Long Island Serial Killer Update

Here’s the deeply depressing, and depressingly unsurprisingly verdict: two of the unidentified victims found on Gilgo Beach were likely working as prostitutes. One was an Asian male whose body was found in women’s clothing. He’s the only man among the ten bodies uncovered thus far. (Edit: Dacia has pointed out that the victim may have identified as a trans woman.) The five identified victims were all escorts.

Police are encouraging those working in the local escort industry to contact them with information, offering the less-than-reassuring clarification that “we are not interested in their occupation.” But that’s far from the explicit promise of amnesty that sex worker rights organizations have urged. While Suffolk County police commissioner Richard Dormer emphasizes the careful, extensive work required to solve these cases, the department as a whole apparently doesn’t value the sex worker community’s information enough to take the necessary step to invite their full involvement—and sex worker insights and experiences could be the key to finding those responsible for the murders.

You can still call or email Suffolk County officials to pressure them for sex worker amnesty. Details here.