Over a period of 20 years, the bodies of 10 women were dumped along Ocean Parkway, a remote strip of beach in Long Island.

All had been strangled and wrapped in burlap sacks before being discarded. So who dunnit?

Dubbed the Long Island Serial Killer, or the “Craigslist Ripper”, by the media, little is known about whoever is responsible.

And while no suspects have ever been identified, the victims’ friends and family do know this: the killer – or killers – liked to taunt them, contacting them in real life, over the Internet and on the phone, to pursue their services.

You see, the women, who each worked through Craigslist, shared more than just a resting place:

Melissa and Brainard-Barnes were two of four escorts found buried in the same marshy, desolate area in Gilgo Beach in December 2010, all within about 500 feet of each other, strangled and wrapped in burlap. The other two bodies belonged to Amber Costello and Megan Waterman. They were uncovered accidentally as police searched for a missing 24-year-old escort named Shannan Gilbert.

Over the next four months, six more remains were found in the Gilgo Beach area, including the remains of a toddler and an Asian male, suggesting it might be a dumping ground for a serial killer or killers.

Here’s a map of where the bodies were found:

To do this day, little is known about the murders, forcing the FBI to get involved in the still ongoing investigation.

So why has the killer not yet been caught? From Rolling Stone:

It could be that the killer was simply clever – knowledgeable about the difficult terrain on the barrier island and the gaps in police presence in its secluded beaches. Some have suggested early stages of the police investigation were compromised by leadership later charged with mishandling other cases – or by the fact that the leadership suddenly changed shortly after the discovery of Gilbert’s body.

Moreover, many of these questions have focused on death of Gilbert – but she might not have even been a victim of the Long Island Serial Killer at all.

And if her death was really just a tragic coincidence, how much has her case been a distraction from finding the real killer?

You can read that full story here – a long and insightful read.

[source:rollingstone]