Suspected killer Andrew Dykes had 'nothing to do' with death of Gilgo Beach victim once known as 'Peaches,' attorney says

The attorney for the Florida man accused of killing the dismembered Gilgo Beach victim once known as "Peaches" insisted Friday that his client is not guilty after a Nassau County judge approved his request to add a second lawyer to the defense team.

Joseph Lo Piccolo, the Garden City attorney representing suspect Andrew Dykes, told acting Supreme Court Justice Tammy S. Robbins that he needed assistance with legal research, filing motions and trial preparations. Nassau prosecutors did not object to the request.

Dykes, a former Tennessee state trooper, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder before Robbins on Dec. 18. Prosecutors contend Dykes murdered and dismembered Tanya Denise Jackson, 26, a Gulf War veteran who had given birth to his child and was living with him in Brooklyn while he was stationed at Fort Hamilton Army Base.

"Mr. Dykes is innocent. Mr. Dykes is going to defend this case fully. Mr. Dykes did not cause the death of Ms. Jackson," Lo Piccolo said after Robbins approved his request to add attorney Robert Schalk to Dykes’ defense team. "It is a tragedy for sure, but he has nothing to do with it."

Investigators linked Dykes to Jackson’s killing by obtaining DNA from a straw and a cup he tossed into the trash of a Tampa cheesesteak shop, prosecutors said last month. That DNA matched that from a vaginal swab of Jackson.

"My understanding is that his DNA matches DNA found within Ms. Jackson. That establishes that they may have hade sexual relations sometime prior to her death," Lo Piccolo said. "That doesn’t establish that he killed her."

Multiple law enforcement agencies have collected evidence while investigating the 29-year-old cold case, he added, prompting his request for a second attorney.

"There’s been a lot of work done between the district attorney’s office, the police department, other law enforcement agencies, locally, nationally," Lo Piccolo told reporters after the hearing. "That is a lot of work that we have to review, so we asked that a second attorney be assigned to assist with that."

Investigators said Jackson and the couple’s 2-year-old child, Tatiana Marie Dykes, were killed on June 28, 1997. The mother’s remains were found three days after her death. The toddler’s body was placed in a rubber container and dumped near Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach. Her remains were found 14 years later, in April 2011, along with some of Jackson’s body parts.

Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly and Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said last month that Dykes is a suspect in the slaying of the couple’s daughter, though he has not been charged in the toddler's death.

Law enforcement officials believed Jackson was the victim of the Long Island serial killer and identified her as Jane Doe No. 3, or "Peaches" for a tattoo on her body; but DNA evidence collected by investigators has eliminated that theory.

Massapequa Park architect Rex A. Heuermann, 62, has pleaded not guilty to first- and second-degree murder charges connected to the deaths of seven women, including six found near Gilgo Beach. His case is pending in Suffolk County.

The identities of the mother and child were unknown until 2023, when authorities said they used genetic genealogy and Tatiana’s birth certificate to link Dykes to the death of Jackson and the girl.

Prosecutors said Dykes and Jackson met while they were serving in the U.S. Army in San Antonio, Texas. Jackson wanted to pursue a relationship with Dykes after the birth of Tatiana. Dykes, who was married and had other children, rebuffed her and then killed her, prosecutors said.

Dykes acknowledged he was Tatiana’s father in interviews with investigators but denied any involvement in the killings. Donnelly said last month that Dykes’ story "didn’t add up" and investigators began surveillance operations in October 2024.

Investigators trailed Dykes from his home in Ruskin, Florida, to a Charleys Cheesesteaks in Tampa, prosecutors said last month. They retrieved a cup and straw from a drink he threw away and were able to get enough DNA to match with the swab from Jackson through testing.