Identifying 'Jane Does': Suffolk DA asks for public's help in naming victims of serial killers with new renderings

Suffolk officials have asked the public to help crack a pair of cold cases — killings in which the victims have been long unidentified — as they marked National Missing Persons Day Tuesday.

They are asking Long Islanders to review updated renderings of two Jane Does, one from Bellport and the other Medford, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a Tuesday news release. The district attorney’s Cold Case Task Force hopes that by providing the public with new information about the case, they can generate new leads and learn the women’s identities.

“We are asking the public to take a moment to read the information available and to look at these new renderings of the victims,” Tierney said. “We believe someone must know something. No tip is too small. Even a minor detail could help bring answers to families who have been waiting for far too long.”

The Medford Jane Doe, a victim of serial killer Robert Shulman, was found dismembered “inside a blue Rubbermaid garbage can” on Dec. 7, 1994, according to the district attorney’s office. The white woman was between 20 and 30 years old, about 5 feet and 1 inches tall and 135 pounds. Her shoulder bore a heart-shaped tattoo draped with the name “ADRIAN.” Her genealogy indicated she was Caucasian with Western European ancestry mostly attributable to the three counties that comprise Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales.

Shulman was convicted of killing five women, two of them unidentified. He was sentenced to death, but that was overturned by a 2004 Court of Appeals ruling. He was resentenced to life without parole and died in prison at 52 in 2006. 

On Tuesday, the district attorney’s Cold Case Task Force released two visual representations “of how the victim likely appeared prior to her death,” the release said. In addition to an updated composite sketch, the office unveiled a three-dimensional clay reconstruction of her face. The task force also released a composite sketch of the victim’s tattoo.

The Jane Doe from Bellport was murdered by Arthur Kinlaw, the landlord of her Michigan Avenue residence in 1983, according to Tierney’s office. Kinlaw was convicted of killing three women, two from Long Island and one from the Bronx.

People know the Black or Hispanic woman, approximately 300 pounds, as “Maria” or “Marie.” She relied on a walker for mobility and had shattered her femur ahead of her death. Investigators released an updated composite sketch of how she likely looked before she died.

The public is asked to visit SuffolkCountyDA.org/cold-cases to review additional images and information related to these Jane Doe investigations and other cold cases. Any tips will remain confidential.