Credit: Nassau County PD
Long suspected to be victims of the Gilgo Beach serial killer, law enforcement has successfully identified the remains of a mother and her child murdered in Nassau County, New York in 1997.
“Peaches,” as she came to be called due to her tattoo, has been identified as 26-year-old Tanya Denise Jackson, a U.S. Army veteran living in Brooklyn at the time of her murder. Her daughter, Tatiana Marie Dykes, was also identified. Tatiana was born on March 17, 1995, making her approximately 2 years old when she was murdered.
“The reality is our work has just begun,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “Knowing the identifies of the mom and little baby is just a first step to help us solve their murders.”
In fact, there have been a lot of steps in this particular murder case, with more and more being discovered as time went on until finally the names of the victims were uncovered in early 2024, despite not being released to the public until last week.
Remains found
The bodies of Tanya and Tatiana were found 14 years apart.
In June 1997, the torso of a then-unidentified woman was found inside a container in the woods at Hempstead Lake State Park in Nassau County. Her remains were in a plastic tub covered by plastic garbage bags, and she was found with a maroon towel and a dark floral pillowcase. Her head, both arms, and both legs (below the knee) were severed, but were not found with the torso. On her left breast, she had a tattoo depicting a heart-shaped peach with a bite taken out of it and two drops falling from its core—which resulted in the nickname “Peaches.”
In April 2011, during a search for Shannan Gilbert— who had gone missing in 2010 and is now a confirmed Gilgo Beach serial killer victim—police recovered the extremities of a woman dubbed “Jane Doe 3” along with an unidentified toddler near Ocean Parkway on Long Island in Suffolk County, New York.
Four years later, in 2015, DNA testing linked the extremities originally identified as Jane Doe 3 as belonging to Peaches, and revealed Peaches as the mother of the unidentified toddler.
In 2020, the FBI joined the case. Nassau Police gave DNA samples to the FBI, who turned some over to Othram for DNA testing.
“Previous attempts at building DNA profiles from the remains had failed, but Othram scientists were able to refactor the existing data for the unknown woman to build a usable comprehensive genealogical profile,” explained Dan Miller, director of customer service at Othram.
After successfully completing the testing process for both mother and baby, the DNA profiles were delivered to the FBI's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team. By 2022, the FBI came up with a list of possible relatives. The team took DNA samples from those of interest and were ultimately able to confirm Tanya and Tatiana’s identifies in early 2024. Law enforcement announced their identifies publicly for the first time April 23, 2025.
Gilgo connection
Due to the timing of the murders and where the bodies were found, Tanya and Tatiana have always been suspected to be victims of the Gilgo Beach serial killer. Suspect Rex Heuermann was arrested in July 2023 and charged with the murder of three women, while being suspected of more.
However, Stephen Fitzpatrick, a Nassau County Police homicide detective, is hesitant to make the connection.
“Although Tanya and Tatiana have commonly been linked to the Gilgo Beach serial killings—because of the timing and locations of their recovered remains—we are not discounting the possibility that their cases are unrelated from that investigation,” Fitzpatrick said.
It’s worth noting that the Gilgo Beach serial killer primarily targeted 20-something females who advertised their sex work on Craigslist. It is believed that Tanya was a medical assistant at a doctor’s office at the time of her murder.
Information wanted
During a press conference last week announcing the identities of Tanya and Tatiana, law enforcement officials pleaded with the public for information. Donnelly asked anyone who may have known Tanya to contact law enforcement. Crime Stoppers is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
“Every little thing we can find out about her leading up to her death will help us to solve this horrific crime. We want to find out more about who they were and where they were coming from,” the DA said.
While Tanya and Tatiana lived in Brooklyn at the time of their murders, Tanya honorably served the U.S. Army from 1993 to 1995. Her work with the Army took her to Georgia, Texas and Missouri. Donnelly asked anyone who served with Tanya in the miliary to come forward with information.
Police have identified and spoken to the father of Tatiana, but he did not have a relationship with Tanya or his daughter.
“This announcement highlights law enforcement partnerships at their finest. Investigators who were unwilling to yield and accept what may have seemed like a dead end, but instead sought new avenues to find answers,” said FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raya during the press conference.
Donnelly agreed.
“We stand here together. If it wasn’t for our partners, we never would have gotten to this moment,” she said. “We will never give up. We will follow every lead, we will pull at every thread until we can get justice for this mother and this child.”
The investigation involved the Nassau County Police, Suffolk County Police, Nassau County DA’s Office, Othram and the FBI.