9 "John and Jane Does" on Suffolk Website Spur New Questions in Gilgo Case

It was August 8, 1990, when landscapers on Chateau Drive in Melville found the bloodied and handcuffed remains of a Hispanic male. The locked cuff was on his left wrist, while the other cuff was open and unattached. The homicide victim had been shot five times: in the face, head, shoulder, and back.

The remains of Melville John Doe were found bloodied, with a locked handcuff on the left wrist, on Chateau Drive in Melville in 1990.

Melville John Doe is one of nine homicide victims, names unknown, now featured on the cold case page created by the office of Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.

Tierney is leading the prosecution team in the Gilgo Beach serial killer case, where investigators allege the defendant, Rex Heuermann, tortured a number of his victims.

Accused serial killer Rex Heuermann in court September 23rd, 2025.

Internet searches indicated Heuermann was interested in bondage, according to the murder indictments. But Tierney wouldn't state specifically why he chose Melville John Doe and the eight others for his cold case web page.

"There are ABSOLUTE reasons why we chose those nine," DA Tierney told me at a press briefing September 23rd in Riverhead, shortly after winning another court challenge in the Gilgo Beach case.

Tierney then added, "You're going to have to trust me as to what those reasons are."

When I asked the District Attorney if there was a connection to Rex Heuermann, the D.A. replied, "I would submit that there are really good reasons why we do that. And whether there's a connection or not does not matter until if and when we're able to charge. So, I'm not going to talk about cases until I'm able to charge. That would be unethical."

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney responded to my question about 9, specific cold cases he’s posted on his website.

So now, I'm asking this as a journalist who has watched criminal cases evolve over the course of forty years: Is the addition of the new "Does" a tactic to put pressure on Rex Heuermann? Investigators who searched Heuermann's house in Massapequa Park for twelve days in 2023 located 283 weapons, including Glocks and long guns. The victims he's accused of killing so far were not shot. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the murders of seven women.

The posting of the nine Victim Does, from years spanning 1978 to 2011, is intriguing to consider. Asian Doe, the biological male who dressed as a female and was located on Ocean Parkway with their skull bashed in, is included on the DA's Cold Case page. Rex Heuermann has not been charged with Doe's murder.

Asian Doe presented as a woman, dressed in female clothing.

But Asian Doe was found closest to the Gilgo Four, the first group of victims discovered along Ocean Parkway in December 2010. Asian Doe was the only biological male among a group of ten victims who were located in the brush along the north side of the parkway. Doe's age was estimated to be between 17 and 23 years old. The young victim was likely killed pre-2006.

Melville John Doe was about five feet six inches tall (similar to Asian Doe's size) and was wearing an orange shirt depicting men playing volleyball. The shirt had writing that said, "Off Shore of C.A." The man was between 25 and 35 years old.

The skeletal remains of Brentwood John Doe, another recent addition to the DA's website, indicate he was likely between 15 and 17 years of age. He was found in the sump area of Freshman Center Elementary School in Brentwood on May 20, 1998.

The remains of Brentwood John Doe, a victim estimated to be between 15-17 years old, were found near the grounds of Freshman Center Elementary School in 1998.

Brentwood John Doe was similar in size to Asian Doe and Melville John Doe. The Brentwood victim was wearing a Boy Scout buckle on his belt and a green/black jacket with the label "Alliance Down." I was interested in the detail about a key ring found with this Doe from "Hands of Gold Jewelry," which is a shop in Copiague, Long Island. The store on Suffolk County's south shore is one town away from Amityville, which borders Massapequa Park, where Heuermann lived his entire life.

The third addition to the DA's cold case site was Montauk Mary, a murder victim discovered lying face up near Montauk Point East Overlook on March 22, 1978.

The white female was in her 60's, wearing a multicolored dress, no undergarments, and orange slippers. She had been shot four times: 1 time in the chest and three times in the legs.

Driving west from the Riverhead courthouse after Tuesday's Heuermann hearing, I wanted to check out where Dix Hills John Doe was discovered in the woods off the Northern State Parkway on March 9,2000.

Dix Hills John Doe, 2000.

His remains were located near Wolf Hill Road and a notation was made about his poor dental hygiene. He was missing several teeth. The 2000 Doe was wearing a blue bathing suit beneath his blue jeans and also a T-shirt with a New Jersey emblem.

Turns out this was the same year that a John Doe was found out east in Manorville off the Long Island Expressway. The dismembered torso of Gilgo victim Valerie Mack, with her arms cut off under the elbows, would also be found in 2000--on November 19th in the woods of Manorville.

As I was driving toward the location where Dix Hills John Doe was found in 2000, I realized that Wolf Hill Road intersected Vanderbilt Parkway there. I instantly thought of Dix Hills Jane Doe, whose skull, hands and vertebrae were found in a black, plastic bag on April 30, 1998. She was likely killed before 1993. Working with forensic anthropologists, investigators learned Dix Hills Jane Doe was likely of Bosnian, Croatian or Yugoslavian background.

Vanderbilt Parkway is close to 2 locations in Dix Hills we’re interested in.

Dix Hills Jane Doe was found on a golf course in 1998. Dix Hills John Doe was discovered in woods off the Northern State Parkway in 2000, near Wolf Hill Road.

The frenzy surrounding Heuermann's family, who showed up at court Tuesday, doesn't seem to be letting up. Heuermann's ex-wife Asa and his daughter Victoria were trailed by a documentary crew from Peacock when they arrived at court that morning.