Police Still Bewildered By L.I. Beach Bodies Case
MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) -- Investigators in Nassau County and New York City are leafing through hundreds of missing person files in an attempt to identify the four women whose decomposing bodies were dumped on eastern Long Island.
Police in Suffolk County, where the bodies were found earlier this month, have been stumped so far in figuring out who the victims are. Deputy Inspector William Neubauer said Friday that identification could take weeks.
Lt. Kevin Smith in neighboring Nassau County said Wednesday that detectives there are checking for files on missing women "who may have a history of running away, who may have a past of getting involved in prostitution."
He said there are about 350 unresolved cases in Nassau involving such women.
If detectives find a case that might match what Suffolk County describes, then the next step would be to see if DNA from the missing person or relatives can help identify the dumped bodies.
"It's difficult to identify a body if their DNA isn't in a databank somewhere," he said. "We could help in that regard."
Smith said "nothing concrete" had popped up so far, but even if there's no help in identifying the bodies, reviewing the files for similarities might help if the case widens.
"If perhaps another body turned up on our side (of the border with Suffolk), it would make it easier to see if it somehow could be connected to those cases," he said.
Suffolk police would not answer questions Wednesday, but Neubauer said last week that "anything is possible at this point, because there's so many unanswered questions."
In New York City, the next jurisdiction after Nassau, "We're going through whatever missing persons cases might be helpful," said Detective Joseph Cavitolo.
"If we find something of interest, it's quite possible we would have DNA," he said.
The New York City medical examiner's office is also on the case, lending expertise in the identification process.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
