For nearly 48 hours, speculation swirled among locals and the true crime community after human remains were found in a wooded area within a 30-minute drive from the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer’s home.
But New York State Police told Fox News Digital Wednesday evening that the body found in Sunken Meadow State Park on Long Island has been identified as 20-year-old Yoneli Abimael Ramos Moreno.
His death has been ruled a homicide, and state police said there’s no connection between Moreno’s murder, which was recent, and Rex Heuermann, who has been held in jail since his arrest in July.
Moreno’s body was found shortly before 1 p.m. Monday in a wooded area of the state park in Smithtown on Long Island, which is about 24 miles north of Heuermann‘s home in Massapequa Park.
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Rex A. Heuermann, the architect accused of murdering at least three women near Long Island’s Gilgo Beach, appears before Judge Timothy P. Mazzei in Suffolk County Court on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Riverhead, N.Y. (James Carbone/Newsday via AP, Pool)
The proximity of the gruesome discovery kick-started the rumor mill, but the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s office and law enforcement quickly identified the victim and ruled out Heuermann, state police said.
The victim’s last known address is Brentwood, New York. His body was found by parkgoers off a trail at the eastern end of Sunken Meadow State Park, which is along Long Island’s north shore, state police said.
The 1,287-acre state park includes a 27-hole golf course and driving range, as well as a mix of beaches, hiking trails, recreation areas and spots for biking, horseback riding and watersports.
Yoneli Abimael Ramos Moreno, 20, was found dead along Long Island’s north shore in Sunken Meadow State Park, according to New York State Police. (New York State Police)
Yoneli Abimael Ramos Moreno, 20, was found dead along Long Island’s north shore in Sunken Meadow State Park, according to New York State Police. (New York State Police)
Meanwhile, Gilgo Beach, which is where Heuermann’s alleged victims – among other homicide victims – were found between December 2010 and April 2011.
Gilgo Beach runs along Long Island’s south shore, and nearly all the victims were female sex workers.
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There’s an ongoing homicide investigation to find Moreno’s killer.
Law enforcement asked anyone with information about Moreno’s death to call (631) 756-3300.
Sunken Meadow State Park on Long Island, New York, where human remains were found this week, is about a 30-minute drive from suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann’s home. (Google Maps)
Latest in the Gilgo Beach serial killer case
Meanwhile, the criminal case against Heuermann continues to inch its way through the judicial system.
Heuermann is accused of being the Gilgo Beach serial killer and charged with three of the “Gilgo Beach 4” murders, which include Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Amber Lynn Costello, 22, Megan Waterman, 27, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25.
To date, he hasn’t been charged in Barthelemy’s death, but law enforcement and prosecutors have said he’s the prime suspect.
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There are at least six other victims’ remains found in varying stages of decomposition in the area of Gilgo Beach, along Long Island’s south shore, between December 2010 and April 2011.
Heuermann hasn’t been connected to any of the other victims to date, which has fueled theories of a second serial killer – dubbed the “Manorville Butcher” – hunting on Long Island at the same time.
