“In short, titles like The New York Times’ April 7 “Prostitutes’ Disappearances Were Noticed Only When the First Bodies Were Found” are true only if the subject of “noticed” is the police. Of the four young women whose remains were discovered in December — Megan Waterman, 22; Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25; and Amber Lynn Costello, 27 — three of their families had filed missing persons’ reports with the police. Brainerd-Barnes’ sister was told, “Your sister ran away and doesn’t care about anyone.” The police traced calls to Barthelemy’s sister, Amanda, from a man who claimed to have killed Melissa, but for some reason, gave up upon tracing the calls as far as cellular routers in mid-Manhattan. Mari Gilbert, the mother of a fifth young woman, Shannan, whose body has still not been found, frankly states that the press and public did not initially take her daughter’s disappearance seriously. Shortly after her daughter’s initial disappearance from a date with a john in a nearby gated community in May of 2010, police stopped searching.”
- Getting Away with Murder on Long Island
- Getting Away with Murder on Long Island