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I would bet that a closer watch is being kept on Brewer than the public knows about. I find it to be a curious coincidence that the house he was renting is now up for sale and the PD did another search of the beach shortly after.
Could they be looking for anything Brewer might have disposed since the last search?
the counter to that is that you rarely see troopers on Ocean Parkway, especially in the evening hours. Additionally, you can always say you're coming from Long Beach and heading to eastern LI or vice versa.
I've thought of that but:
1. State troopers regularly (until the recent budget battles) set up speed traps on Ocean Parkway, usually parking at the entrance to Cedar Beach. I've seen them at least a half dozen times the last few years when heading to Captree from Wantagh.
2. Long Beach may generate some late night activity but is that really "traffic?" That is probably who the staties are looking at for DWI and speeding. I've taken that route in the early AM (wee hours) to captree to fish and really, traffic is non-existant but for the occasional surf fisherman or park employee.
Hmmm, maybe a surf fisherman...hadn't thought of that.
I've thought of that but:
1. State troopers regularly (until the recent budget battles) set up speed traps on Ocean Parkway, usually parking at the entrance to Cedar Beach. I've seen them at least a half dozen times the last few years when heading to Captree from Wantagh.
2. Long Beach may generate some late night activity but is that really "traffic?" That is probably who the staties are looking at for DWI and speeding. I've taken that route in the early AM (wee hours) to captree to fish and really, traffic is non-existant but for the occasional surf fisherman or park employee.
Hmmm, maybe a surf fisherman...hadn't thought of that.
Hubby was on Ocean last year about 2-3 AM on the way home from Lido Beach. He said it was damp/foggy, and desolate. One set of headlights came up from behind him out of nowhere, passed him, and was gone in a flash. Otherwise no other cars. Even the State Troopers don't want to be down there that late LOL
Going back years ago when I would surfcast at Democrat/Sore Thumb the only checkpoints or traps I ever noticed involved OBI. If you had your gear on the truck, rod holders, coolers, etc., you really had to be swerving to be pulled over. Once OBI closed, I noticed far fewer stops in the off season.
I saw 1.5 hours of the show (and fell asleep because I was so tired, but I DVR'd it also). I agree with all the points of the OP that they tried to make LI seem sinister, visually and otherwise. When they interviewed Shannan Gilbert's mom she made comments about LI being "a nice place to be near the city or have a beach house, but a cold place" (meaning the residents, not the weather). Also when they interviewed the roommate of Amber Costello, in between his annoying "you knows" he opined how "nobody thinks of the suburbs as a place this happens" blah blah blah "how dark the suburbs really are," etc. Then they also brought up Robert Shulman and Joel Rifkin, who both committed their crimes in the late '80s to mid '90s ... as if to say this is a regular occurrence on LI and we have plenty of serial killers. Meanwhile, they did not bring up the immense population of LI as compared to other metro areas around the country (a few areas who probably do produce a high percentage of serial killers, while LI does not) and made LI look rather small town instead. I agree the theme was to make LI itself look as bad as possible.
I also did not like how they portrayed Amber Costello as having the hometown of Babylon. She was NOT from Babylon. She was from North Carolina and only moved to Babylon to be a hooker like her sister, who was interviewed (and had a thick southern accent). They should have put her hometown as wherever it was in North Carolina. She was a transient like the other victims. The only difference was none of them relocated to LI like she did. But of course the show pounced on the opportunity to falsely portray Babylon as her hometown. I notice how they used "Buffalo NY" as the hometown of the girl who had moved to the Bronx to at first become a hairdresser. Why did they use her real hometown instead of Bronx, NY then if they had to call Babylon Amber Costello's hometown?
As for the SCPD, yeah they tried to make it look podunk, but they did have a segment where they concentrated on how the SCPD did the searches that found all those bodies ... and the work of the SCPD was quite comprehensive in a very difficult environment to search. They had to give the SCPD credit for that. However, it is extremely unfortunate that the SCPD did not do a comprehensive search for Shannan Gilbert on the night she disappeared. Even one of the witnesses (the old man whose house Shannan knocked at that night asking for help) was annoyed saying the detectives waited until August (she disappeared in May) to interview him. (Of course, if not for the canine finding bodies, one of which they thought might be Shannan, the detectives probably would never have interviewed him about Shannan Gilbert.)
I think Shannan Gilbert is the key to it all and I think SCPD should have scoured every single house and reviewed every single occupant in the GATED community of Oak Beach (3 miles away from where the first bodies were found) where she disappeared within its GATES in a 20 minute span. Come on, SCPD, she was on foot ... she was seen within those twenty minutes by 3 people (the john, her driver, and the old man on whose door she knocked asking for help). The old man called 911 immediately. Shannan herself called 911. The police get there 20 minutes later and she's GONE. Poof. Vanished. Her driver, Pak, was a suspicious kind of guy, I agree, but he was there when the police arrived and Shannan was not. So I don't think he did it ... he had nowhere to hide her from the cops for the time being and he had no motive. She and he made money together. I don't think the john did it, because you know the cops must have searched his home top to bottom. I thought the SCPD cleared him as a suspect. I don't think they make those kind of public pronouncements unless they are sure.
My opinion is that SOMEBODY who lived in one of those houses within the gated community of Oak Beach is the serial killer and grabbed Shannan when she was wandering around looking for help. It was either a very unfortunate coincidence or maybe he was a friend/acquaintance of the john and knew the john was ordering a hooker that night and was lurking around, curious. Then when time came to get rid of her body he chose a place far away from his usual dumping ground because he was afraid of the police finding her nearby. Little did he know, that somebody training with a cadaver dog would find some of the other bodies a few months later. Otherwise, HOW could a young woman with no car disappear out of that remote, gated community so thoroughly in only 20 minutes and never be seen or heard from again? It has to be somebody in Oak Beach.
They also mentioned that the police interviewed Joel Rifkin as an "expert" and Rifkin said that the person was a local and worked with burlap bags (bodies were found wrapped in them) ... maybe a fisherman or a landscaper.
In case you didn't see it, here is an interesting NY Times article:
He is most likely a white male in his mid-20s to mid-40s. He is married or has a girlfriend. He is well educated and well spoken. He is financially secure, has a job and owns an expensive car or truck.
I really hope they catch this SOB soon!
Last edited by I_Love_LI_but; 12-06-2011 at 11:40 AM..
Hey good points. I was reading online and the AE special made NO mention of Dr. "Hackett" (funny name)
anyways there were some odd circumstances surrounding him...
I just don't understand if she called 911 and said 'they are trying to kill me'
and she disappears, but then 10 bodies end up within a 2 mile distance...mostly if not all involved in the trade and if shannan was involved herself...it seems that joseph brewer is very obviously involved in the others does it not?
but you make really good points...it would seem that probably the LISK does live in this area..another idea is that perhaps this fella does not even live on LI but somewhere else like the city, and just knows the island well...?
Hey good points. I was reading online and the AE special made NO mention of Dr. "Hackett" (funny name)
anyways there were some odd circumstances surrounding him...
I just don't understand if she called 911 and said 'they are trying to kill me'
and she disappears, but then 10 bodies end up within a 2 mile distance...mostly if not all involved in the trade and if shannan was involved herself...it seems that joseph brewer is very obviously involved in the others does it not?
but you make really good points...it would seem that probably the LISK does live in this area..another idea is that perhaps this fella does not even live on LI but somewhere else like the city, and just knows the island well...?
Good catch! "THEY are trying to kill me!" So maybe Brewer had another guy in his house with him (LISK) for fun and games and they got rough. The driver didn't go in; he was waiting and sleeping in the car, so the driver doesn't know about the other guy. Shannan got upset. Brewer comes out to get the driver and says, "Take her out of here!" Driver goes to get Shannan and she runs away. If there was another man with Brewer, perhaps he snuck out the back way so the driver didn't see him and goes after Shannan and grabs her ... puts her in a car and takes her away or hides her in another house (if he too lives in a house in the gated community). Meanwhile, the police only know about Brewer and his house doesn't show any evidence of Shannan being killed or hidden inside it.
"He is most likely a white male in his mid-20s to mid-40s. He is married or has a girlfriend. He is well educated and well spoken. He is financially secure, has a job and owns an expensive car or truck. "
My psychic profile of the unsub is very close to what they describe in the article above, except I believe that he is a man over 40.
He fits in, he is approachable, is not "weird" on the surface, and does not draw attention to himself. I believe he acts alone. The connection to craigslist is a mystery to me. But I believe that he does not make any of the original contacts. Possibly, he socializes with the local clients of the prostitutes (or indirectly knows of their habits) and gets a sense when a potential victim arrives to the region and where.
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is very close to what they describe in the article above, except I believe that he is a man over 40.
