a beach parkway. Many of the victims were women whose disappearances had never been thoroughly investigated. Police, almost from the start, said that it was possible some were victims of a serial killer, but said there was also evidence that the remote area might have been a dumping ground for more than one murderer.

As recently as April, officials on Long Island said they were unsure if Heuermann was responsible for killing the mother and daughter.

Those comments came as police in Nassau County announced they had confirmed the identity of Jackson, who was previously known as “Peaches,” for the tattoo on her torso, or Jane Doe #3.

She was 26 when she died, a veteran of the Gulf War originally from Mobile, Alabama, officials said.

Jackson had been living in Brooklyn with her daughter at the time of her disappearance and largely estranged from her family, according to police. They said they had identified her and her daughter through advanced DNA and genealogy research.

At the time, Fitzpatrick said the toddler’s father was cooperating and not considered a subject.

Additional details on Dykes’ arrest were not immediately available. He is expected to be extradited to New York in the coming days.