Tonya Denise Jackson was born on October 22, 1970, in Alabama. Determined and resilient, she joined the United States Army, serving in Texas from July 1993 to February 1995. On March 17, 1995, Tonya gave birth to her daughter, Tetiana Marie Dykes. After military service, she settled in Brooklyn, New York, and established a new home. It is believed that she worked at a doctor’s office, according to officials. Tonya drove a black 1991 Geo Storm.

In 1997, Tonya was raising her two-year-old daughter, Tetiana Marie Dykes, as a single mother in Brooklyn, NY. However, during the summer of that year, they disappeared without a trace.

On June 28, 1997, a dismembered female torso was discovered inside a Rubbermaid container in a wooded area of Hempstead Lake State Park in Lakeview, New York. The body bore a distinctive tattoo of a peach-shaped heart, with a bite taken out and two drops falling from its core. With no way to identify her, investigators called her “Peaches.”

In 2011, the remains of a toddler were found near Gilgo Beach, along with jewelry that suggested a familial connection. DNA analysis would later confirm the child was the daughter of “Peaches,” but her name, like her mother’s, remained unknown.

For decades, the case remained cold with no identities.

Then, on April 23, 2025, law enforcement finally confirmed the identities: “Peaches” was Tonya Denise Jackson, and the little girl was Tetiana Marie Dykes. After nearly 28 years, the unnamed mother and child were finally given back their names.

Tonya Denise Jackson was laid to rest alongside her two-year-old daughter, Tetiana Marie Dykes, in their home state of Alabama in March 2025. The burial was conducted with full military honors, recognizing Tonya’s service in the U.S. Army. After decades of anonymity, she was officially identified as the woman once known only as “Peaches” and finally returned home by name as a mother and a veteran.

Their story—once a mystery known only by a tattoo and a memory has become a solemn chapter in the pursuit of justice. Though their lives ended too soon, Tonya and Tetiana are no longer anonymous. They are known, remembered, and mourned.

A distinctive tattoo of a peach in the shape of a heart with a bite taken out of it and two drips falling from its core was located on her left breast.

• Unidentified Female
• Located on June 28, 1997 in Lakeview, Nassau County, New York.
• Estimated Date of Death: No more than 3 days
• Cause of death was homicide
• Estimated age: 16 – 30 years old
• Approximate Height and Weight: Unknown
• Scars/Marks: She had an abdominal scar, possibly from a caesarean section.

On June 28, 1997, a dismembered body was discovered in a wooded area of Hempstead Lake State Park, Lakeview, New York. Both arms, head, and legs below the knee were severed and have not been located. The torso was found on the west side of Lake Drive, about 200 yards north of Peninsula Boulevard.

She was found in a Rubbermaid container along with a red towel and a floral pillowcase.

With no leads to the woman’s identity, the police published a picture of the approximately two-inch wide tattoo in a national tattoo magazine, in the hopes of finding the artist who did the work. They received a call from a man in Connecticut who claimed he remembered giving the tattoo to a woman. The artist said he remembered the customer as a young black woman, about 18 or 19 years old, who was accompanied by two women, an aunt and a cousin. During the session, he also claimed she told him she was from either the Bronx or Long Island and that she was in Connecticut because having trouble with her boyfriend at the time. It is possible the woman had other tattoos on her arms or lower legs that the killer did not want found

June, 1997

Peaches is believed to have been murdered during this timeframe. She was a young African American woman, estimated to be between 16 and 30 years old, with a peach tattoo on her left breast.

June 28, 1997

A torso wrapped in plastic bags was found inside a Rubbermaid container in Hempstead Lake State Park, Lakeview, New York. The torso had a peach tattoo and a surgical scar.

March 3, 2007

A suitcase containing a dismembered female torso with a similar tattoo design was found in Harbor Island Park in Mamaroneck, New York. The similarities raised the possibility of a connection between the victims.

April 4, 2011

Skeletal remains of a toddler were found near Gilgo Beach. DNA testing later confirmed the child was the biological daughter of Peaches.

April 11, 2011

Additional human remains were discovered in a plastic bag in Jones Beach State Park. Items found with the remains included jewelry. DNA confirmed the remains belonged to Peaches.

Peaches’ torso and extremities were found 15 miles apart, the mother and child were discovered nearly 10 miles apart on Ocean Parkway and the tot was dumped about 150 feet from another victim dubbed Jane Doe No. 6.

“A female, non-Caucasian toddler thought to be 16 to 32 months old, who was also found April 4, is a blood relative of another woman found 7 miles away in Nassau County on April 11 near Jones Beach. “It is likely that these two individuals are mother and child,” Dormer said.”

Suffolk police and prosecutors announced that they were unsure of Baby Doe’s cause of death, and her death has been ruled a homicide. Suffolk authorities said that they believed the child was a girl, but county medical examiners listed Baby Doe’s gender as “unsure.” Investigators revealed the link between Peaches and Baby Doe in a recently updated case file listed in NamUs, a federal database used to help identify Jane and John Does nationwide.

September 2011

At a press conference, investigators displayed images of jewelry believed to belong to some of the victims.

• Among the items was a rope necklace and a pair of hoop earrings, which were likely worn by the toddler whose remains were found nearby.
• Two bracelets recovered with the child’s remains are believed to have belonged to her mother. One bracelet featured “X” and “O” patterns adorned with stones resembling diamonds, while the other was a snake-style chain.

2016

DNA analysis confirmed that the torso found in 1997 and the remains found in 2011 were from the same individual. It was also confirmed that the woman was the mother of the child found in 2011.

October 7, 2022

The Mobile Police Department announced over Facebook that they were looking for relatives of Elijah “Lige” Howell/Howard (1927–1963). He lived in Mobile, Alabama, with his wife, Carrie, and died in 1963. It’s believed that friends and relatives of him could help in identifying “Peaches” and her child. Link

Who is Elijah?

• Elijah, who was also known by the surnames “Howell” and “Howard,” was born on June 13, 1927, in Frankville, Alabama. He spent the majority of his adult life in Prichard, Alabama.
• By 1950, Elijah was living with his wife, Carrie, in the Whistler neighborhood of Prichard. During the 1960s, his residence was listed as 616 Garrison Avenue. At the time of his death in 1963, Elijah was employed as a construction worker with Sullivan Concrete Company.
• On October 31, 1963, Elijah and a neighbor, Lillie Mae Packer (née Wiggins), who lived nearby at 624 Garrison Avenue, were found deceased in a car off Highway 45 near Atmore Street in Mobile, Alabama. The cause of death was determined to be the combined effects of ethanol (alcohol) and carbon monoxide poisoning.
• According to records, Elijah’s mother, Lueanna, and his brother, Sid Howell, resided in Millry, Alabama.

Anyone with information about Elijah, also known as “Lige,” is urged to contact the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or by submitting a tip online at the FBI’s official website.

July 13, 2023

A suspect was arrested in connection to the Gilgo Beach serial killings. While not directly charged in Peaches’ case, the investigation into her murder remains active.

April 23, 2025

11:00 AM – An official press conference is scheduled to provide updates in the Peaches investigation.

• Peaches and her daughter identified as Tonya Denise Jackson and two year old Tetiana Marie Dykes.
• 1970: Tonya Born October 22, 1970 in Alabama.
• 1993 -1995: US Army Veteran. 
• 1997: Tanya Jackson was living in Brooklyn.
• Tetiana’s father, identified though birth records as Andrew Dykes, 66, of Ruskin, Florida, Dykes moved from Brooklyn in May 2000, he has been questioned by detectives and is cooperating with the investigation

Nassau County Police offer a 25k Crime Stoppers reward for information that leads to an arrest in the Peaches investig

• 2020 the FBI received their dna and began IGG
• 2022 they had a possible ID
• 2023 they gathered dna from possible families for positive ID 
• 2024 they had positive ID Information was withheld to locate and inform family so they can lay Tanya & Tatiana to rest in Alabama.
• 2025 Officials released Tanya and Tatiana’s information. 

After the initial discovery of the woman’s torso in 1997, her distinctive peach tattoo was distributed widely, in hopes someone would recognize it. Eventually, a tattoo artist in Connecticut came forward, claiming he gave the woman the tattoo. The tattoo artist claimed the woman, who was about 18 or 19, came in with two women, who she said were her aunt and cousin. She also said she was from either the Bronx or Long Island, and that she came to Connecticut because she was having troubles with her boyfriend. Despite the possibly promising lead, no other person came forward to identify the torso, and she remained unidentified. During this time, investigators nicknamed her “Peaches.”