Police Believe Shannan Gilbert's Death Was Accidental — Her Family Says She Was Murdered

It's hard to imagine what one would do if they found themselves in a terrifying, life-threatening situation. That's what happened to 23-year-old Shannan Gilbert on the night of May 1, 2010. According to People Magazine, the frightened young woman made a desperate call to 911. "There's somebody after me," she said to the dispatcher. "Somebody's after me — please."

That was the last time anyone heard from Gilbert, whose body would be discovered 19 months later, on Gilgo Beach in Long Island, N.Y. While searching for Gilbert, police found the bodies of four other women in December 2010. They later established these women were most likely killed by the same person who was given the name The Long Island Serial Killer. Despite the similarities between Gilbert and the other victims, her death was ruled an accident. What happened? Here's what we know.

The person responsible for putting pressure on local police was Gilbert's mother, Mari Gilbert. The night she disappeared, Gilbert was meeting a client she met via Craigslist. As an escort, this is how Gilbert made her living. She drove out to the gated community of Oak Beach, which is where she was attacked. The first person to realize something was wrong was Gilbert's boyfriend, who called her sister when she didn't return home.

Sherre Gilbert told 48 Hours correspondent Erin Moriarty that she "immediately started to panic." She said she could hear the fear in Gilbert's boyfriend's voice. This was something Sherri, along with her sister Sarra, was dreading. She told Moriarty that Gilbert suffered from bipolar disorder, and when she turned to sex work, they were always afraid. "She pretty much thought that, you know, it would never happen to her," said Sarra.

Gilbert took a car to the home of the Craigslist client and upon reviewing her 911 call, police said they heard two distinct male voices. One was her driver and the other belonged to Gilbert's client, Joseph Brewer. While she was trying to leave his house, Former Suffolk County Chief of Detectives Dominick Varrone believed she got frightened when Brewer tried to touch her.

Gilbert escaped and banged on the doors of two separate residents' homes while still on the phone with the 911 operator. The call lasted for 23 minutes and recorded every exchange. In one, Gilbert is actually let into the house of one man who tries to help, but she fled in fear. This happened again until she disappeared for good around 5:40 a.m.

In December 2011, Gilbert's jeans, shoes, and purse were found in the marsh by Oak Beach, near where she was last seen. A week later, her skeletal remains were located, facedown in the marsh. "I still don't want to believe it. I don't," said Gilbert's mother Mari while speaking with 48 Hours in July 2023.

The medical examiner couldn't determine a cause of death, but Varrone doesn't believe Gilbert was a victim of The Long Island Serial Killer. He said it was an accident that occurred after she got lost in the marsh. When asked what could have killed her if she didn't drown, Varrone had a strange answer. He said it could have been shock. "Certainly she could've succumbed to the elements after a while ... total fatigue and exhaustion."

Regarding her clothing, Varrone attributed that to the fact that Gilbert was reportedly extremely disoriented. "You have to understand the manner in which these items were found ... very consistent with someone losing these items as they're running," he explained. Her family disagrees with this theory and believes Gilbert was murdered.