FL Man Arrested In Possible Connection With Murder Of Woman Once Tied To Gilgo Beach Killings: Reports

LONG ISLAND, NY — A Florida man has reportedly been arrested and charged with the murder of a woman long-associated with the Gilgo Beach deaths, according to news outlets.

Newsday, citing sources and court records, first reported that Andrew Dykes, 66, of Tampa was indicted on a murder charge related to the death of Tanya Denise Jackson, known as "Peaches," in Nassau County.

According to ABC News, Dykes, was arrested Wednesday near Tampa on a warrant out of Nassau County in connection with the 1997 death of Jackson; ABC cited law enforcement sources with that information.

WFLA in Florida reported that Dykes appeared in front of a Hillsborough County judge and said no other details about the crime were available from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Dykes was arrested at his home on Glenn Cross Drive in Ruskin, the outlet said.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly declined comment, her spokesperson said. Nassau County Police did not respond to a request for comment. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney did not respond to a request for comment.

In April, after years of questions as the Gilgo Beach investigation unfolded, Nassau County police announced the identity of 1997 homicide victims known as Jane Doe No. 3, or "Peaches," and her toddler, known as "Baby Doe."

The woman was identified as Tanya Denise Jackson, who was 26 at the time of her slaying, and her young child was named Tatiana Marie Dykes, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said at a news conference.

Newsday reported that Dykes had been identified as the father of the child.

The pair had been considered to be possible Gilgo Beach victims, but officials said they were not discounting the possibility that the slayings may have been committed by someone else.

The torso of the woman, which featured a heart-shaped peach with a bite mark tattooed above her left breast, was found in a green Rubbermaid bin in 1997 in Hempstead Lake State Park, Patch previously reported. The woman came to be known as "Peaches" for that unique tattoo. In 2011, her arms and legs were found on Ocean Parkway.

On April 4, 2011, the skeletal remains of the female toddler were discovered along Ocean Parkway; the two-year-old daughter was reportedly found wrapped in a blanket and wearing a gold bracelet and hoop earrings similar to the jewelry found with her mother.

Decades after they died, their bodies were brought home to Alabama, where Tanya Jackson was born.

Jackson, officials said, was an Army veteran. In April, after the most horrific of endings, Jackson and her toddler daughter, who were brutally murdered, their remains left for years, were brought home to their loving family and laid to rest with dignity and full military honors by the Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport.

Speaking with Patch, Doug Mathie, owner of the funeral home, spoke about how the case had impacted him. "They touched my heart," he said. "It was a horrific way to lose your life — and not to be identified for all those years. . . ." Mathie said he felt compelled to help; he wanted to bring Jackson and her little girl back to her family, "for closure. I've been a funeral director for 45 years, and this case really moved me."

Rex Heuermann, charged in the deaths of seven Gilgo Beach victims, has not been charged in the deaths of Jackson or her daughter.

A total of 11 sets of remains were found in the Gilgo Beach slayings, which rocked Long Island. The remains included that of an Asian male.

In July 2023, Heuermann was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder charges and three counts of second-degree murder charges in the deaths of sex workers Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello, whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway in 2010.

Heuermann was also charged with the murder of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

In June, 2024 Heuermann was slapped with new second-degree murder charges in the deaths of two additional women, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla. In December, 2024 Heuermann was charged with the death of a seventh victim, Valerie Mack.

Karen Vergata, whose legs were first found by beachcombers — a doctor and his brother — in a bag along the shore of Davis Park on Fire Island in 1996, has also been thought to possibly be linked to the Gilgo Beach murders. Her skull was later found on Ocean Parkway in 2011, near the dismembered remains of Peaches.

Vergata, or Jane Doe #7, was identified in 2023 around the time of Heurmann's arrest.

He has not been charged in her death.

Heuermann is due back in court on January 13. In September, a judge ruled for the second timethat crucial DNA evidence could be used during his trial.

With reporting by Peggy Spellman Hoey