Thursday, October 1, 2026
Andrew Dykes, 66, pleaded not guilty to murdering Tanya Denise Jackson during his arraignment in front of Judge Tammy Robbins at the Nassau County Court House on Thursday.
Dykes has been indicted in the nearly 30-year old cold case concerning the murder of a woman known only as “Peaches” until officials released Jackson’s identity in April. He was extradited from his home in Florida to Nassau County on Wednesday and faces a prison sentence of 25 years to life.
In June 1997, parts of Jackson’s dismembered body were found in Hempstead Lake State Park. Her body was unidentifiable at the time and she was referred to as “Peaches” due to a heart-shaped peach tattoo located on her chest.
“Tanya Jackson, known from the time of her death until earlier this year as ‘Peaches,’ was not the victim of a serial killer,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a press conference following the arraignment. “We allege she was the victim of a man that she loved, the father of her child, Andrew Dykes.”
In 2011 more of Jackson’s remains, along with the body of an unidentified child, were discovered buried alongside Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach during a search for victims of the Gilgo Beach serial killer. In 2016 DNA evidence linked Peaches to the body of Baby Doe as mother and daughter.
Due to the location where Jackson and her daughter, Tatiana Marie Dykes, remains were found, many suspected they were victims of the Gilgo Beach serial killer now allegedly identified as Rex Heuermann.
But after Jackson’s identity was determined in 2023, DNA evidence helped lead investigators to Dykes.
“To the family, I want to say I’m sorry that it took this long,” Nassau County Police Department Commissioner Patrick Ryder said, addressing the victim’s family, who were present for the press conference. “I’m sorry that this animal got away with what he got away with.”
Dykes and Jackson met serving in the U.S. army while stationed at Fort Sam Houston military base in San Antonio, Texas. Dykes was a military instructor at the time. He was a medical sergeant in the army, specializing in anatomy and physiology, which prosecutors suggest speaks to the way in which Jackson’s body was found.
At the time Dykes was married with two children, but he and Jackson began a relationship. In March of 1995 Jackson gave birth to Tatiana at a San Antonio hospital. Both Jackson and Dykes are listed on her birth certificate.
Around the time of Tatiana’s birth, Dykes was transferred to Fort Hamilton, located near the Verrazano Bridge in Brooklyn. Jackson was no longer in the service and followed Dyke to New York with Tatiana to be with together.
The 26-year-old Alabama native was raising her two-year-old daughter in an apartment in Brooklyn while working at a doctor’s office at the time of their death.
When Jackson’s body was discovered, DNA swabs were taken from her body and preserved. After discovering Jackson and Tatiana’s identity, investigators began monitoring Dykes as a potential suspect.
On Oct. 22, 2024, Dykes was followed to a Charleys Cheesecake and Wings in a Tampa Mall located near his home in Ruskin, FL. Investigators recovered a Styrofoam cup with a plastic lid and straw Dykes had been drinking from the trash. His DNA was extracted from the straw and was a positive match for DNA found on Jackson’s body.
“Nearly 30 years after Tanya’s disappearance we believe, I believe, the mystery of her murder has finally been solved,” Donnelly said. “The person responsible for ending Tanya Jacksons life can be prosecuted for this unspeakable and grotesque crime.”
Dykes is not currently being prosecuted for Tatiana’s murder due to a lack of evidence, but Donnelly, who said she believes Dykes is responsible for Tatiana’s death, shared that she was working with the Suffolk Country District Attorney’s office to continue the search for further evidence.
“Tanya was the victim of a vile and horrifying act of violence by a person, maybe the only person, she thought she could trust,” Donnelly said. “But we begin the fight for her now, decades after her cruel and untimely end we begin the fight to bring her killer to justice.”
Dykes will return to court on Jan. 16.
