Questions For Cohost Of Unraveled: Long Island Serial Killer

LONG ISLAND, NY —Unraveled: The Real Story of the Long Island Serial Killer, a podcast about the investigation into the Gilgo Beach bodies, hit number seven on Apple's podcasts this week, with many tuning in to find out what new information might emerge about the unsolved crimes. But Alexis Linkletter and her cohost Billy Jensen never set out to cover the serial killer case, or try to solve the crimes. Linkletter, who grew up in Smithtown before relocating to the West Coast where she specializes in true crime investigative reporting, was simply trying to tell a childhood friend's story.

That friend was Chris Loeb, who famously kickstarted a federal investigation into former Suffolk County police chief James Burke. Loeb, a heroin addict who stole a duffel bag from Burke's truck, was beaten while in police custody, a crime ultimately leading to Burke's conviction and prison time.

"I just unraveled a thread," Linkletter says. As she began to look into Loeb's story and how the Gilgo Beach bodies were handled by the SCPD, a longer, more complex narrative emerged.

"I originally just set out to just look at Chris's case and the corruption," surrounding it, she explained.

"Now it's an investigation of the investigation. Solving it isn't necessarily the goal, but rather to expose the failures" of the investigation.

"It's just unusual to us that someone with a history with prostitutes was in charge of this investigation involving dead sex workers," she says.

A decade after the first of the 11 bodies were uncovered on Ocean Parkway, a new police chief, new DA and a new regime is refocused on solving the case. The FBI is now involved again, but Linkletter says many people were still worried about speaking to her on the record.

Linkletter and Jensen were able to get many prominent figures on the record, including former police officer Robert Trotta who claims in episode two of the podcast that Burke asked him for "snuff films" when they first met.

Linkletter tells Patch that "there are more surprises down the line" about who they interview on the podcast.

"People ask us, is Chris [Loeb] credible? We don't know. The only people who knew what was in that bag are Chris and Burke. But so much of what he claimed has been proven [in court.] And yes it's crazy, but so much of this is crazy."

Later episodes of the podcast delve into lingering mysteries like Shannon Gilbert's still unreleased 911 tape.

"I don't know why they aren't showing more," Linkletter reflects, "but all of this puts pressure on the police department to be more accountable," adding that many mistakenly believe there isn't more evidence that can be released to the public.

"What we are doing in this is just asking the questions."

As for the reception the podcast is receiving, Linkletter says "I think it's refreshing to people to have new information about this case. So many of the stories told about this case end when Shannon Gilbert's body is found. That's where ours starts."

The second episode of the podcast was released Wednesday, and five more episodes will be released weekly.