There are stories about him having a police radio and anytime there was any sort of emergency call within reach of where he lived, he would hop in and drive over to see if he could help out.. "After I read the scripts, I Googled it and came across, I guess it was a Wikipedia page," Ryan says. Mari Gilbert was an American Activist who had a very tragic life. Mari Gilbert with her daughters (left to right) Stevie Smith, Sarra Gilbert, and Sherre Gilbert, with attorney John Ray and retired police detective William Mahoney. Sarra was ultimately charged and convicted of murdering her mother. In 2016, just months after an independent autopsy raised more questions about Shannans death, Mari Gilbert was found dead in her daughter Sarra Gilberts apartment in Ellenville, CBS New York reported at the time. burst into flames, killing all 230 passengers on board in 1996. And she was also goin' to school to be a writer," she said. But they werent getting it.. So we did go back and sort of apply some of that hindsight to the storytelling. But the police were learning a lot about him based on his voice. "And this voice is saying, 'Oh, this isn't Melissa,'" Cohen explained. After Shannans disappearance in May 2010, Sarra appeared at vigils and memorials alongside her mother and sister Sherre, holding photos of her missing sister. Though county officials theorized that she had wandered into the marsh and drowned, an independent autopsy sought by Gilberts family found that Shannan may have been strangled to death. However, the prosecution and members of Sarras family told a story of a devious, manipulative young woman who tried to excuse her drug addiction as a mental illness. But before her body was found, multiple other womens bodies were found on Ocean Parkway between Gilgo and Oak Beach and authorities began to suspect a serial killer had been at work in the area. It was the call Sherre and her sister, Sarra, had been dreading ever since learning Shannan, diagnosed with a bipolar disorder and struggling with depression and mood swings, had turned to selling her services online as an escort. "We gave them flyers. "My sister was last seen running along the roads She felt like she was in fear for her life that night," Sherre Gilbert told "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty. When your loved one is missing, the torture is too much for family members. "And he said, 'Do you know what I did to your sister?' They're on their way,' She just looked at me and she ran right out the door.". She testified that it wasnt mental illness that led Sarra to kill her mom, but drugs and long term hate, The Cut reported. 8: An Asian man dressed in women's clothes, Victims 9 and 10: A female skull and a bag of female bones. "There's nothing I can add that the police don't already know," said Dr. C. Peter Hackett, an Oak Beach resident and retired emergency services doctor who curiously inserted himself in the middle of the mystery - by calling Shannan's mother on May 3, 2010, two days after Shannan went missing. This was the second tragic incident to hit the family in six years. "If she was going to stay the night she would have walked away with $1,500," he said. Theres no proof that he even saw her that night, but he did call Mari, Kolker toldOxygen.com. About a week after Melissa disappeared, her 15-year-old sister, Amanda, got a call from Melissa's phone. Police found the 24-year-olds body more than a year later on December 13, 2011, in a marsh at Oak Beach, according to Oxygen. "When I tried to tell my story to the police and to the media no one believed me," said Mari. She was pursuing that. Moriarty asked. Melissa Cann says no one at the local police department took her fears seriously and the family went to look for Maureen themselves. Moriarty asked Varrone. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. ", "I reached over and grabbed that phone, dialed 911," Colletti continued. " that Shannan was distressed. Maybe she doesn't care about her kids'" Cann said, her eyes welling with tears. "It's easy for a killer to go shopping," said Kolker. The medical examiner couldn't determine cause of death, but investigators don't think she's the 11th victim of the Long Island Serial Killer. "We want to see whether Shannan really could've taken the trip police believe she took," Ray said before heading into the marsh. I've seen it, its really overgrown," Moriarty noted. On July 23, 2016, Sarra began hearing voices and called her mother for help. He is very controlled, very calculating in what he does. "I was in the bathroom shaving. (CBS) OAK BEACH, Long Island -- Since late 2010, 11 bodies -- nearly all young woman, have been found along a stretch of beach on New York's Long Island. All this stuff about a rehab or something I don't have a rehab, I don't do rehab. Sarra said her mom practiced witchcraft and she believed Mari was a demon. Mari Gilbert's murder was "the most morbid turn in this already complete tragedy," Vesselin Mitev, who Mari originally hired to help her solve Shannan's death, Mental illness is a serious disease. "We could've saved those other girls.". What did you hear? She just kept staring at me and going, 'Help me, help me, help me. She's not missing. And he didn't and he followed her around that way," he said. "Did she get hurt?" Mari says during that phone call on May 3, Dr. Hackett told her that Shannan had left his house with her driver and that he was worried about her. These are all the jobs she called and applied for call center, data entry and the list goes on and on," Cann said, showing off a list. "Which told me the second chapter of Mari's story. In describing Gilberts legacy, Kolker wrote that out of all of the family members of the Gilgo Beach murder victims, Mari was the one who got the most out of the police, forced them to do things they otherwise wouldnt. Former Chief of Detectives Dominick Varrone says Dr. Hackett is not a suspect in Shannan's death. Sarra seemed like she had it together. When her mom died, Sherre wrote about it on Facebook the next day, sharing that Sarra had battled mental illness for more than two years. "She sounds not very coherent, not very rational.". I don't think that's the case," said Chief Varrone. Six more bodies would eventually be found. The lawsuit alleged Hackett took Shannan into his home in the early morning hours on the day she disappeared and gave her drugs. Sarra also stripped off her mother's clothes and severely beat her head with a fire extinguisher. "If you came up and asked her for her last penny in her pocket, she would give it to you". The tragedies and illness are often intertwined, says Dottie Laster, a private investigator and missing-persons specialist who helped the Gilbert family search for Mari Gilberts older daughter, Shannan. A year & a half of hope, prayers & dreams.People say I have a tragic life because of my circumstances but one thing is for sure. "It almost seems like she's in some type of psychotic state or in some type of drug-induced stupor.". ", "I was there when my mother received the phone call, so there's no way. "I've been led to believe by Amanda and by the data that I have that he is a white male.". "It was like 5:00 in the morning," Colletti recalled. Mari fought tirelessly to bring justice for her daughter Shannan, from Shannan's death sadly until her own death at the hands of her "But, in retrospect, people thought there were signs. After the third call, police asked Verizon to tap Amanda's phone. For more stories like this, sign up for our newsletter. He said, 'Well, I killed Melissa,'" Cohen said. Seven months later, a police dog found skeletal remains on Gilgo Beach, leading to the discovery of three more bodies, all belonging to sex workers whod used Craigslist to find their clients. The calls didn't stop coming. Gilbert's remains were recovered on Dec. 13, 2011, and officials believed the cause of her death was drowning. And this killer may have been shopping for victims for years. 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. They cant eat. She was doing a very positive job and was helpful.. Ray also said that she was going to kill her own son, but her boyfriend stopped her. Girl, 11, Was Killed After Wandering Away from Her Mother in 1988, Suspect ID'd as Former Officer, Denver Police Say Man Who Killed Cop 40 Years Ago Is Also Responsible for 4 Women's Murders, Suspected N.M. But mainly he focused on Melissa's little sister and called to terrify her. Meserve tells PEOPLE she became close with the Gilbert family after they were linked by the Gilgo Beach killings in Long Island. Sherre Gilbert says her sister was desperately trying to make a better life for herself. Tips can also be submitted online. However, the investigation into her disappearance led to the discovery of ten sets of human remains. "Peter Hackett told me that Shannan was at his house, that he ran a halfway house for people who wanted to get off the street and that Shannan was there," said Mari Gilbert. It is not clear if her death was a homicide or a tragic accident. Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. It doesn't seem plausible," said Kolker. "I feel like they failed me and they failed my sister. ultimately discovered the bodies of four women along Ocean Parkway, Howeverin an update of the case in January. It is not clear if she has retained an attorney or if she has entered a plea to her charges. "But wouldn't you sound that way if you were panicked and afraid?" Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Last. She was a good sister and daughter. "Do you believe that this killer or killers will eventually be caught?" The problem is, instead of filing it in Suffolk County, N.Y., where her daughter was last seen, Mari was required to file it where her daughter lived in New Jersey. Her Sister Shannan Gilbert Died Mysteriously Shannan Maria Gilbert went missing on Long Island on May 1, 2010. Warning, because this gets graphic: As Sarra Gilbert later testified in court, on July 26, 2016, she stabbed Mari Gilbert with a kitchen knife 227 times in Mari's Ellenville, NY apartment. "It's possible. And she stabbed her to death.. "And the killer said some pretty horrible things to Amanda," Cohen told Moriarty. Mari Gilbert was an American activist and advocate for her late daughter, Shannan Gilbert, a 23-year-old aspiring author working as an escort who may have been murdered by the Long Island serial killer. / CBS News, Produced by Clare Friedland and Liza Finley. But he went on to say that "at no time did I suggest I had ever met her or render medical care of any sort to her.". Dylan Eason and Isaiah Churchwell were convicted of murdering Cynthia William "Patrick" Alexander remains in prison for murder. Yelling, 'Help me, help me, help me. Mental illness had affected both Mari, 52, and Sarra, 27, according to Elizabeth Meserve, aunt of Long Island serial killer victim Megan Waterman. Few families experience the amount of tragedy that the Gilberts have. "I believe my sister needs a voice needs her pride back needs the respect she had before this all happened," said Melissa Cann. Gabrielle Bruney is a writer and editor for Esquire, where she focuses on politics and culture. Gilbert, 27, who has been charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, appeared in court Tuesday afternoon and apologized for fatally "Could Shannan Gilbert's mother invent this even if she wanted to? He says he just wanted her out of his house and even brought the driver in to get her to leave. "We went to all the houses around the area to, like, knock on their doors and just say, 'Hey listen, did you see my sister?'" Attorney John Ray told CBS that Sarra Police have said that they do not consider Hackett a suspect in the killings,according toThe Long Island Press. "She just says 'they're trying to kill me,'" he replied. According to police, she appears to have entered the marsh right behind where Peter Hacketts house is, and her belongings were found right near his house in the marsh and then her body was found a long distance away, Kolker toldOxygen.com. This week on Reasonable Doubt, the team takes on the Raul and Cathy Sarinana were sentenced to death for abusing Would love your thoughts, please comment. Ten bodies, eight suffocated or strangled, and none of them Shannan Gilbert, the young woman whose disappearance launched the investigation. Shortly after Gilberts body was discovered, Hackett put his Oak Beach house on the market in 2012 and moved away from the area,Newsdayreports. "She absolutely hated it". "The world lost an awesome girl, a wonderful, wonderful mom, a friend" said Megan's mother, Lorraine Ela, who has a message for the killer: "I want to know why you took my daughter Why would you hurt a human being? By then, Amber had been missing from their home on Long Island for three months. The book Lost Girls by journalist Robert Kolker served as the basis of the film, and in it Kolker offers details of Gilberts life that didnt make it to the screen. ", The Office alum says she partly based her portrayal on Liz's "very helpful" accounts of her conversations with Mari, videos of Mari, and Kolker's book. Gilbert became an advocate after her daughter Shannan was murdered, but was killed by one of her other children. "I was like, 'Be safe.' Mari Gilbert never stopped fighting for the truth about how her daughterwho was a sex workerdied, drawing attention to the lower priority authorities placed on solving crimes against sex workers, the investigation Kolker wrote about suggests. He claimed he was with the NYPD and wanted to know if she had filed a missing persons report. "I was so moved by Mari's story," Garbus tells OprahMag.com. Sarra then stripped Mari naked and removed her jewelry. She called her mother and said come over. And then you keep changing your story," said Moriarty. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. By 2010, Shannan was an aspiring actor who lived in Jersey City and worked as an escort. It was 4:51 a.m. Former Suffolk County Chief of Detectives Dominick Varrone, who has heard the call, is speaking for the first time on network television. Mari Gilbert was murdered by one of her daughter, Sarra Gilbert, in July of 2016five years after the events of Lost Girls. Sherre, Sarras sister, spoke about Sarra after her sentencing and said they tried to get Sarrah help, but she would get better for a short period of time and then get worse again, People reported. "I knew I wasn't going to look, walk, and sound exactly like Mari, but there was an essence, or a gesture that I was hoping to pick up," Ryan adds. Mari Gilbert Killed: Daughter Sarra Had Schizophrenia, Attorney He used the phrase that it was too late to help her and that he then released her., Shannan'sbody was discovered in 2011, partially clothed, in a localmarsh. Mari Gilbert, mother of Shannan Gilbert, was killed in upstate Ulster County. "Exactly," Schaller agreed, "like a lion smells a dying gazelle.". Sarra's mental health struggles are foreshadowed in the film. It was schizophrenia, attorney John Ray, tells PEOPLE. Then, Colletti saw Shannan was hiding underneath the boat in his yard. "We pull out the phone book, we get on the internet. While the calls he made to Shannan's family may be strange, they're not out of character. None of the murders have ever been solved. Four bodies had been discovered. Mari was alive and kicking. They spoke to a dozen witnesses and homeowners in the area trying to piece together a timeline. "Suddenly, you no longer had to walk down the street; you could just work out of your home," he said. What would she die of if she didn't drown or wasn't killed?" "I do," he replied. The murderer is suspected of killing between 10 and 16 people and, so far, has eluded capture. "How could you have her items in one spot and then her body all the way in another spot close to the highway? Attorney Ray tells PEOPLE that since 2014, Sarra has been hospitalized in at least two facilities in upstate New York. When Hackett who is portrayed in the film by Reed Birney called Mari just a few days later, she claimed the doctor told her he had interacted with Shannan the night she died. Sarra is held without bail and is set for a preliminary hearing in court on Tuesday. Her disappearance and Mari's efforts to find out what happened to her daughter are the focus of the new Netflix feature film "Lost Girls" starring Amy Ryan as the desperate mother who casts suspicion on Hackett (played by Reed Birney). He raised a family there, was their emergency services guy, their security guy. She believed the voices in her head were caused by her mom. "The complaint operator's asking, 'Well, where are you?' Mari died on July 23, 2016, in the apartment building the "I contacted them," he said. She grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but moved with her three eldest daughters, Shannan, Sherre, and Sarra, to upstate New York to escape their heroin-addicted father. Unidentified woman: We did. In fact, Dr. Hackett was known to provide medical treatment out of his home. In a 14-page Sarra stabbed her mother an incredible She needed to get some money. Her belongings including her pocketbook, lip gloss, jeans and shoes were discovered in the marsh about a quarter of a mile from her body, according toThe Long Island Press. But soon after Maris death, daughter Sherre apparently posted on Facebook about the news, according to screenshots obtained by PEOPLE. During her sister Sarras trial, she appeared for the prosecution. At the time, Maureen was a desperate, single mother of two. he replied. Stop, go a little bit," said Colletti. Dr. Hackett: I never saw her, I never met her. The Sarra Gilbert is being held without bail at the Ulster County Jail. Lost Girls, a mystery film that arrives on Netflix on March 13, is a dramatized account of an unresolved true crime story about a serial killer on New Yorks Long Island.. Based on a 2013 nonfiction book of the same name by Robert Kolker, the movie centers on Mari Gilbert, played by Amy Ryan, a single mother of three juggling multiple jobs whose "When Amanda answered the phone, you know, she was so excited," Barthelemy said. The mother of Shannan Gilbert, whose disappearance led to the discovery of 10 bodies at Gilgo Beach in Babylon, N.Y., in 2011, has been murdered, and a second daughter has been charged in her death. You dont go back to where you started Its like a nuclear bomb went off.. in 2011 he denied ever seeing Shannan that night but said he had called the family to be supportive after getting Maris number from Shannans boyfriend and driver when the pair came to the neighborhood to look for Shannan in the days after she disappeared. It is not clear if her death was a homicide or a tragic accident. She was murdered by her daughter Sarra Elizabeth Gilbert in Ellenville, New York. Read an excerpt of "Lost Girls"Kolker: Who let down the lost girls? As it notes at the end of Lost Girls, Mari Gilbert was killed by her daughter, Sarra Gilbert, in 2016. 5: Jessica Taylor, an escort missing since 2003; dismembered, Victim No. What would kill a 23-year-old woman? Colletti said it was then that he noticed an Asian man in his 30s driving a black SUV. According to NBC, Mari's 27-year-old daughter Sarra stabbed her more than 200 times and hit her with a fire extinguisher, resulting in Mari's death in 2016. "If Michael Pak had stayed there and told the officers that she was still missing, is it possible that Shannan Gilbert might still be alive?" July 20, 2013 / 11:39 PM Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Brewer insists he never harmed Shannan. However, Shannans family, who has maintained the woman's death was not an accident, believes the doctor may have had something to do with the woman'sdeath and filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hackett in 2012, which is still active today. "All I can say is he's sick. In January 2020, police changed Gilberts cause of death to inconclusive rather than accidental, Daily Freeman reported. "I said, 'Well, I called the police they are on their way to bring her back," Colletti said. She spoke to the press, putting pressure on police and ensuring that Shannan wouldnt be forgotten. Hackett the former head of the Suffolk County Emergency Medical Services had become an integral part of the private, secluded Oak Beach community by the time 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert, a Craigslist sex worker, disappeared in May 2010 after meeting a client in the community. It was Michael Pak, Shannan's driver. Nobody dreamed that the daughter was going to kill her mother, he says. He said the cause of death could not be determined, but the autopsy showed some findings consistent with strangulation. Lawenforcement sources have said in the past that Shannan allegedly told the dispatcher theyre trying to kill me, during the call, Her disappearance and Mari's efforts to find out what happened to her daughter are the focus of the new Netflix feature film ". " The search for Shannan led police back to the last place she was seen -- the gated community of Oak Beach, just 3 miles from the dumping ground and to three men: The man who hired her, the man who drove her, and a doctor who put himself in the middle of the investigation. She was diagnosed as having bipolar disorder at 12 years old, and Mari struggled to manage her eldest childs at times erratic behavior. By then, she had been missing for eight days. "Mari Gilbert knew that that kind of attention and passion is what will keep this case alive," Garbus says. "So why would you call her mother? During my conversations with them they asked that I call the family, he wrote. Sarra was arrested at the scene with blood on her clothing. She has been charged with second degree murder. "I could see a car come and stopping, coming a little bit and stopping," he said. At the heart of these efforts was Mari Gilbert (played in the movie by The Offices Amy Ryan), who worked to bring attention to the the murder of her 24-year-old daughter, Shannan. "I'm so grateful for that," Garbus says of their meeting. "Today they found a pair of jeans a pair of shoes the pocketbook with identification in the pocketbook belonging to Shannan Gilbert," then-Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer told reporters. "You have to understand the manner in which these items were found very consistent with someone losing these items as they're running.". Moriarty asked Verrone. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! | True Crime Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. "How could this tiny 23-year-old get that far into it - into there?" "He wanted to kill her.". Until we meet again my dear sister; sleep with mom & the Angels.. So far, there has been no arrest, but since our last "48 Hours" broadcast, there are new developments in the case. She shared the photo above showing Mari Gilbert with her daughters during simpler times. "I don't want anybody to think that -- we have a Jack the Ripper runnin' around Suffolk County with -- blood drippin' from a knife," Dormer told reporters.. One by one, the bodies were identified, and with each name, came the story of a troubled life cut short. She said she decided to keep the Facebook page going, despite her and her sister Stevies devastation, because of all the work and dedication her mom and their lawyer John Ray had put into Shannans case. "'Oh my God, Melissa's finally calling me.' "I don't believe he said that. FacebookShannan Gilbert in a Facebook photo. Sarra was hospitalized several times. Mari Gilbert. When she has moments of lucidity, I know shell be devastated by what she has done., Laster called it one tragedy on top of another., This is a family that needed a lot of help. Meserve says. But when police arrived at 5:40 a.m., Shannan Gilbert had vanished. She does not deserve to be forgotten..