Florida man faces murder charges in Long Island death once attributed to serial killer
12/05/2025 8:34 pm PST
TAMPA, Fla. (TCN) -- The death of woman long thought to be at the hands of a New York serial killer has now been linked to the father of her child.
KABC reports Andrew Dykes, 66, was arrested in Tampa, Florida, on Dec. 3 on a warrant out of New York in connection with the killing of Tanya Jackson. According to The Independent, he is believed to be the father of her daughter, whose body was also found in the area.
Jackson, 26, was an Army veteran. Her torso was found in a New York state park in June 1997, according to ABC News. Fourteen years later, in 2011, the remains of daughter, Tatiana Dykes, 2, were found near Gilgo Beach, and more of Jackson’s remains were also recovered. For years, Jackson was known only as “Peaches” due to a tattoo on her body, and the child was known as Baby Doe.
The bodies of several women were found near Gilgo Beach, leading authorities to believe that Jackson and her daughter were victims of the Gilgo Beach serial killer, according to KABC. In 2023, Rex Heuermann was charged in the deaths of seven of the women, but Jackson and her daughter were not among them.
In April, authorities announced they had learned the identities of Jackson and her daughter through investigative genealogy studies and offered a $25,000 reward for more information, ABC News reported at the time.
The Independent reports Dykes is listed as the father on the child’s birth record and he cooperated with authorities when interviewed in April.
Jackson was reportedly a single mother living in Brooklyn at the time of her death and was never reported missing, according to ABC News. Her daughter was born in Texas in 1995 while both parents were serving in the Army, according to the Independent.
The Associated Press reports Dykes is being held in Hillsborough County Jail in Florida awaiting extradition to Long Island.
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