Andrew Dykes indicted, arraigned for 'Peaches' cold case once linked to Gilgo Beach murders
LONG ISLAND (WABC) -- A former Florida state trooper is now being indicted and arraigned for one of Long Island's most haunting and disturbing cold cases.
Andrew Dykes, 66, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Thursday in Mineola to murdering Tanya Denise Jackson nearly 30 years ago.
He didn't speak further in court before he was ordered held in custody until his next court date on Jan. 16.
Dykes' lawyer, Joseph Lo Piccolo, said after the brief hearing that he expected his client would challenge the DNA evidence prosecutors say link him to the killing. He also described Dykes as a "law-abiding" citizen these past 30 years.
"He's a father. He led a life that many would respect in law enforcement, in the military," Lo Piccolo said.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder responded, saying Dykes "might have worn that uniform; he may have served, but he was a homicide subject. He's a murderer."
Jackson became known as "Peaches," and her daughter, Tatiana, was called "Baby Doe."
Prosecutors said Dykes had met Jackson while the two had been stationed at a military base in Texas.
The two had a relationship while Dykes was still married and had a child, Jackson's 2-year-old daughter, Tatiana Marie Jackson, who was also found killed on Long Island.
Prosecutors alleged that Dykes, an anatomy instructor in the Army, had the expertise to cut up Jacksons' body.
Dykes, who was not charged Thursday in the toddler's killing, was arrested earlier this month in Tampa and held in a Florida jail until his extradition to New York.
Tanya Jackson was found in a state park on Long Island in 1997, her body dismembered and long unidentifiable beyond a tattoo of a peach.
Her daughter's body and some more of Jackson's remains were found years later elsewhere on Long Island.
Prosecutors say DNA was found in Jackson's torso, and matched decades later in 2024 to a plastic straw used by Dykes at a Charley's Cheesesteaks Restaurant in Tampa.
"The technology used to reach a conclusion that he may be involved in this case I believe is the newer technology and it's very subject to scrutiny and challenge in New York State," LoPiccolo said.
Investigators believe Dykes committed both killings, even though he is only charged in Jackson's murder so far.
"He threw a baby out like the trash into the weeds," Ryder said. "He cut the other body up and dumped it in a container and threw it into a sump."
Investigators in 2011 had been combing an ocean parkway near Gilgo Beach as part of a sprawling investigation into mostly female sex workers who had disappeared in the area when they found the Jacksons' remains.
A total of 10 sets of human remains were found in the sand along the parkway overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Police have long said some of the remains were likely victims of a serial killer but that there was also evidence the remote area had been a dumping ground for more than one murderer.
Rex Heuermann, a married father who lived near Gilgo Beach, was eventually charged in seven of the killings, but not the slayings of the long unidentified mother and her toddler.
The Long Island architect has maintained his innocence as he remains in custody awaiting trial.
In April, Nassau County police revealed they had identified the mother, who investigators had nicknamed "Peaches" for her tattoo, as Jackson through advanced DNA and genealogy research.
They said the 26-year-old Alabama native and veteran of the Gulf War had been living in Brooklyn with her daughter at the time of her disappearance and was largely estranged from her family.
Police had said the toddler's father, who they did not name at the time, had been cooperating with the investigation and was not considered a suspect.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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