Atlantic County, NJ killings do not appear to be connected to Gilgo Beach murders: Prosecutor
Authorities had been looking into whether there was a connection after the arrest of Rex Heuermann last month.
EGG HARBOR TWP., New Jersey (WPVI) -- The Atlantic County, New Jersey prosecutor says there does not appear to be a connection between the murders of four women in Egg Harbor Township in 2006 and the killings of several women on New York's Long Island.
Authorities had been looking into whether there was a connection to the Gilgo Beach murders after the arrest of a suspect, 59-year-old Rex Heuermann, last month.
The two sets of homicides involved sex workers whose bodies were dumped in remote, overgrown areas not far from the ocean.
Prosecutor William Reynolds said Tuesday the determination came after a meeting between detectives from both Atlantic County and Suffolk County, New York.
"At this point in time, after ACPO detectives recently met with Suffolk County detectives to compare timelines, dates, methodologies, etc. of both cases, there does not seem to be a connection between the suspect in the Gilgo Beach case and the Atlantic County homicides," Reynolds said in a statement on Tuesday.
Reynolds said the Egg Harbor Township case remains an open investigation.
Four women were found dead in a watery ditch behind the Golden Key Motel in Egg Harbor Township. All four were sex workers. They were identified as 42-year-old Barbara Breidor, 20-year-old Molly Jean Dilts, 35-year-old Kim Raffo and 23-year-old Tracy Ann Roberts.
No suspects have been identified.
"Authorities will continue to follow all leads until the perpetrator of those crimes is brought to justice," Reynolds said.
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Heuermann is charged with killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello, who disappeared over five months in 2010.
Prosecutors also say he's also suspected in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who vanished in 2007.
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was ordered jailed without the possibility of bail in his first court appearance in mid-July.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
