Hi. This is shannan.
How's it going?
I look even better in person.
Yeah. How much?
You're gonna have to do better than that.
You won't be sorry,
you're just gonna have to do better than that.
Uh huh, okay, okay.
What's your address?
Okay, just hold on one sec.
Uh huh.
Okay, can you just actually text me the address?
I have to give it to my driver.
Okay.
Don't look at my phone.
Bye, mom. Sarra.
Bye.
Where you goin'?
I have a date.
I'll be back for mother's day.
Shannan. Let me talk to joe.
He'll get you a job at the walmart with me.
My apartment rent went up.
I need to make some real money, mom.
You worry too much. Love you.
Bye.
Why do you let her get away with that, mom?
She's an adult, sarra. What can I do?
Get your feet off the counter.
Thanks, mike.
I'll call when I'm done.
[doorbell rings]
hey, how are you? Come on in.
Hello?
Voice: Is this shannan gilbert's mother?
Yeah, it is. Who's this?
Voice: I run a home for wayward girls.
What? Who is this?
How do you know shannan?
Hello?
Oh my god.
Shannan: Hi. It's shannan. You know what to do.
Honey. Call me. Please.
I love you.
Oh, this is gorgeous.
Way too expensive, honey.
You're worth it, mom.
Every penny.
Come on, get closer, I want to get a photo.
Near jones beach.
Excuse me.
Clerk: Yes, how can I help you, ma'am?
I want to report a missing person.
My daughter. My daughter shannan's missing.
How old is your daughter, ma'am?
She's 24.
She doesn't live with me, she was visiting last weekend
and I haven't heard from her since.
I called her cell a bunch of times
and she's not picking up.
And then a man called me, I didn't get his name,
he didn't tell me his name,
but he said he runs a home for "wayward girls."
is she a sex worker, ma'am?
She does that sometimes, yeah.
Last Saturday night she was on a call.
Then I found this address, which is near here, right?
I'm not from long island.
Does she live here, ma'am?
She lives in jersey city.
Just a sec.
Okay, ma'am, here we are, you're gonna have to
file that report in jersey city
and then they're gonna send it on to us.
But keep in mind ma'am
that your daughter's an adult in the sex industry.
It hasn't even been a week since you've seen her.
Jersey city?
Those are the rules, ma'am.
[phone rings]
hello?
Voice: I tried to help your daughter but she's run away.
I'm really worried.
Wait. Hello?
He just called back, that man, he just called me back!
You gotta do something! You gotta do something!
We have to find where he is.
Let me take care of this.
I'm detective varrone.
You wanna tell me what's going on?
This man's calling me about my missing daughter.
He's called me twice now, and then he hangs up.
-How long has she been missing? -Since last weekend.
Have a seat.
So, explain to me, somebody called?
He called and said he was trying to help my daughter.
Do you know who he is?
No, I don't know who he is.
He talks, he says a few things and then he gets off the phone.
-Did you try to call him back? -Yes, I did.
I pushed and then it was blocked.
Did he sound like a young man? An older man?
I don't know. I don't know.
He just said he was trying to help my daughter so that,
and I've not heard from my daughter.
All right. Well maybe I can put a trace on that.
In the meantime,
why don't to give me your number and if-
I was trying to make a police report-
...If I find out anything, I'll call you back.
Where'd you take her?
What?
I haven't heard from her for over a week.
Where'd you take her?
She wouldn't leave.
She was hiding behind the sofa. She was acting all crazy.
Why? Did you give her drugs?
-No, of course not. -Wait a minute.
After I dropped her off, you guys left the house.
Shannan okayed it with me.
You were gone for something like a quarter of an hour.
Did you take her to get drugs?
No.
Look, all I know is that the girl was acting nuts.
Called 9-1-1.
She called for help?
Yeah. Talked to them for over 20 minutes.
20 minutes?
Next thing I know, she was out the door.
Get her out of here.
Okay, alright.
Shannan, what's wrong?
Okay. Just...
Shannan! Where are you going?
-No, no! No! -Shannan! Shannan!
Mike: What the hell, man?
No, help!
[screaming]
hello?
[screaming and panting]
ah! Hello?
Help me.
Help me!
Help me, please.
Help me. They're trying to kill me.
What? Who? Who try and kill you?
Come in the house. You're safe, here.
I'm going to call the police.
It's okay.
Soon as I said we'll call the police, she run.
I see her running, past the boat,
down a path to the beach.
No!
[screams]
ahh!
Help me!
Oh, here he is. Dom, you're late.
I know. I know, jimmy, sorry. Too much paperwork.
Oh, come on. You know tom spota?
Sure. Da spota. Haven't seen you in a while.
How you been?
Keeping busy, you know.
Watching out for this one, here.
Right. You two go back.
Way back.
Took him off the streets when he was a kid.
Burke? A street kid?
Are you serious?
If it wasn't me, this guy'd be in jail right now.
No way in hell he'd be a cop.
Come on.
If it wasn't for me,
your conviction record would be garbage.
You know what? You know what?
I should've, I should've promoted that firehouse dog
instead of you.
Oh, don't make promises you can't keep.
Give me a sec.
Grab me a beer?
Yeah, yeah. Light beer.
Hi, did you get my text?
You shouldn't have talked to those people.
Why not?
I haven't heard from you for nearly a week.
This takes time, ma'am.
You really want to do something?
Bring me a piece of her clothing,
something she wore recently that hasn't been washed.
You mean like for a body search?
Sorry, but, yeah.
Just in case.
Sarra, shannan come on, squeeze in.
Get closer and smile, please. Sarra, smile.
Smile, smile, there, there, good.
Always take pictures.
Where'd you get the money for this, shannan?
Do you like it?
I love it.
It's beside the point.
Where'd you get the money?
Are you selling yourself again, shannan?
How I make my money it's none of your business, so-
everything you do is my business.
I'm your mother.
Since when?
Oh, come on, please. Don't start.
Wait, since I started buying nice gifts?
Since I started making good money?
Oh no, that is not true.
Well, okay, well you just haven't really been
much of a mother up until now. So-
I couldn't handle you, shannan.
Yeah. I know.
You can't handle your boyfriends, either
and what they did to sarra and, yeah.
What he did to sarra you didn't get.
You were lucky.
You were in a foster home, which was a hell of a lot better
than being with me.
Forgot I was lucky.
Can we not do this? It's my birthday.
Happy birthday.
-She's in here. -Thanks.
Ms. Gilbert, come in.
I've brought what you asked for.
Thank you.
Have a seat.
I'm sorry if I was abrupt last night.
You caught me at a bad time.
I checked out those three men that you spoke to.
The driver, the john, the italian guy.
No criminal record, no history of violence.
I still think maybe your daughter,
she partied too hard
and she's out there just trying to get it together.
Did you guys have a fight recently?
Do you have kids, detective?
Even when they do something wrong, you can't...
I asked her so many times not to do this.
My daughter's not a bad girl.
She's incredibly bright.
She graduated high school a year early.
She held down two jobs when she was in nursing school.
She just made some stupid choices.
We've all done that, right?
And I'm trying.
Please find her.
What makes you think I can help you, ms. Gilbert?
Aren't the police doing whatever they can?
They said that, yeah,
but they said they traced the calls I got,
and I haven't heard a thing.
They just make excuses like they're just sitting on this.
Okay. But what can I do that they can't?
You're an ex-cop, aren't you?
That's what your ad said. Don't you have connections, or?
You know why I'm an ex-cop?
Because I couldn't stand the bureaucracy.
I know what these guys were up against.
It takes time.
Shannan don't got time.
I don't have much money, but I will give you
everything I got.
I don't just do this for the money.
I'll call some people. See what I can find out.
But until something,
I don't know, substantial turns up,
it may not be much.
That's it. What'd you find, boy?
What do you got?
Varrone.
You found what?
Oh my god.
Where?
They appear to be four female bodies.
Strangled and wrapped in burlap.
Since they were buried relatively close to one another,
I have to presume that it's the same person
or persons behind this.
Looks like you have a serial on your hands, dom.
Could any of them be this girl here?
She was wearing a blue, velvety hoodie and jeans.
You got my message. Is shannan one of them?
I called suffolk county.
They wouldn't tell me a damn thing.
I spoke to the coroner's office.
She's not one of them.
Oh my god.
And the women have been identified
as maureen brainard-barnes,
melissa barthelemy,
megan waterman, and amber lynn costello.
All four were sex workers.
Their bodies were discovered when the police
were searching for another woman, shannan gilbert,
who disappeared on the same beach.
This is leanne kavanaugh reporting live.
Shannan's probably dead, too.
No, don't even think that.
No, you don't think so? It seems pretty obvious, ma.
Shannan is alive. I have to believe that.
Did you know her well?
My best friend, melissa.
I'm looking for my daughter, shannan.
When no one heard from her after a while,
her family went to the police
and as soon as the cops found out she was a sex worker,
I feel like they just stopped caring.
They didn't even try to find her?
No.
Not even after he was calling her sister, not really.
Wait, who was calling her sister?
Some man.
He called like eight times
off of melissa's cell phone
and then the last call he said,
said that melissa was a whore
and that's why he killed her.
Oh my god.
Dr. Hackett?
Yeah?
I'm detective varrone, suffolk county police.
I was wondering if you can answer a few questions
concerning a young woman by the name of shannan gilbert.
Yeah, sure.
Could you open the door, mr. Hackett?
It's dr. Hackett.
She appears to be missing.
She was last seen in this area,
early morning, may 1st,
running down this road, actually.
Did you happen to see her?
No. No. I heard about her.
The next day some asian guy came by asking the same thing.
Said he was her driver, or something.
She hasn't been found?
Not yet.
A couple of days later, someone called her mother
saying that he was trying to help her,
but he didn't leave a number.
Do you know anything about those calls?
No.
They were traced back to your wife's phone, sir.
How did you get mari gilbert's number?
Okay. Okay. I, I was concerned.
I was offering my help.
That's all.
That's all, as part of our neighborhood association.
We're a very closely knit community.
How did you get her mother's number, sir?
Her driver must have given it to me.
It's not a crime what I did.
I felt sorry for her.
According to mary, you said in one of your calls
that you ran a home for wayward girls.
Is that true?
I don't recall saying that.
Have you ever run a home like that?
No. Of course not.
Have you ever come in contact or met shannan gilbert?
Absolutely not.
You're talking to me like I was some criminal.
I just wanted to help.
They found the guy who was making those calls.
He lives in oak beach.
-Who? -A dr. Peter hackett.
He used to work for suffolk county medical
until he got fired for not showing up on the job.
Is he under arrest?
There is no evidence connecting him with shannan, mari.
Then why did he call me?
He said he tried to help her. How did he help her?
Wait a minute.
After I dropped her off, you guys left the house.
Shannan okayed it with me.
You were gone for something like a quarter of an hour.
That's how he helped her.
He gave her drugs.
Dr. Hackett?
I need to talk to you about shannan.
He wasn't home.
What? Who?
Peter hackett.
Mari, what were you doing at hackett's?
I think he sold her drugs.
What? Come on, mari.
You ain't got no proof of that.
He's a doctor, isn't he?
Mari.
I don't know what else to do.
Reporter: Maureen brainard barnes.
She was last seen at a bus terminal in manhattan
looking for a ride home.
Eleanor morris, a woman she was close to,
told us about a call made to another sex worker
just days after maureen disappeared.
He described her to a t, said she was working
in a house of prostitution in queens,
which we know was not true.
Reporter: The call was traced to a cell tower on long island,
a place, according to mrs. Morris,
maureen never visited.
The long island police didn't investigate,
three and a half years later
when maureen's body was discovered.
If you have any information regarding this case,
the family asks that you please call this number
845-kl5-00
hi. This is mari gilbert.
My daughter is missing too,
and if anyone wants to talk to me,
I have a pi who's trying to help.
845-555-3464.
Thanks.
[phone rings]
hello?
Mrs. Gilbert?
Who's this?
I'm maureen's friend. I got your message.
I'm very sorry about your daughter.
Thank you.
I'm sorry about maureen.
She was such a good person.
She loved her kids.
Everything she did, she did for those kids.
So many people loved maureen.
Nothing we could do.
Cops obviously don't care.
You said you found someone who does.
Yeah. Yeah, I think so.
Still, I think it's up to us to figure this out.
I just don't know where to start.
Where do we start?
Sarra, can you come up and give me a hand?
Sarra?
Sarra: Mom, I'm done.
It's ready to go.
Oh, good. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you, honey.
-Ma? -Yeah.
If it were me, would you do this for me?
Of course, I would. How can you even ask that?
I love you both equal. Don't you know that?
Oh honey,
I know I've not always been a good mom,
but I'm trying to make up for it.
I love you both so much.
You're everything to me.
You don't love her more?
No. No, no, no. Of course not.
And that's about it for me.
Well, five cats and a dream.
Megan waterman logged onto craigslist at 12:05
the night she went missing.
Video cameras show her leaving the hotel
where she was staying at 1:30.
She never returned.
And she told me she was raped by a neighbor
when she was six.
She was so beaten down.
Mari: What's going on in suffolk county?
Look, if it wasn't for me, those four women
would've never been found.
Their relatives reported the missing.
The police did nothing.
Why? Because they were escorts.
Does that make them worthless?
-Of course not. -Then why?
What are they doing? What are the police?
What the hell are the police doing?
Hey, give them a break.
I was one of them.
Detective varrone has initiated a search
of the beaches near hackett's house.
They'll find her.
Be patient.
They think she's dead, don't they?
Is that what you think too?
Oh god.
They appear to be the remains of four adult females,
one adult male, and a female child.
The male was dressed in women's clothing.
We're running dna tests, but I can definitely tell you
that none of these six bodies is shannan gilbert.
They were buried long before she disappeared.
Thanks, lucille.
You owe me.
Maureen was missing for over three and a half years.
I told her kids we must never give up hope.
What do I tell her kids now?
How do we have hope now?
Don't even have a body to bury.
They need it for forensics, they told me.
The only thing we have to bury is hope.
-I'm mari gilbert. -Mari.
Was shannan one of the girls found?
Oh, I don't know. I don't know. Nobody's called.
This is-
jillian.
Her friend melissa was found with maureen.
I don't really know what to say except-
there's nothing to say.
-Hi. -Oh god. Did they find-
no, no. I just spoke to the forensic pathologist.
Six new bodies found, none of them were shannan's.
I'm here because I thought I might check out the house
just in case you might've, I don't know, missed something.
Yeah, all right.
She visited weekends, holidays.
She loved her independence,
but she always came back for a home-cooked meal.
We didn't have an easy relationship.
That was one of our better moments.
Mom, I am going out and I will not be home-
sarra honey, say hello to mr. Zinneman.
He's looking into your sister's disappearance.
Hi, sarra.
Sarra, she helped me set up my computer.
I got a computer.
I was afraid I wasn't smart enough to learn
anything like that, but sarra is a whiz.
I have that effect on some people.
No.
She's like that sometimes.
She's schizophrenic.
That's what the doctors say. I don't know.
And my shannan's bipolar.
Both my girls got problems, except sarra,
one of my exes,
when she was younger, fooled with her.
He went to jail, but it's messed her up.
And as for shannan, let's just say...
[door closes]
I failed both of them.
But this is not the way to try to make up for it, mari.
This is my job now, not yours.
I know you don't have a lot of trust in cops,
even ex-cops, but stuff like this
will just mess up your mind.
Trust me, I know.
I lost someone too,
and I was the least-qualified person
to try to find out what happened.
I was too angry to.
Look, just be careful.
Wkl has just learned that five years ago
the bodies of four women were found buried on a beach
in atlantic city.
All four were sex workers and they were all strangled.
Are these four connected to the 10 bodies
recently unearthed on long island?
The two cases are uncomfortably similar
and the fbi is investigating.
We have 10 possible victims at the moment.
The four we initially found on gilgo beach
were sex workers.
So it's likely that the other unidentified bodies,
not including the child,
were also part of that profession.
Now the missing woman, shannan gilbert,
she is also a sex worker, but we don't have any connection
to her and the victims yet.
All the bodies that we were able to autopsy,
they were strangled, and that's the blue pins here.
Now groups of bodies have been buried, basically,
roughly in the same location, 10 on gilgo beach,
and another four on a beach in atlantic city.
Now, we don't have any evidence to prove
that they're connected, but it is possible
that the murderer or murderers are responsible
for all or some of the gilgo beach deaths.
And since jessica taylor, whose head and hands
were found on gilgo beach,
and whose torso was found in manorville
since back in 2003,
I think it's safe to assume
that the killer or killers were in operation
since back then.
That's a lot of information. Any questions?
All right. Well, let's get out there and do our best.
What's all this about?
Fbi delivered a profile to verrone.
What? What did it say?
No surprises. Nothing new.
So they want to be a part of this, huh?
I'd imagine so.
What?
I'm still up for that promotion, right?
Yeah. Why?
Nothing. It's not important.
The food is terrible and the portions are too small.
[laughs]
thanks, herb. I needed this. I did.
Any time.
You know, it's good to get your mind off things
once in a while.
Mari: As if.
Where is?
If you don't mind my asking, whatever happened
between you and shannan's father?
Don't ask.
I couldn't get away fast enough.
How about you? Ever married?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah? Kids?
Yeah, one.
He ran away when he turned 16.
I haven't heard from him since.
Is that the one you-
yeah, yeah.
I told you I left the force
because of the bureaucracy,
and I also had a little breakdown
after he disappeared.
He's why I do what I do.
Hey, you watch out for this one. He's a wild man.
Hey, I've seen you at parties before, right?
Yeah.
What's your name?
Amy.
Amy. Live around here, amy?
Sometimes.
Somebody told me that you're a cop.
Sometimes.
Is that right?
I've always been fascinated with police work.
Oh, yeah, it can be fascinating sometimes.
Come here. Let me tell you all about it.
Come on.
Easy does it.
I'm only showing you this because I know
that you're not going to stop until this guy's caught.
You already owe me one favor.
Now you owe me two.
Of the six bodies that we just discovered on gilgo beach,
I was only able to identify one,
jessica taylor, and that's because parts of her body
were also buried in manorville.
Okay, yeah, so?
So it occurred to me that if she was buried
in two different places, maybe that would be true
for some of the others.
So I started comparing the dna of our unidentified bodies
with cold cases that I dug up from my predecessor's files.
In the year 2000 a woman's body was found in manorville,
and that's just three years before
they found jessica taylor.
We just uncovered her missing head on gilgo beach.
That makes two women whose torsos were buried in manorville
and whose heads were found on gilgo.
Now, I know that doesn't add to the body count,
but I found two other manorville cold cases that do.
Rita tangretti, colleen mcnemey,
both sex workers
were murdered and buried in manorville.
They were strangled just like all the others.
Oh, god.
Yeah.
And it gets worse.
So I was looking through the last pathologist cold cases
to see if I can get any dna matches, right?
Yeah?
Jane doe number seven, who we just found on gilgo,
she's missing her legs.
It turns out they were discovered back in 1996.
Mr. And mrs. Ziff found them on the beach.
That led me to other bodies with similar mos.
2007, 2008,
all women who were strangled and dismembered,
just like the ones we found on gilgo and in manorville,
and the police made no connection.
Now a possible 19 people have been murdered
in a period of 20 years herc,
and we've gotten no traction till now.
19?
Yeah.
I just pray that there aren't any more.
Go long!
What the hell?
Dude, look at this.
[knock on the door]
I just got a call.
They found her, mari.
I'm sorry.
♪ god bless me. ♪
[singing]
james burke.
Do you swear to fulfill the duties
chief of suffolk county police to the best of your ability,
so help you god?
I do.
Congratulations, chief burke.
[all cheer]
honey.
I miss her.
I miss her too.
-Honey. -I can't.
♪ I see the moon ♪
♪ the moon sees me ♪
♪ [singing] ♪
morning, chief.
It'll take me a while to get used to that,
calling you chief.
You wanted to see me?
Yeah, grab a seat here, don.
I got some bad news.
You're going to have to leave the department.
You're going to need to retire.
That's crazy.
I'm not anywhere near retirement.
Well, it's either that or you get demoted back to captain.
Is that what you want?
What are you talking about? Am I being fired?
That is not the word I used.
Is this you, jimmy?
Are you doing this?
Now, don't take this personally, don.
There's three other guys got the same deal.
Why? Why am I being fired?
Because of the budget, tom.
It's always because of the budget. You know that.
Look, I would love to sit around and talk to you about this
but I'm already late for an appointment with the coroner.
So...
Did you find any drugs in shannan gilbert's system?
There wasn't much of a system left.
Why do you ask?
I read the file.
Driver said her and her john took off for about 15 minutes.
He said he wouldn't be surprised if they went to get some drugs.
And you think she oded?
Well, I think she was high and hysterical.
I think it's highly unlikely that she would've ran
right up to a serial killer at 4:00 in the morning
on gilgo beach.
Well, isn't it just as unlikely that a sex worker
fearing for her life suddenly drops dead
on the same beach where we found the bodies
of 10 other sex workers?
And look at this.
-What is that? -It's her hyoid bone.
It's a small bone found in the neck.
It's been fractured.
Meaning?
Meaning she could've been strangled.
Could've been?
Well, yeah, okay, there might be other explanations for this.
But, of the other bodies, we know of at least four
that were strangled with broken hyoid bones.
So, logically, if it's the same killer,
that means all 10 were strangled.
And shannan makes 11.
Maybe. Maybe not.
Hi.
Verrone's been asked to retire. He's off the case.
-What? Why? -He doesn't know.
Is he being fired? What's going on?
Something is going on, and I don't know what.
Could you...
Could you maybe do a favor for me?
There's something I don't want to do alone.
-Tim bitroff? -Yeah?
You're under arrest for the violation
of a protective order.
You can come with us, please.
What's going on?
It's nothing, bro.
Just a bunch of crap.
Let's go.
It's about time. You ready?
Mr. Bitroff, you're being held for violation
of a protective order taken against you.
-She lied. -Sure.
You were read your rights. Do you understand them?
-Hell yeah. -You want a lawyer?
I don't need no lawyer. She lied.
Sure.
May we have permission to get a dna sample?
It's just routine.
Sure.
I got nothing to hide.
Go ahead.
-Amy? -Yeah?
Leanne cavanaugh.
-Here you go. -Oh.
Yeah, hi.
You said you wanted to talk.
Dr. Hackett, dr. Hackett.
[all shouting]
dr. Hackett, did you run a home for wayward girls?
Of course not.
So, you didn't have anything to do
with shannan gilbert's death?
Of course not.
When you called the station, you said you had some information
about a suffolk county detective,
someone with whom you had paid sex.
Yeah.
You want to tell me about it?
I was invited to a party.
I went to this party with a friend
and this guy was introduced to me
as a high-up with the suffolk county police.
Do you recall his name?
Jimmy. Jimmy burke.
Chief of police, james burke?
Yeah.
But he wasn't chief of police then.
Dr. Hackett, did shannan ever come to your house?
No.
As I said before, I never saw her.
Now please, no more questions.
[all shouting]
some of your neighbors on oak beach-
no, no. This is enough.
Now please, I'm asking you politely,
no more questions.
Where was this party?
Oak beach.
Were there other law enforcement officers present?
Well, I would imagine so but I can't say for sure.
Were there other escorts at the party?
Oh yeah.
Drugs?
Yeah, but I wasn't on coke,
just a whole lot of booze.
I was fairly intoxicated.
And...
What happened?
According to mari gilbert, you gave shannan medication.
Absolutely not.
I have no idea how that woman got that kind of information.
I never gave shannan drugs.
And then he took me into the bathroom.
We started to engage in sexual behavior.
He was frustrated
because he couldn't consummate the act.
He started to get really aggressive
and he told me I was not a good whore.
He grabbed me aggressively by the hair
while he was inside of me choking me.
I remember tears but not tears from crying,
tears from how aggressive he was.
He still couldn't reach ejaculation,
so I guess he kind of just gave up,
threw money at me.
This was my first time getting paid for sex.
You got to understand,
we put ourselves at risk.
And when the cops treat us like crap,
it just goes to prove that the whole world is against us.
We're throwaways.
Not to me.
See you later.
Where were you?
I was on a date, I told you that.
No, no, no, no.
Please, sarra, don't be like shannan.
I don't want you dating like shannan.
I'm not dating like shannan.
Stop comparing us.
And, for god's sake, stop drinking.
You're pathetic.
No, I'm not. [mumbles]
I miss her.
I'm not comparing you.
I know you're not her.
And I'm sorry for what happened to you,
to both of you.
I'm, I'm... Oh!
Oh!
Okay, yeah.
[knock on the door]
-hi. -Hi.
-You going out? -No.
But you're all dressed up.
No, sometimes a girl just likes to look nice.
Come on in.
You said you wanted to see me.
Yeah, I...
I want to talk to you about shannan.
Mari, I'm not convinced
that shannan was murdered.
What?
Shannan was contacted by her john
in a totally different way than the others were.
He didn't try to hide his cell number or his address.
In fact, none of the men she was with,
the john, the driver, the neighbor,
none of them is a serious suspect.
There has to be somebody. There's got to be somebody.
I don't think so.
If shannan was murdered, she met her killer by chance.
I don't believe that's likely.
I think she drowned.
The area they found her body in was very marshy.
She was probably on drugs.
Oh jesus, no. She was hysterical.
She passed out or collapsed
and fell into shallow water.
No, no, that is not possible.
I read the forensic pathologist's report.
Shannan was found face up.
How could she drown if she was face up?
And they didn't find any drugs in her system.
What they found was a bone in her throat
that was broken.
Shannan was strangled.
There are animals out there, mari, that feed on the dead.
Foxes, dogs-
whoa.
... That could've turned her body over and broken the bones.
We don't know for certain that she was drug-free.
No.
Because, and I'm sorry to say this,
there wasn't enough left of her for testing.
I spoke to forensics.
Shannan, she dialed 911.
She called 911.
She said, "someone is trying to kill me."
she said, "they're trying to kill me."
they, plural.
Who was she with?
The john.
Maybe her driver, but he was no threat to her.
Do you think her driver's the killer?
I don't know, I don't know.
Everyone she met says the same thing,
she wasn't making sense.
Then why the hell didn't 911 respond?
Because they couldn't trace it.
I found out that much.
The cell towers just bounced it all over the place.
Look mari-
I want to hear that call.
I have a right to listen to that call.
Get me a copy of that call.
I can't. I haven't been granted access.
I am her mother.
Officially, I can't.
Unofficially, I heard it, mari.
There's nothing there.
I want to hear that call.
Are you sure?
Damn it, I want to hear that call.
Operator: County 911, what's your location?
-Help me. Help me. -What's your name?
Shannan, shannan gilbert.
Operator: Okay, shannan. Can you tell me where you are?
-They're trying to kill me. -Shannan, where are you?
[unclear shouting]
shannan: No, you're trying to kill me.
Operator: Who's with you, shannan?
Shannan: No, don't come near me.
Operator: Shannan, are you okay?
[shouting]
operator: Shannan, can you tell me where you are?
Shannan: Help me, please. They're trying to kill me.
Operator: Can you find a safe place to go?
[shouting]
okay, shannan, I need you to calm down.
I'm trying to get help out to you.
Oh god.
Reporter: In the early '90s, a man
by the name of steven reuben,
incarcerated here, was convicted
in the killings of nine female sex workers.
He strangled, dismembered and hid them
much like the current serial killer
with the earliest victims.
Is this killer a reuben copycat?
Are two long island killing sprees a coincidence?
Reuben is currently serving five consecutive life sentences
at culkin correctional.
They said your daughter was killed.
Very sorry to hear that.
Thank you.
No one believes it but me.
You should know.
You killed nine women.
Yep.
Did you kill any of the ones they just found?
No.
I don't take credit for what I didn't do.
I'm not jealous.
He's an amateur compared to me.
But they're not mine.
Do you know who he is?
No, but it shouldn't be too hard to find out.
Why is that?
Well, some of them were found wrapped in burlap, right?
Not a common material except in the job I was working.
-What was that? -Gardening.
Plenty of burlap in that business.
If I wanted to find him, that's where I'd start,
checking on owners and employees
of local nurseries.
Oh my god.
Woman: Wkl news network.
I'd like to speak to a crime reporter
named leanne cavanaugh.
Woman: One moment please.
Leanne: Hi, this is leanne, please leave a message
and I'll get back.
Hi, leanne, ms. Cavanaugh.
My name is mari gilbert.
My daughter shannan was murdered
and this man,
this man committed suicide two days after she was found,
and this detective was fired.
I'm beginning to think there's a coverup.
I'm at 8-4-5-5-5-5-3-4-6-4.
Thank you.
[phone rings]
yeah?
Leanne: This is leanne cavanaugh returning your call.
You said you think there's a cover up?
Son of a...
-Hey. -What?
You guys did a dna swipe on a guy named tim bittrolff.
Yeah. Why?
We just got a relative match on a couple of our murders,
a rita tangredi and a colleen mcnamee.
They were both sex workers who were killed
and buried in manorville in '93 - '94.
We still have dna samples from semen found in their bodies.
-You found a familial match? -Yeah.
It wasn't tim bittrolff, but I would see
if his dad's still around or if he has any brothers?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Leanne: These women, friends, mothers,
grandmothers, sisters all share a sorrow,
and behind that a mystery that the police,
they believe, have ignored.
One senior detective said that it was a consolation
to the general public
that the victims were prostitutes.
Mari, let's start with you.
Your daughter was the last one found.
You think her murder is part of a coverup.
I do.
Excuse me, john bittrolff?
Yeah?
Would you mind coming down the station answering
a few questions regarding your brother timothy?
Man, what's he done now?
Hop in this side.
Two days after shannan was found
the chief detective on the case was fired.
-Do you know why? -No.
The same day, after varrone as fired,
two days after shannan was found,
this guy who owned a nursery committed suicide.
Nurseries carry burlap.
Some of, some of the girls
were wrapped in burlap.
I hear you, but some might say
that's hardly proof of anything.
Oh, well, he was a big mover and shaker in suffolk county.
Are they investigating him?
So has your brother always had a problem
with violence, mr. Bittrolff?
Well, nothing serious.
Buddy has been getting into trouble since he was a kid,
but he's got a good heart,
he just doesn't think about consequences.
Whoa.
And peter hackett, dr. Peter hackett,
the guy who called me right after shannan disappeared,
he used to work for the suffolk county.
It seems to me, everybody knew everybody.
Well, thank you so much for coming down.
Oh, yeah, anything for my little brother.
All right, you're free to go.
An officer will take you anywhere you've got to go.
-Thanks. -Sure.
They've been stalling and avoiding,
ask any of the women here.
Most of the girls found were reported missing years ago.
Why?
What is going on
with the suffolk county police department?
Man: Find something interesting?
I don't think so, pal. Not today, alright?
-Not in my office, alright? -I didn't see anything.
-Let's go! -I didn't see anything!
For years there have been whispers of corruption
in suffolk county law enforcement.
Open it.
Lock it.
What were you doing in my vehicle?
Just looking.
Looking? For what?
Something to sell.
Sex tapes, handcuffs,
boner pills?
Man, you are such a pervert.
[both laugh]
you think that's, you think that's funny, huh?
I'll show you funny.
Still laughing?
Mind your own business!
Please, stop.
Open.
Lock it.
Get back to work.
Morning. Any news?
The best.
John bittrolff was arrested earlier today
in connection with the murder of two women whose bodies
were found in manorville in 1993 and '94.
In addition, we're looking into whether
some of the women who were found on gilgo beach
may be attributable to mr. Bittrolff.
Why?
Why did it take 20 years to catch him?
Wait here.
Turn around.
Open it up.
Want to get high, my friend?
Do you know what a hot shot is?
A lethal dose of heroin.
Your mother would be heartbroken.
No.
Are you going to say anything
about what you saw in that bag?
No.
Are you going to call a lawyer and ruin my day?
No.
You're going to plead guilty to vagrancy
and drug possession?
Yeah.
Yeah, atta boy.
Your mother posted bail.
Get yourself cleaned up, you're going home.
Uncuff him and get him out of here.
I have no idea who's responsible for shannan's death
or the deaths of these poor women.
All I know is attention was not paid
when they went missing.
They were written off because of what they did
to support their loved ones.
Why?
Why did the police do nothing until it was too late?
I don't know if it's directly related
or if it's just a reason for people not to do their job,
but there is corruption here,
and everybody, not just the families,
everybody has a right to demand that it be weeded out.
We should be able to trust our cops.
My daughter was a troubled kid.
Both my girls are troubled,
but that is not a reason
to write anybody off.
These women, these women were were mothers,
and daughters, and sisters and friends.
Not only do they deserve justice,
they deserve the same respect that every woman deserves.
That's what we want for them, justice and respect.
Sarra, you're not making sense.
Oh, I'm not making sense?
-No, you're not. -I'm not making sense?
-Why are you on tv- -you need to calm down.
-Telling people- -sweetheart, stop it.
You calm down!
You're telling people that I'm troubled!
People are going to think that I'm crazy!
-That I'm crazy! -Sarra, stop it.
It's okay.
Honey, honey, it's okay.
It's all right.
Get off!
[knock on the door]
can I come in?
Not a good time.
That's okay.
I want to tell you, mari,
that you're a good woman.
No, I don't think so.
Are you kidding?
Just look at what you've done.
You got this whole investigation started.
You have families who have been looking
for their daughters for years,
you helped them find out what happened
to their loved ones.
You went public with your anger,
you stood your ground in front of powerful men,
the kind that used to take advantage of you.
You stood up to me for god's sake
and you're telling me you ain't a good woman?
You're a good woman.
That's all I want to say.
Hey, morning, tom. What's up?
Don't worry about it, I'll take care of this.
What'd you say? What's going on?
Agent carson, fbi. Chief james burke?
Suffolk county police chief james burke
was arrested today for allegedly violating
the civil rights of a young man
whom he arrested for vagrancy.
The young man's lawyer told the fbi that burke
attacked his client viciously
and threatened his life with an overdose of heroin.
Photos of the young man's wounds and an eyewitness
from the holding cell
reportedly back up the accusations.
Following his arrest and a lenghty trial,
ex district attorney tom spota has just been found guilty
of obstruction, witness tampering
and conspiracy charges in his attempts to cover up
the crimes committed by ex police chief james burke.
We've brought cases against several officials
throughout suffolk county.
There was rampant corruption.
The actions of chief burke and da spota
were only the tip of a very dirty iceberg.
Questions?
I'm better now. I'm doing much better.
I still believe of course that if the cases
of these women had not been ignored,
the person or persons who did this
would have been stopped a long time ago,
my shannan would still be alive.
As for me, I'm...
I'm starting to find,
not closure, but some kind of peace.