A suspect has been arrested in Florida for the murder of “Peaches,” the mom once thought to have been tied to the Gilgo Beach serial-killer victims — and he’s the father of her 2-year-old daughter whose remains were also discovered nearby, according to reports.
Andrew Dykes, 66, was arrested Wednesday near Tampa on a warrant out of Nassau County, New York, in connection with the 1997 murder, just months after authorities finally identified “Peaches” as being 26-year-old US Army veteran Tanya Jackson, law enforcement sources told Newsday.
Dykes is the biological father of 2-year-old Tatiana Marie Dykes, whose scattered remains were found 14 years later, miles away from her mother.
He was indicted on a murder charge by a grand jury and made an initial appearance in Hillsborough County Court in Florida on Thursday, Newsday said.
He’s currently awaiting extradition to New York on a fugitive warrant.
Jackson’s torso was found stuffed into a container in a wooded part of Hempstead Lake State Park in June 1997. For decades, she was only referred to as “Peaches” due to a tattoo of the fruit found on her body.
The remains of her daughter, formerly known as “Baby Doe,” were uncovered in 2011 near other bodies found during an investigation into the infamous Gilgo Beach murders.
Nassau County officials finally identified the mother and daughter earlier this year.
The Alabama native had been living in Brooklyn and working as a medical assistant at a doctor’s office around the time she vanished, police said.
Accused Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann has been charged with seven murders, including six women whose bodies were found near Tatianna Dykes — but officials have said they believe the mother-daughter case is separate.
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