Funeral Held for Shannan Gilbert, Woman Linked to Long Island Serial Killer Mystery

A small group of mourners gathered at a Long Island cemetery Monday to bury Shannan Gilbert, the New Jersey escort who vanished while on a call in 2010, sparking a massive search that led to the discovery of 10 sets of human remains believed to be linked to at least one serial killer. 

A group of about two dozen mourners gathered around Gilbert's silver coffin on a sunny morning in Amityville Cemetery to remember Gilbert, who was last seen screaming and running from a home in the Oak Beach complex where she met a client on May 1, 2010. Her remains were discovered in a marsh 18 months later. 

The funeral comes just days after an independent autopsy was performed on Gilbert's remains by renowned forensic pathologist Michael Baden. The results of that autopsy haven't been released. The Suffolk County medical examiner previously ruled an autopsy inconclusive

The search for Gilbert led to the discovery of 10 sets of human remains believed to be linked to at least one possible serial killer in December 2010. Police combing the area several miles from the area Gilbert was last seen found the remains, most of which belonged to female sex workers. 

Gilbert's remains were found in December of 2011. Police have said that Gilbert's death isn't linked to the other bodies and that she drowned in the marsh where she was found.

Gilbert's mother, Marie Gilbert said at the funeral Thursday they don't believe that she was drowned but was a victim of a serial killer. She said at the service Thursday she believed the Suffolk County Police Department had given up on her daughter.

"They say she's at rest now, but she's not" said Marie Gilbert, Shannan's mother. "She'll never be at rest until I complete the fight and give her justice." 

Marie Gilbert's attorney, John Ray, said the medical examiner told them two neck bones were missing from her remains, raising questions about what happened to her. At the funeral Thursday, he also raised questions about tests not performed on Shannan Gilbert's body.
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