This story was reported by Akiya Dillon, Anthony M. DeStefano and Michael O'Keeffe . It was written by O'Keeffe.
Jessica Taylor was allegedly killed by Gilgo Beach serial killing suspect Rex A. Heuermann more than 20 years ago, but her family says their memories of a young woman who loved to sing, play board games and make people laugh remain fresh in their hearts. The crushing pain sparked by the Poughkeepsie resident’s 2003 disappearance and death remains fresh in their hearts, too, her relatives said Thursday in Riverhead after Heuermann was charged with second-degree murder in the deaths of Taylor and Sandra Costilla of New York.
Taylor was 20 years old when she died. “Jessica, my darling daughter, you will never be forgotten,” Taylor’s grieving mother, Elizabeth Baczkiel, said in a statement read by attorney Gloria Allred at a news conference after Heuermann’s arraignment on the new charges. “You will always be missed.
You will forever be in our hearts.” Elizabeth Baczkiel, mother of Gilgo Beach victim Jessica Taylor, enters a news conference in Riverhead on Thursday. Credit: Morgan Campbell Heuermann, 60, of Massapequa Park, pleaded not guilty before State Supreme Court Justice Timotfhy Mazzei for the July 2003 dismemberment death of Taylor and the November 1993 slaying of Costilla.
Investigators also believe Heuermann is a suspect in the killing of Gilgo Beach victim Valerie Mack, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said for the first time on Thu.
