1997 murder linked to remains found in 2011

Josh Zeman and Rachel Mills, film producers of A&E’s “The Killing Season” were interested in information about the remains of an unidentified woman found at Hempstead Lake State Park in 1997. They contacted the federal government’s National Missing and Unidentified Persons System — or NamUs — for further details about the woman, known as “Peaches” because the fruit and the word were tattooed on her torso, her only body part found at the park.

Their inquiry led NamUs to initiate “numerous inquiries to five jurisdictions,” said Todd Matthews, its director of case management and communications, which led to a startling connection: the woman’s DNA matched the DNA contained in a separate report already in the NamUs’s database about the skeletal remains of the same woman found near Zach’s Bay at Jones Beach in 2011.

The reason for the separate reports, Matthews said, was because of different government jurisdictions. “One of the remains was found in one county, and the other in another county,” said Matthews. “Nevertheless, this is a good thing because public interest made something happen that would’ve been inevitably revealed in the public anyway.” The remains at Zach’s Bay were found on April 11, 2011 and were labeled “Jane Doe No. 3.” Police believe she is the mother of Baby Doe, a girl whose skeletal remains were found on Ocean Parkway near Cedar Beach in Suffolk County on April 4, 2011. Baby Doe was believed to be between 1-4 years old.

When asked about the case, Nassau County Police Public Information Officer Richard LeBrun said, “This is a multi-jurisdictional case and we do not comment when there are on-going investigations.” Brian Nevin, a spokesperson for county supervisor Ed Mangano’s office said, “The remains of the child found at Gilgo falls under Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s jurisdiction. Therefore, it would be their responsibility for entering the info, including the DNA, into NamUs.” Nevin added that the Nassau County’s Medical Examiner’s office, in conjunction with the Nassau County Police Department and the New York State Police do not make information public in active case investigations.

“Peaches” is identified in the NamUS database as an African American woman between 20-30 years old. Her torso was dumped in a wooded area approximately 35 feet from the south side of Park Drive, west of Hempstead Lake State Park’s main entrance. Her remains were placed in a plastic tub covered by plastic garbage bags.

“This is great that this story has gotten the exposure,” said Matthews. “It’s caused a lot of confusion — but it’s not a conspiracy, it’s just a clerical error.” Matthews added that the different jurisdictions must have known that the two cases were related because the DNA was linked by them “some time ago.”