Jessica Taylor: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her?

Jessica Taylor was once a young woman who navigated life with hope and ambition. However, her dreams were soon crushed when she suddenly disappeared from Manhattan, New York, in July 2003, leaving her family searching for answers. Her partial remains were discovered in two different parts of Long Island with a stretch of several years in between them. Not only did it leave the community shocked, but it also chilled the investigators, who took about two decades to find a suspect. Netflix’s ‘Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer’ takes everyone through the harrowing crime and the investigation that began following this.

Jessica Taylor Planned to Visit Her Mother on Her Birthday But Never Arrived

Born on June 17, 1983, in Poughkeepsie, New York State, Jessica Taylor arrived as the little bundle of joy in the lives of her father and mother, Elizabeth Baczkiel. Growing up, she was surrounded by the love and support of her mother and brothers and never missed a chance to spend quality time with them. The kindhearted personality also fostered a special bond with her cousins, Jasmine Robinson and Violet Swager. Jessica and Jasmine had spent countless childhood days jumping ropes, dancing, and having fun sleepovers. She was always a vibrant person who never failed to light up the other person’s world with her bright smile. Jessica always maintained her fierce spirit since she never acknowledged any disrespect from anyone.

Jessica’s love for board games, singing, and making other people laugh always made her a person who was fun to be around. She had always loved children and had wanted to have a little one of her own someday. Due to her love for them, she worked as an aide in the inner city with children. However, when she became a teenager, Jessica found herself in different circumstances and ended up leaving her home. The following years had been quite hard for her and led her to work as an escort in Manhattan, New York. However, it did not stop her from being her compassionate self, and she was undoubtedly loved by her family. On July 21, 2003, Jessica called her mother to let her know that she would be visiting her soon for her upcoming birthday.

The call continued for around seven minutes, after which she called a number that was located in Midtown, Manhattan. According to the official reports, it was the last call that Jessica had made on that day. On July 25, when she failed to reach home for her mother’s birthday, her family reported her missing. The next day, a woman who had gone out on a walk with her dog found partial remains of an individual in Manorville’s wooded region. When the officials arrived at the scene, they deduced the killer had reportedly tried to damage a tattoo on the remains to seemingly prevent identification. Later, a DNA test confirmed the identity of the remains as Jessica’s. However, despite much effort, law enforcement was unable to pinpoint any suspect for the murder.

A Fresh Lead After Two Decades Pointed Towards Jessica Taylor’s Alleged Killer

On March 29, 2011, nearly a decade after the discovery of Jessica’s partial remains, the case saw further development during the search for a missing person named Shannan Gilbert along Gilgo Beach in Long Island, New York. It was initially labeled “Jane Doe No. 5.” However, a DNA test determined it belonged to Jessica. Her remains were found with several other victims, which prompted the authorities to launch a wide investigation to find the murderer of “The Gilgo Four.” The investigation of these serial killings took over 12 years to find the suspect, Rex Heuermann, on March 14, 2022. He was charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, and Melissa Barthelemy by January 16, 2024. The investigators had initially not linked Jessica’s murder with the Gilgo serial killings.

However, they reportedly believed that since her remains were found near these victims, there was a connection. The law enforcement began delving deeper, and an old witness account from 2003 reappeared. The witnesses had reportedly stated that they had observed a dark-colored pickup truck in the area the night before Jessica’s partial remains were found. This description matched the car that the alleged killer owned. Jessica was last seen in Midtown, and on that very day, Rex was also present in that particular location. According to an official document, they allegedly found a male hair specimen from a surgical drape underneath Jessica’s initial remains. After DNA testing, the results reportedly came out as a match to Rex Heuermann. Additionally, the police discovered a Microsoft Word document from a hard drive that was present in the suspect’s basement.

The document contained a detailed plan of how he wanted to carry out the murders and what he needed to do after that to destroy the evidence. The document also listed ways in which he could methodically make sure that the victims remain unidentified. Apart from this, the official reportedly mentioned that his family was also out of town during the time of the murder of Jessica Taylor. They believed that this gave the accused enough time to commit the crime. Ultimately, based on multiple pieces of evidence, the officials finally charged him with the murder of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla on June 6, 2024. Following this, the investigations continued, and he was charged with Valerie Mack’s murder on December 17, 2024. At present, Rex Heuermann has continued to plead not guilty for all seven charges of murder since day one.