| Nassau County serial murders | |
| Victims: | 5 |
| Beginyear: | 1984 |
| Endyear: | 1989 |
| Country: | United States |
| States: | New York |
| Apprehended: | N/A |
The Nassau County serial murders were a series of murders of young women committed between 1984 and 1989 in Nassau County, New York. All the victims had been involved in prostitution or had drug addictions, and the perpetrator, a possible serial killer, was never apprehended.
These murders were the first possible instance of a serial killer operating in the Long Island area, as in the following decades, at least four unrelated serial killers were apprehended, collectively victimizing at least 32 girls and women.[1]
The official list of victims includes five women. There was no consistent manner in how they were murdered, as two had been bludgeoned to death, one victim was stabbed, another was strangled, and yet another was shot.[2]
During the investigation, one person was considered the prime suspect—a resident of Long Beach named Allen Gormely Jr. He was born on September 18, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York City, as the only son of Allen Gormely Sr. and Phyllis Capone, who had multiple daughters.[3] Gormely Jr. spent his childhood and early life in Oceanside, where they moved after his parents divorced.[4] After dropping out of West Hempstead High School upon completing the 10th grade, he trained to be a carpenter but was unable to find work in this field; instead, he started working in various strip clubs, nightclubs, sex stores, and pornographic film sales stores in New York City's various suburbs.[5] At some point, he also worked as a trucker for a company based in Brooklyn. Gormely was unmarried and spent most of his time in red-light districts, but had no criminal record and had never been criminally charged until 1990.
On November 8, 1990, Gormely was arrested for the murders of two prostitutes committed in Queens. The victims were named as 19-year-old Stephanie Krut and 25-year-old Mayra Eusebio, who had been murdered on February 10 and October 30, 1990, respectively. After his arrest, Gormely confessed to killing both, telling investigators that he strangled the women inside his apartment in Long Beach on 511 West Walnut Street after they supposedly demanded that he give them money to buy crack cocaine, which he refused. Upon saying so, he alleged that both women threatened to tell their pimps to harm him.
Gormely became a suspect since he had placed both of his victims' bodies in plastic garbage bags and dumped them on the outskirts of town, similar to how the murders of Lukes and Wilder had been carried out. He was investigated for these crimes as well, but was never charged due to a lack of evidence. In 1992, he was tried for both of his confirmed murders, with his defense being that he had accidentally killed both women during "rough sex." However, this did not convince the jury, and Gormely was convicted of the murders of Krut and Eusebio, subsequently being given a 50-year sentence.[6]
Gormely died in the Wende Correctional Facility on September 28, 2014. He was never charged with any other murders, and all the cases associated with the Nassau County serial murders remain cold cases.