Sons Of Long Island Slaying Victim, Karen Vergata, Get Her Ashes Back: Report

LONG ISLAND, NY — The sons of slaying victim, Karen Vergata, whose remains were found on Fire Island and at Tobay Beach, have got her cremated ashes back, according to a report in Newsday.

The legs and feet of Vergata, who grew up in Glen Cove, were found by a pair of brothers walking the beach about a mile west of Davis Park Beach on Fire Island in April 1996, Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said back in August.

Vergata went missing in February 1996.

At the time, she lived on West 45th Street in Manhattan, and was believed to be working as an escort when she disappeared.

A missing person's report was not filed at the time of her disappearance. The skull of Vergata, 34, was found 15 years later in 2011 at Tobay Beach in Nassau County, Tierney said.

Her remains were found the same day as those of Jessica Taylor at Gilgo Beach.

Gilgo Beach Task Force members matched Vergata’s remains and identified her using genealogical DNA, according to Tierney.

Tierney also reportedly declined to comment on any suspects that have been developed, and labeled the investigation into Vergata's death a confidential investigation.

“I think it's important that we remember and honor not only Miss Vergata, but all the victims on Gilgo Beach,” he said.

She remained “Jane Doe,” a law enforcement term for an unidentified or anonymous person. Over the years, she has been called the “Fire Island Jane Doe” and “Davis Park Jane Doe.”

In October, Gilgo Beach victim advocate, attorney John Ray, said a witness had come forward to say they believe they encountered Vergata in the late 1990s.

The woman told Ray she and her boyfriend, a New York City police narcotics detective, went to a swingers' club in New York City and found a phone number in the bathroom for a swingers' home in Massapequa Park. On the way to Long Island, the couple picked up a sex worker in New York and having just been released from jail, she was hungry and disheveled, Ray said.

The three went to Heuermann's house, and when the couple left, they saw the other woman still inside, according to Ray. The woman, who signed an affidavit, told Ray she was concerned about leaving the woman behind, even more so when she saw her running out naked, but her boyfriend told her not to worry that they were just playing a game, and they drove away.

The woman saw photos of Heuermann and Vergata on the news years later and recognized them from that night, Ray said.

Heuermann has not been charged in connection with Vergata's death.

He is being held at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility pending murder charges in connection with the Gilgo Four.

This story will be updated. Check back later.