Berliner Tageblatt - Authorities to identify Montauk Mary and five other Long Island cold-case victims

A woman gunned down along a Montauk highway almost 50 years ago and five other Long Island cold case victims will finally have their identities revealed Thursday, authorities said. The victims, including "Montauk Mary," had their IDs confirmed thanks to cutting-edge DNA used by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Cold Case Task Force ID, officials said.

"Mary’s" identity has long remained a mystery since she was found shot four times – once in the chest and three times in the leg – in East Overlook Park off Montauk Highway in 1978, according to cops. The woman was found face up — hours after she had been torturously killed — wearing a tweed coat over a colorful dress, police said.

Investigators were able to determine some basic facts, estimating her to be in her 60s, about 5 feet tall, and weighing around 200 pounds. A sketch based on her probable likeness was also created by authorities last year, but her identity remained a mystery until the genetic testing cracked the case.

Officials said that besides "Mary," identities of victims from Deer Park, Riverhead, Montauk, Great River and Fire Inlet cold cases will also be announced. The oldest of them dates back to 1976, according to authorities.

The DNA testing is the same technology used to finally nab Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann. And it also helped investigators solve decades-old cases, including an indictment of Michelle Chronick Tyson, 59, who allegedly drowned her baby in 1993.

J.Horn--BTB