Official: FBI Examines Pimp's Laptop In Long Island Serial Killer Probe
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The exploration for additional remains and investigation into a possible serial killer on Long Island's Gilgo Beach continued Thursday as search teams pursued the case by air, land and sea.
Crews have uncovered at least 10 sets of human remains along the coastline in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties, including a skull, the bones of a toddler and the remains of four missing prostitutes.
Police believe a serial killer took the lives of those women.
Nassau County Detective Lt. Kevin Smith said investigators were looking at 18 specific sites, but found nothing of "evidentiary value."
In addition, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told the Associated Press that the FBI has searched the laptop of Akeem Cruz. Court documents identified Cruz as a pimp, who posted ads online.
That official told the AP that Cruz was not a suspect in the prostitutes' disappearance, but was last seen with Megan Waterman at a Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge last June. Waterman was one of four dead prostitutes found along Ocean Parkway last December.
Cruz' attorney, Robert Napolitano, didn't immediately return a telephone message on Wednesday. He said earlier this week that his client -- currently imprisoned in Maine for a cocaine conviction -- would have granted permission for a search of his computer. Napolitano said his client has cooperated with investigators.
Former Nassau County prosecutor Bruce Barket told CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan about how the most recent discoveries -- that included a human head and bones - have thrown a curveball at investigators.
"The difficulty, of course, if now that we have six other remains, apparently of dramatically different ages...and perhaps different genders," said Barket, who believes two or more killers may have involved.
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The FBI flew in aircraft from Virginia with high-resolution imaging equipment. The technology has the ability to verify or rule out suspicious objects and pinpoint evidence from thousands of feet away.
The planes have finished their work for the day and the photo scans are expected to take about 10 days to process. Officials said that anything deemed suspicious in those scans will checked by officers on foot.
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"The Aviation Bureau has identified a significant number of items that are not natural to that area," said Nassau County Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter.
Police said the items were found at Tobay Beach in Nassau county and they did not yet know if they were human remains.
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"It's unknown at this time. That's what were doing here today. We're going to clarify what those items are. What they are not are natural," said Krumpter.
"Collectively we hope to find the resources and find evidence here that will lead us to the apprehension of whoever committed these murders," said Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano.
About six New York State police officers were also assisting in the ground search Thursday.
"We have information that was shared with us by Suffolk Ccounty. When they find something, a different piece of information, we extend down here into Nassau County and we look at the same areas they're looking at," said Capt. Louis Webber of the New York State Police.
Law enforcement sources told CBS News there may be two patterns and two killers, perhaps separating the first four and last six sets of remains.
The first remains found Monday morning were about 1.5 miles east of the entrance to Jones Beach on Long Island. Later in the day, a skull was found several miles away.
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"I'm not going to get into names for obvious reasons but we are doing a lot of interviews," said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer.
Investigators told CBS 2 about the profile they're developing of a potential suspect. He is believed to be a white male between the ages of 25 and 40, intelligent, savvy and street smart.
Divers also returned to Hemlock Cove Thursday, where they worked in pairs along a grid between Oak and Gilgo beaches. the scuba teams searching for any evidence.
Their hours-long, grid-by-grid search for more remains and for Shannan Gilbert, whose disappearance first sparked the investigation, turned up empty on Wednesday.
Do you think there are multiple killers responsible for the bodies dumped by Long Island beaches? Leave a comment below.
