A Long Island company found a macabre way to remember the Gilgo Beach murders — by peddling ornate jewelry named for the victims.
The 10 necklaces from Long Island-based company Jimmytoast are part of what the business calls The Heavy Metal Project, and feature thorns and spikes to evoke the dense thicket where the remains were found, colors matching the nail polish the women wore and symbols emulating tattoos cops used to identify their bodies.
“Some of these things are pretty obtusely designed — they’re pretty obnoxious,” said John Ray, an attorney for the families of two of the victims, Shannan Gilbert and Jessica Taylor.
“Shannan Gilbert’s is a bunch of thorns,” said Ray. ”That’s outrageous.”
Scantily clad models showcased the jewelry on the company’s website, which touted the baubles as “hauntingly beautiful.”
It even had a child model a necklace dedicated to the unidentified toddler whose remains were found in 1997. Images of the collection were suddenly removed from the site after The Post contacted the company.
Necklaces drew upon details of the victims and the area in which they were discovered. jimmytoast.com
A line of jewelry inspired by the Gilgo Beach murders, as modeled here, featured thorns and spikes as well as stones from Long Island. jimmytoast.comA necklace dedicated to Valerie Mack, a 24-year-old who went missing in 2000, featured onyx details similar to a ring that was retrieved from her body and includes stones found on Long Island.
Jewelry designer Jamie Quilisadio came up with the idea for the project and partnered with the true-crime podcast “The First Degree” in May to launch a necklace along with the episodes on each victim.
“We just want to keep their spirits alive,” she insisted. “I definitely never meant for it to seem rude or dark or anything like that.”
A necklace part of the Gilgo collection from Jimmytoast named after Megan Waterman. jimmytoast.com
“Some of these things are pretty obtusely designed — they’re pretty obnoxious,” said John Ray, an attorney for the families of two of the victims Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesThe necklaces were priced between $60-$120 and have since sold out.
The proceeds, $5,346, are scheduled to go to the Sex Workers Outreach Project, according to Quilisadio, who sent receipts of the purchases to The Post.
“I wanted to use my artwork in a way that I could help bring awareness, and use the necklaces as a conversation piece while also protecting sex workers,” she added.
Family members of some victims support the efforts and have been guests on the podcast.
The remains of 20-year-old Jessica Taylor for first found in Manorville and then near Ocean Parkway. Jeremy Sparig
Attorney John Ray (left) and Jasmine Robinson, a cousin of Gilgo murder victim Jessica Taylor, walk into court. AP
The search for Shannan Gilbert in 2010 led to the discovery of multiple sets of remains near Gilgo Beach. Suffolk County Police
Among the multiple sets of remains near Gilgo Beach included those of Amber Lynn Costello (pictured). Suffolk County PD/MEGA“I think it’s a great organization that they donated to, and I wish it existed when Jessica was alive because maybe it could have saved her from what happened,” said Jasmine Robinson, cousin of Taylor.
Sherre Gilbert, Shannan’s sister, was not previously aware of the fundraiser and called the site “odd,” but said she does not think “anything offensive” was intended.
The search for Gilbert led to the discovery of 10 more bodies in the area including the “Gilgo Four” — Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello — as well as an unidentified woman known as “Peaches” and her 2-year-old daughter; an Asian male; Taylor and Mack in nearby Manorville, NY and Karen Vergata in Fire Island.
