Commissioner Rodney Harrison of the Suffolk County Police department took a step forward Gilgo beach murder case when he vowed his plan to unveil previously unreleased video footage and a 9/11 call, which contains the victim, Megan Waterman.
Harrison took over with the goals of increasing transparency and bringing resolution to the case as Suffolk’s newest police commissioner. By releasing the video, he hopes to do both. Harrison, appointed by a Democratic County executive and unanimously confirmed by a republican led county legislature, seems to carry widespread support for these aims.
The Messenger asked District Attorney Ray Tierney (R, C-Commack) what he thought this meant for the case.
“It’s an investigative step in the case, but it is something that law enforcement has been in possession of for some time,” said Tierney.
When probed as to why he thought previous commissioners did not take this step, Tierney cautioned that “for the most part, you keep the nature of your investigation confidential up until you think the public could assist with certain parts of it.”
It looks like we have reached that point.
There is currently an interagency task force set up to solve the case, of which Tierney’s and Harrison’s respective organizations are members, in addition to state and federal agencies.
“I think that we’re working well together,” Tierney stated of the task force, “we have a number of people working essentially non-stop on the case, and we are working well with all of our partners.”
“I think the communication is great.”
Tierney also asserted that this case remains a high priority for his case, keeping with past campaign promises.
In 2010, the ‘Gilgo Four’ were discovered. Shannan Gilbert was first discovered in May of 2010. In December of 2010, while searching for Gilbert, investigators found the body of Melissa Barthelemy. Soon, the bodies of three more women were found in the vicinity.
Since then, a total of 10 full sets of remains have been found, with some suspecting there are more victims yet to be discovered. The remains of an unidentified toddler were amongst the found. Additionally, two miles west of Ocean Parkway, an unidentified Asian person’s remains were found. Some of the remains found were partial remains of others found throughout Long Island in other unsolved cases.
There is still much unknown to investigators. Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a $25,000 reward for information leading to arrest. Even with this incentive, the case lingers on.
The case has garnered national media attention and has been the subject of documentaries. The case has also ignited an incredible amount of speculation amongst Suffolk residents.
