Neighbor: Gilgo Beach murder suspect 'average Joe'

(14 Jul 2023) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Massapequa, New York - 14 July 2023 1. Police on scene 2. Suspect's house 3. Police on scene 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Barry Auslander, suspect’s neighbor: "He walks every morning to the train. When I come down with my car to drop my wife off, I see him walking. He walks with a briefcase. He walks in a suit. Doesn't look like...looks like every other American type person, I guess." 5. Police on scene 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Barry Auslander, suspect’s neighbor: "I see them all the time, but I don't stop and say, hi, how are you or anything like that." 7. Police on scene 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Barry Auslander, suspect’s neighbor: "No, I never said a word to him. I do see him walking. I imagine he's going to the train because he's dressed up in a suit in the morning. And that's pretty much about it. He looks like your average Joe." 9. Police on scene STORYLINE: A suspect has been taken into custody on New York's Long Island in connection with a long-unsolved string of killings, known as the Gilgo Beach murders, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Friday. Law enforcement personnel converged on the small red house that had been raided early Friday in the suburb about 40 miles (64 km) east of midtown Manhattan. Dozens of residents mingled alongside police and media, watching as a half-dozen investigators in protective suits conferred outside the front porch, which was in disrepair, its roof propped up by 2-by-4s. The suspect was taken into custody in Massapequa late Thursday and investigators were at a home connected to the case on Friday, the official said. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. The suspect's name was not immediately released. The home belonged to a family that had long kept to themselves, neighbors said, noting that the dilapidated property seemed out of place among rows of single family homes and well kept lawns in the small community. Barry Auslander, a neighbor, said the man who lived in the house commuted by train to New York City each morning, wearing a suit and tie and carrying a briefcase. The deaths of 11 people whose remains were found in 2010 and 2011 have long stumped investigators. Most of the victims were young women who had been sex workers. Several of the bodies were found near the town of Gilgo Beach. The case has drawn immense public attention since human remains were found along a New York beach highway more than a decade ago. The mystery attracted national headlines for many years and the unsolved killings were the subject of the 2020 Netflix film “Lost Girls.” =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected]. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...