After Gilgo Beach Killer's Sentencing, Desperate Search Continues To Help Identify Victim 'Asian Doe': DA

LONG ISLAND, NY — Almost two months after GIlgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann was sentenced — he confessed in April, voice devoid of emotion, to the murder of eight women — the desperate search continues for information on "Asian Doe," whose skeletal remains were found near those of the Gilgo Beach victims.

A total of 11 sets of remains were found in the Gilgo Beach murders, which rocked Long Island. The remains included that of a toddler and an Asian male.

On Tuesday, as part of the "National Night Out" effort, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney continued efforts to glean information about the victim, possibly of Southern Han Chinese descent, by setting up a booth in Chinatown, in New York City.

On April 4, 2011, human skeletal remains were recovered on Ocean Parkway, at Gilgo Beach, Tierney said.

An autopsy revealed the victim died of significant blunt force trauma to the head, Tierney said.

In 2011, an examination of the victim’s remains revealed that he was a biological male, approximately 17 to 23 years old and between 5-feet, 3-inches, to 5-feet, 9-inches tall at the time of death, Tierney said.

The victim, who was wearing women’s clothing, was killed in 2006 or prior, Tierney said.

Fifteen years later, the victim remains unidentified and is only referred to as "Asian Doe," Tierney said.

Attempts to identify the victim through a process called
"Investigative Genetic Genealogy," have proven unsuccessful due to the low quantity of Asian volunteers in commercial DNA databases, Tierney said.

On Tuesday, Tierney and volunteers from the Gilgo Beach Homicide Task Force were present at the NYPD’s 5th Precinct National Night Out on Division Street, between Catherine and Market.

TIerney, in advance of the event, encouraged members of the Chinese community to attend and assist members of law enforcement in identifying "Asian Doe, which will ensure not only the reunification of the victim’s remains with family, but also a proper burial," Tierney said.

The best way to assist, the DA said, is by providing a DNA sample, which will assist genealogists with identifying possible relatives, and in turn, identifying Asian Doe.

"Notably, the DNA samples will not be retained by law enforcement and will not be entered into any law-enforcement databases," the DA said. "Rather the sample will go straight to a private laboratory and used solely for the purpose of identifying 'Asian Doe,' as well as any other unidentified human remains of Asian descent."

He added: "The Gilgo Homicide Task Force implores members of the public to step forward and assist us in identifying this young victim."

In addition, a reward of up to $2,500 is being offered for information leading to the identification of Asian Doe.

Information may also be provided by clicking here or by calling 631-263-0526.

IGG is a technique that analyzes DNA obtained from the victim and compares it to publicly or lawfully accessible genealogical databases to identify potential relatives of the unknown individual, thereby generating investigative leads regarding that individual’s identity, Tierney said.

After the event, attended by Tierney, staff and volunteers, a representative from the DA's office said the effort had been "very successful," with 23 DNA samples collected.

In 2024, police widened the desperate search for information regarding the "Asian Doe" homicide victim found near the remains of those associated with the Gilgo Beach killings, police said.

At that time, Suffolk County police released new renderings and flyers in both Vietnamese and Korean. Previously, the forensic reconstruction images and informational flyers had also been distributed in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Thai, and Bahasa.

New details were released about the Asian homicide victim found in the same areas as those associated with the Gilgo Beach killings, Tierney said — and law enforcement appealed to the public to identify the individual and bring closure to his or her family

During a press conference at that time, Tierney said the remains indicated a "violent assault, due to blunt force trauma, resulting in death."

He displayed images, facial reconstructions created by a forensic artist with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that depict what the victim may have looked like prior to their disappearance and killing.

The person was a biological male but, due to the fact that they were dressed in women's clothing, may have identified as a female; it is believed they may have worked as a sex worker in New York City, Tierney said.

The death occurred at least five years priors to April 4, 2011, the DA said.

Clothing recovered included a Chrysantheme blue ribbed short-sleeve shirt with crew neck, a Rafaella brand shirt and Bill Blass pants and a bra, all women’s clothing.

When asked at the time about similarities with the murders Gilgo killer Rex Heuermann had been charged with, Tierney said that the remains of Asian Doe were found about 300 feet from those of Megan Waterman, between her remains and those of Jessica Taylor.

The remains of Asian Doe were not wrapped in burlap, the DA said.

In addition, he said, the bail application indicated that some of Heuermann's internet searches did involve those for individuals that could "arguably be related," because he used similar terms.

The 2023 bail application for Heuermann said that at least one internet search he'd performed was for "Asian twink tied-up porn," according to the application.

However, Tierney said, Heuermann had not been charged with Asian Doe's death.

Tierney said the goal was to reach out to the Asian immigrant community, translating the information, with the hope that the victim can be identified and closure brought to their family and friends.

He added that there are individuals from South Asia are underrepresented in the genealogy database, making the investigation challenging; he urged those of Asian descent to upload their family DNA to help.

Tierney said the press event was a "call to action. This person had a name, family, friends. We are reaching out to anyone who may have known this individual to help with this ID."

Anyone who was in the New York City area in the late 90s and early 2000s should also think about anyone who might have gone missing, he said. "Let's give this victim their name back."

Anyone with information regarding this case or the identification of the victim is asked to contact Crimestoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS, or via email or mobile app, which can be submitted in your native language.

Translation services are available. .