Ex-cop accused of dismembering his mistress after she had his baby and leaving her remains along Gilgo Beach in 1997
A former Florida state trooper has been charged with killing and dismembering a woman whose remains were found along Gilgo Beach in New York nearly three decades ago, with prosecutors alleging the murder was committed to conceal an affair and a child.
Andrew Dykes, 66, pleaded not guilty Thursday to murdering Tanya Denise Jackson in 1997. He did not speak further in court and was ordered held in custody until his next court date on January 16.
Prosecutors say Dykes, who was married with children at the time, killed Jackson after she wanted to start a life with him following an affair that resulted in a baby.
Jackson’s body was dumped along Gilgo Beach on Long Island, where she remained unidentified for nearly 30 years and known only as “Peaches,” a nickname derived from her distinctive tattoo. While the case was one connected to the Gilgo Beach serial killer, prosecutors now say a different man was responsible for her death.
Dykes’ attorney, Joseph Lo Piccolo, said after the brief hearing that he expects to challenge the DNA evidence prosecutors say links his client to the killing, ABC7 reported. He described Dykes as a “law-abiding” citizen in the decades since Jackson’s death.
.jpeg)
“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 pushed back, saying Dykes’ past service did not outweigh the allegations against him.
“He might have worn that uniform; he may have served, but he was a homicide subject. He’s a murderer,” Ryder said.
Investigators say a key break in the case came through advances in DNA technology. Prosecutors allege DNA recovered from Jackson’s torso in 1997 was matched decades later to genetic material extracted from a plastic straw used by Dykes at a Charley’s Cheesesteaks restaurant in Tampa. The straw, discarded in a plastic cup, was retrieved by investigators in October 2024.
“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,” Lo Piccolo said.
Dykes was arrested earlier this month in Tampa and held in a Florida jail before being extradited to New York.
He was not charged Thursday in the killing of the two-year-old, whose remains were discovered years later near Gilgo Beach, but prosecutors and police say investigators believe he is responsible for both deaths.
“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.”
Jackson’s remains were first discovered in 1997 in a Long Island state park, but investigators were unable to identify her at the time. In 2011, while searching a beachfront stretch near Gilgo Beach, authorities uncovered additional skeletal remains, including those of her daughter.
Investigators said the 26-year-old Alabama native, a Gulf War veteran, had been living in Brooklyn with her daughter at the time of her disappearance and was largely estranged from her family.
At the time of the investigation, police said the toddler’s father was cooperating with authorities and was not considered a suspect.
The case had long been considered potentially connected to the Gilgo Beach serial murders.
Former architect Rex Heuermann has been charged in seven of the murders and has pleaded not guilty. Authorities say there is no apparent link between Heuermann and Dykes, who is a Florida resident.
A total of 10 sets of human remains were discovered along a beachside parkway near Gilgo Beach. Many of the victims were women whose disappearances were never thoroughly investigated.
Police have said the area may have been used as a dumping ground by more than one killer.
