Date of Discovery: June 28, 1997
Location of Discovery: Wooded area in Hampstead Lake State Park, New York
Age: 16-30
Listed Heritage: Black
Additional Details: She was wearing two gold bracelets, one 16”gold colored chain, and two gold colored hoop earrings, and had a tattoo of a peach with a teardrop. She had a scar on her abdomen, possibly from a caesarean section. An unidentified toddler recovered on Gilgo Beach were positively identified in 2011 as her child.
Persi
by Jacqueline Rose
Persi dances with Aunt Evey
with the watchful joy of
baby Mikala.
They dance in celebration
of their love, forever
Persi, a nickname
& pink bedazzled purse
gifted by Aunty Evey.
Mary is such a boring name,
Aunt Evey once said.
We FANCY.
You shall be Persi,
my little Milkmaid-chocolatey,
sweet girl.
Persi’s fancy determination
from Aunt Evey
off to college, get a tattoo, fall in love
Persi's golden reflections
from the rythmic head-boppin',
finger-snappin' while jangling bracelets
cast like sun rays
through the heavenly clouds
from above as
Persi and Aunt Evey dance
a ring shout with the musical laughter
of Persi's baby daughter
keeping time
The beautiful rays descend to us on earth
followed by
blissful, fancy tears that rain down on warm days.
Tatiana Denise Jackson and Tatiana Marie Dykes Named
Tanya and Tatiana were identified right before the closing of the Eulogy for Jane Doe Exhibit reception, where poet Jacqueline Rose was able to lovingly honor them with their rightful names.
For 27 years, the woman honored on this page—discovered in 1997— was known as “Jane Doe # 3 and “Peaches.” The baby girl honored on this page, known as “Baby Doe,” was discovered and positively identified as the woman’s daughter fourteen years later (in 2011). Due to the location where they were found and manner of death, they were assumed to be victims of the “Long Island Serial Killer”—an architect who was imprisoned for his crimes in June 2026.
On April 23, 2025, the Nassau County police announced that they had identified the woman as Tanya Denise Jackson, and also her daughter as Tatiana Marie Dykes. At the time of their deaths, they lived in Brooklyn, where Jackson may have been working as a medical assistant.
In December 2025, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Florida man and army veteran was arrested for the killing of Tanya and Tatiana on December 5th. This man, Andrew Dykes, had been Tanya’s boyfriend and was the father of Tatiana. Dykes—a married father with children—began a relationship with Tanya during their military service at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Dykes was transferred to Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, NY, in 1995. Tanya Jackson and her newborn daughter joined him in Brooklyn shortly after. Dykes was the leaseholder of her apartment in Brooklyn.
At a press conference, DA Donnelly said, “For more than two decades, there has been endless speculation about Tanya Jackson and her daughter Tatiana’s deaths. Today, we finally have answers. Tanya Jackson was not murdered by a serial killer, but allegedly by the man she loved, and the father of her child, Andrew Dykes. After advancements in DNA technology finally allowed us to recently identify ‘Peaches’ and ‘Baby Doe,’ superb detective work led us to the defendant and a DNA sample…now, a thirty-year-old mystery can finally be solved. Tanya did not meet her end at the hands of a serial killer…she was a victim of horrifying violence by a person she trusted.”