Amber Lynn Overstreet Costello
Timeline of Life Events, Criminal History, Disappearance, Recovery, and Investigation

Background

Amber Lynn Overstreet Costello was born in North Carolina and later lived in South Carolina, Florida, and New York. She struggled with heroin addiction for several years. She worked in sex work under the aliases “Carolina” and “Mia” to support her addiction. She was one of the four primary victims later linked in what became known as the Gilgo Four.

Early Life

February 10, 1983

• Amber Lynn Overstreet is born in Gaston County, North Carolina
  
• Parents: Alfred P. Overstreet Jr. and Margaret Anne Sasse
  
• Sister: Kimberly Overstreet
  
• Also known as Amber Lynn Sasse

1988

• Family relocates to Gastonia North Carolina
• They live in a converted garage apartment
• Al works in a donut shop
• Margie works in a seafood restaurant as a waitress

Reported Childhood Sexual Assault and Family Collapse (Not verified by police record. Based on family storytelling)

Late 1988

• Amber is 5 years old
• Multiple family versions claim she was sexually assaulted by a 26 year old neighbor named James
• Conflicting versions exist about where and how it happened
• Version 1: Assault occurs in the bushes near a tennis court
• Version 2: Margie finds Amber and James in a bed and attempts to pull him off
  
• Version 3: Al discovers the assault and attempts to shoot James with a shotgun
• No verified police record has been located
• After the alleged assault
• Margie reportedly suffers a mental breakdown and is hospitalized
• Al is arrested for DWI and jailed briefly
• Amber and Kim are sent to live with relatives

Upon Recovery

• Family does not stay together
• Amber and Margie move to Charlotte
• Kim remains with Al but also stays with friends due to instability and Al’s legal and substance problems

Reunification and Wilmington Era

1996

• Family reconciles and relocates to Wilmington North Carolina, Monkey Junction area
• They reportedly live in a motel for a period
• Amber attends Myrtle Grove Middle School
• Margie is drinking heavily
• Amber frequently cares for Kim’s child after school while Kim works and attends college

Introduction to Sex Work Environment

1996

• Kim, approximately age 19, reportedly begins escort work
• Works under an operation called Co Ed Confidential under a woman named Teresa
• Begins providing financial support to family

1999

• Amber is approximately 16 years old
• Reportedly begins engaging in sexual activity for money with older neighborhood men
• Later begins working with Co Ed Confidential like Kim
• Drug exposure begins
• Drugs reportedly present at parties hosted by pimp Teresa

Church Period, Marriage, and Attempted Stability

Early 2000s

• Amber leaves escorting for a time
• Becomes active in Open Door Church in Leland North Carolina
• Works in church nursery

Marriage to Michael Wilhelm

• Meets Michael Wilhelm
• He is reportedly about twenty years older than Amber
• Short marriage
• Ends due to addiction struggles

Move to Florida and Second Marriage

2005

• Margie reportedly dies of a stomach ulcer
• Major emotional impact on Amber

November 14, 2005

• Arrested in Beaufort County, South Carolina
  
• Charge: Possession of a Schedule I controlled substance
• Uses the name Amber Lynn Wilhelm

2006

January 30, 2006

• Arrested again in Beaufort County
  
• Charge: Possession of narcotics

Move to Florida

• Kim, Amber, and Kim’s boyfriend Michael Donato move to Florida

2007

• Amber meets Donald Edward Costello
• Joins husband’s church

December 1, 2007

• Marries Donald Edward Costello
  
• Marriage filing number 144726
  
• Donald Costello is significantly older than Amber
  
• They live in the Clearwater and High Point Florida area
  
• Address association includes 300 South Hercules Avenue Apt 15 Clearwater Florida
• Works in church nursery
• Suffers reported miscarriage

2008

• Amber and Donald take in a baby from church named Gabe
• Attempt adoption but it fails
• Marriage deteriorates

Florida Arrests and Warrant

July 2, 2009

• Arrested in Pinellas County, Florida  Source
• Charge: Petit theft Source

October 29, 2009

• Husband Donald Costello files for divorce
  
• Case No. 09-011913-FD Source
• Known Florida addresses at this time
  
• Amber: 1873 Elaine Drive Clearwater FL
  
• Donald: 1300 South Hercules Avenue Apt 15 Clearwater FL

December 1, 2009

• Receives a traffic ticket in Pinellas County Source

December 16, 2009

• Arrested again in Pinellas County for petit theft Source | Source
• Arrest Age:26
• Current Age: 42
• Gender: Female
• Birthdate: 02/10/1983
• Block: 1300 S Hercules Ave
• City: Clearwater, Florida 33764
• Height: 5’01”
• Weight: 100 lbs
• Hair Color: Brown
• Eye Color: Green
• Place of Birth: PA
• Accused of shoplifting household items including toothpaste from Publix in Pinellas Park
  
• Tells police she works for Clearwater Library
  
• City confirms no employment record
  
• Fails to appear in court
  
• Warrant issued for failure to appear

Move to New York and Rehabilitation

December 2009

• Brought to New York by her sister Kimberly Overstreet for drug treatment
• Tickets reportedly funded by a friend and assisted by David Schaller

Late December 2009 to January 2010

• Completes a 28 day inpatient rehab program
  
• Moves into sober housing
  
• Later moves into 1112 America Avenue in West Babylon, New York

Life in West Babylon

Early 2010

• 1112 America Avenue West Babylon becomes primary residence
  
• House size approximately 753 square feet
• Residents confirmed or reported in the home at various times
• Amber Costello
• Bjorn Brodsky
• Dave Schaller
• Kimberly Overstreet
• Another female sex worker roommate
• Later a woman named Michelle from the Bronx
• All residents struggle with heroin addiction

Escort Work Operation

• Amber begins earning income through escort work
  
• Uses Craigslist and Backpage advertisements
  
• Stage names: Carolina and Mia
  
• Buys prepaid cellphone
  
• According to Brodsky, calls were constant

Escort Rules Described by Roommates

• Begins escort advertising on Craigslist and Backpage under aliases “Carolina” and “Mia”
• Provides in call and out call escort services
  
• Male roommates assist in arranging dates
  
• Rules described
• In calls preferred
• Amber keeps money secured
• Dave and Bjorn remain nearby for safety
• Out calls discouraged but they did occur

Development of Scam

• Amber collects client money
• Dave or Bjorn enters acting as angry boyfriend or husband
• Client panics and flees
• Scam reportedly used between 10 and 20 times
• Online forums begin discussing it
• Death threats begin
• One client runs out of house naked and files a police report naming Kimberly
• Scam ends due to danger

Brodsky Arrest and Departure

August 2010

• Bjorn arrested with heroin, cocaine, and a knife
• Amber posts his 5,000 dollar bail using a client co signer
• Bjorn checks into rehab shortly after
• Leaves Amber and Dave managing the situation
• Household atmosphere becomes darker and more dangerous according to Bjorn

Final Days and Disappearance

September 1, 2010

• A persistent client repeatedly contacts Amber
  
• Offers $1,500 for an overnight date
  
• Around 10:30 p.m., contacts again stating he is nearby
  
• Despite warnings from David Schaller, Amber leaves the residence
  
• Leaves without her phone
  
• Reportedly wearing a pink hoodie and jeans

September 2, 2010

• Amber is last seen leaving 1112 America Avenue to meet the client
  
• Client phone activity later linked traveling toward Massapequa Park
  
• Witness describes client as approximately 6 feet 4 inches, large and imposing
  
• A dark colored first generation Chevrolet Avalanche is connected to the encounter

September 3, 2010

• Amber does not return home
  
• Schaller contacts Kimberly Overstreet
  
• Kimberly does not report Amber missing, believing she may be using drugs and fearing police would not take the case seriously

Body Recovery

December 13, 2010

• Human remains discovered near Gilgo Beach along Ocean Parkway
  
• Remains identified as Amber Lynn Costello: Dave Schaller identifies Amber by tattoo
• Cause of death: Strangulation
  
• She had been bound with three pieces of white or clear duct tape and wrapped in burlap
  
• Identified as one of the Gilgo Four along with
  
• Maureen Brainard Barnes
  
• Melissa Barthelemy
  
• Megan Waterman

Key Context Notes

• Sister does not report Amber missing believing she was getting high
• Online client community documents scam victims
• At least one victim filed police report naming Kimberly
• Early investigation considered scam victims as potential suspects

Investigation

2011 to 2022

• Gilgo Beach homicide investigation continues
  
• Limited breakthroughs over more than a decade
  
• Case remains unresolved during this period

Task Force Renewal

2022

• Multi agency task force reestablished
  
• Involves Suffolk County Police, New York State Police, and FBI
  
• Digital forensic review and cellular analysis advanced

Arrest of Rex Heuermann

July 13, 2023

• Rex Heuermann of Massapequa Park arrested
  
• Charged with murders of
  
• Amber Lynn Costello
  
• Megan Waterman
  
• Melissa Barthelemy

Phone Analysis

• Burner phones used to contact victims linked together
  
• Device activity overlaps with Heuermann’s Massapequa Park residence and Manhattan office

Vehicle Evidence

• Witness David Schaller identifies Chevrolet Avalanche
  
• Heuermann owned a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche during the time of Amber’s disappearance

DNA Evidence

• Investigators recover discarded pizza box in early 2023
  
• DNA matches male DNA from Megan Waterman crime scene
  
• Forensic consistency aligns with evidence in the Gilgo Four cases

Witness Account

• Schaller recalls Amber saying the client offered $1,500
  
• Expresses regret he did not walk far enough to see the vehicle fully
  
• Describes suspect as extremely tall and ogre like
  
• Identifies Chevrolet Avalanche as the vehicle involved

The Lead-Up to Amber Lynn Costello’s Disappearance

On September 1, 2010, an unidentified man contacted Amber Lynn Costello through a prepaid burner phone in response to her online escort advertisement. After she agreed to meet him, the burner phone began traveling from the West Amityville/Massapequa Park area toward her residence in West Babylon, Long Island.

As the client made his way to the house, Costello and her roommate, David Schaller, agreed to execute a scam they had used successfully in the past. The plan was simple: once the client handed over the cash, Schaller would emerge and pose as Costello’s angry boyfriend, prompting the client to flee without receiving any services.

This tactic had become well-known enough in certain circles to generate online chatter. In July 2010, a user identified as “Humiliatrix69” posted on the Long Island Erotic Services forum claiming he had been scammed by Costello. He alleged that after paying $200 for sex, he was robbed by men who stormed into the home. Responses from other users quickly escalated. One, using the handle “Italyrider”, asked for Costello’s address and threatened, “No one from this board needs to be involved. I have friends who can take care of this s—.” Another, named “Morrie”, added, “Tell her we are all coming over there with baseball bats.”

Not long after these threats were posted, a large, middle-aged white male appeared at the West Babylon residence. David Schaller later described the man as an imposing figure—like an “ogre”—standing well over six feet tall, wearing sunglasses, and driving a dark-colored pickup truck with a distinctive triangular feature at the rear.

Schaller attempted his usual “boyfriend ruse,” but hesitated when he saw the man’s intimidating size. The man backed off, claiming he was “just a friend” and added, “Tell her I’ll give her a call,” before leaving.

Shortly afterward, the same burner phone sent Costello a message:
“That was not nice, so I credit for next time.”

On the evening of September 2, 2010, the man began contacting Costello again. This time, he requested that she come to his location, citing discomfort with the presence of a “boyfriend” during their last encounter. During their exchange, he offered her $1,500 for an overnight visit a figure well above her usual rate.

Following a back-and-forth negotiation, they agreed on a price. The burner phone was again tracked traveling from Massapequa Park to West Babylon.

At approximately 11:20 p.m., Amber Costello left her residence and walked to the client’s vehicle, which was parked around the corner. Shortly afterward, David Schaller noticed a dark-colored truck passing by the house. Amber was never seen again.

Background on Bjorn Brodsky and Relationship with Amber

• Bjorn Brodsky was born in 1984 and is from Great Neck, New York.
  
• He meets Amber during the 28 day rehab program at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, New York.
  
• At the time he meets Amber, he has a “toxic” relationship with his mother’s boyfriend, and Amber offers him a place to stay with her and Dave at 1112 America Avenue after rehab.
  
• Amber is sober when she makes this offer and when he initially moves into the house.
  
• Amber and Dave pick him up when he is discharged from rehab and bring him to the West Babylon house.
  
• He meets Kimberly (Kim) at the house and quickly learns that Kim and Dave have a romantic or sexual relationship.
  
• Brodsky states repeatedly that he and Amber were not boyfriend and girlfriend. He describes them as very close friends.
  
• He describes Amber as “the sweetest person you ever met in your life.”

Two Weeks After Rehab, Relapse, and Drug Use

• About two weeks after he moves into the house, drugs come “back into the picture” and everyone relapses.
  
• Brodsky emphasizes that it is not correct to say Amber financially supported everyone in the house.
  
• He says it is “impossible” to support three heroin addicts on her escort income alone.
  
• He states that he had his own hustle and that they shared drugs but he did not take a cut of her money.

Amber’s Story and Family Lie About Her Father

• After he moves into the West Babylon house Amber tells him about her life history.
  
• Amber tells Brodsky that her father is dead.
  
• Kim backs up that story when they all talk.
  
• Later, Brodsky learns that Amber’s father was not in fact dead, and this discovery bothers him.
  
• He says he does not know why she would lie about her father and says this was “weird.”

Kim Overstreet’s Role and Crack Addiction

• Brodsky says that one day they are all in the car together.
  
• Dave is driving.
  
• Brodsky is in the front passenger seat.
  
• Amber and Kim are in the back seat.
  
• They are talking about needing money.
  
• Brodsky is planning to go to the city to get drugs to support his opioid addiction.
  
• Kim speaks up and says she knows how they can make money “real quick.”
  
• Brodsky and Dave immediately understand that she is talking about sex work.
  
• Brodsky states that he learned about the sex trade only after meeting Kim.
  
• He says Kim was “not a good sister” and that he told her this directly.
  
• He says Kim did not treat Amber well.
  
• Kim took money from Amber.
  
• Kim framed things as “I got you in here, you owe me, you owe me.”
  
• He describes Kim as having a “very bad crack addiction.”
  
• Kim was smoking crack rather than using heroin.
  
• He says Kim was manipulative and greedy and that she took advantage of Dave.
  
• Dave was in love with Kim and wanted to make her happy.
  
• Helping Amber, in Dave’s mind, was part of making Kim happy.

Origin of Amber’s Escorting and Advertising

• Brodsky says Kim and Amber had done “dancing down South” and had previously advertised on Backpage and Craigslist.
  
• He and Dave tried to talk them out of doing this work in New York.
  
• He told Amber that New York City is dangerous and “a hot spot for weirdos,” not like South Carolina or Florida.
  
• Brodsky says he had a bad feeling and told both Amber and Dave that he believed it would end badly.
  
• Amber and Kim insist on doing the escort work anyway.
  
• They tell Brodsky and Dave that if the men are not willing to help and protect them, they will do it on their own.
  
• This ultimatum pushes Dave and Brodsky into a protective “we will be there” role.

House Rules and Operation as Brodsky Describes It

• Amber begins posting ads on Craigslist and Backpage using the name “Carolina.”
  
• The operation at 1112 America Avenue generally follows these rules according to Brodsky:
  
• Clients come to the house, not the other way around.
  
• Amber meets the client in the living room.
  
• She takes payment first and then brings the money to the back bedroom where Brodsky and Dave are waiting.
  
• Brodsky describes this as a sad scene and says he had never been around sex workers before.
  
• House protection set up
  
• Dave and Brodsky are usually in the back bedroom.
  
• There is a pit bull in the house.
  
• The rule, as Brodsky tells it, is that Amber does not do out calls.
  
• The idea is that she is safer inside the house with Dave, Bjorn, and the dog present.

Creation of the Scam

• One time a client is taking a long time at the house and Brodsky wants him gone.
  
• Brodsky describes the layout
  
• Bedroom and bathroom off to the side.
  
• Kitchen and living room combined in a single open space.
  
• If you open the bedroom door you can see straight to the refrigerator.
  
• Brodsky’s first “naked husband” act
  
• He is in the back bedroom with Dave and the pit bull.
  
• He strips completely naked and walks out of the bedroom pretending he has just come home.
  
• He opens the refrigerator, then turns and “discovers” the man with Amber on the couch.
  
• He shouts something like “Oh hell no, what are you doing with my wife.”
  
• The client panics, knocks over the couch, and runs out of the house.
  
• Amber is laughing. Brodsky calls it one of the funniest things they had seen.
  
• After this, Brodsky has the idea that Amber might not have to perform sex acts if they can run this scam and still keep the money.
  
• The scam evolves into a pattern
  
• Amber brings the money to the back bedroom.
  
• Either Brodsky or Dave climbs out the back window.
  
• They then come around the front of the house pretending to arrive home.
  
• They confront the client as if catching him with “their wife.”
  
• Most clients panic and flee without demanding their money back.

Escalation and Threats from the Scam

• Brodsky estimates they ran this scam for a couple of weeks.
  
• He estimates they did this to between ten and twenty clients.
  
• Some clients are “regulars” who are not ripped off and receive actual services instead.
  
• A client review website begins discussing “Carolina” and the operation.
  
• Kim shows Brodsky the site and says they have to stop because:
  
• They are “killing business.”
  
• They are creating a dangerous situation.
  
• Brodsky says they began receiving serious death threats on the phone.
  
• They changed phone numbers but stayed in the same house.
  
• He realizes how dangerous things have become.
  
• After this, they stop the scam and return to what he calls “honest exchange” with clients.
  
• The rule is re-emphasized that Amber should not go out on calls.

Other Incidents and Out Call Contradiction

• Brodsky describes at least one incident involving an out call where Amber is in danger.
  
• He recalls hearing her voice through the phone or in the background while she is trying to calm a man down.
  
• He and Dave decide she is in trouble.
  
• The man will not open the door.
  
• They break a window to get her out.
  
• This event shows that despite the “no out calls” rule, out calls did occur and were dangerous.

“Running the House” and Kim’s Position

• Brodsky says that while Kim did not live in the house full time, she behaved as if she were the “head of the household.”
  
• She stayed in Lindenhurst with her children’s father and his parents.
  
• He believes she was using Dave and manipulating finances.
  
• He says Amber felt like she owed Kim something and that Kim often took money or a cut from what Amber earned.

Brodsky’s Arrest, Rikers Time, and Amber Making Bail

• Brodsky disputes Dave’s claim that he overdosed at the house and went to ICU.
  
• He states very clearly that he has never overdosed, never been Narcaned, never been hospitalized for overdose, and never had an ambulance called for that reason.
  
• Instead, he describes the following sequence:
  
• He goes to Manhattan to buy heroin for the household.
  
• The police arrest him with about 30 bags.
  
• He is charged with possession with intent to distribute, a serious felony.
  
• Bail is set at 5,000 dollars.
  
• He is taken to Rikers Island and held in the “tombs” bullpen awaiting arraignment.
  
• Because of phone restrictions, he cannot call Long Island numbers from Rikers and has no contact with Amber or Dave.
  
• Unexpected release
  
• A correction officer calls his name and asks for his ID tag.
  
• He assumes he is in trouble, but instead is told he has been bailed out.
  
• He is brought up, processed, and released.
  
• He walks out onto 107th Street and finds Amber waiting at the bottom of the courthouse steps.
  
• Amber has arranged his bail.
  
• He says a client of Amber’s signed as creditor for the bail bond.
  
• He describes this as proof of her loyalty and calls her “my friend” in an emotional way.

Michelle, New Worker in the House

• When he returns to the West Babylon house after a week in jail the atmosphere is completely different.
  
• He says the “energy” is dark.
  
• Things are missing from the house.
  
• It feels less like “Dave’s house” and more like a straight prostitution and drug spot.
  
• A new woman is working out of the house, named Michelle.
  
• She is a Dominican woman from the Bronx.
  
• He does not know her last name.
  
• Amber tells him she met Michelle at a party or event related to the work.
  
• Brodsky thinks she is important to the case
  
• He strongly suggests that people should try to locate Michelle.
  
• He believes there is a very high probability that Michelle may have seen the same client who later picked Amber up the night she disappeared.

Decision to Leave and Go to Rehab

• As his case proceeds, Brodsky has to appear in court and also meet with the bail bondsman.
  
• He is told clearly that he cannot get arrested again or violate bail conditions or the money will be lost and he will go back to custody.
  
• The judge gives him two options:
  
• Go to rehab.
  
• Or go upstate to prison on the felony.
  
• He chooses rehab.
  
• He detoxes at North Shore Hospital.
  
• He enters a 28 day rehab program in Queens.
  
• Dave drives him to the program.
  
• Amber and Dave bring him his backpack, clothes, and toiletries at the rehab.
  
• Brodsky says Amber comes to visit him every day during detox, bringing food and making sure he has what he needs.
  
• Amber begs him not to go to long term rehab and says they could fight the case from the street using a lawyer.
  
• Brodsky decides to go anyway.
  
• He says he wanted to be a father and not a “junkie” anymore.
  
• He believed the situation at the house would end badly if he stayed.

Brodsky’s View of Amber’s Humanity

• Brodsky states very strongly that Amber should not be reduced to the label “sex worker.”
• He says:
• Just because someone chooses to do something to make money does not make them less human.
• “She was not a sex worker, she was a human being.”
• She was someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, and his friend.

Post Amber Criminal History for Context

2010

• Brodsky has a drug conviction for illegal possession of a controlled substance.

August 12, 2011

• At his home in the Village of Great Neck, Brodsky threatens a victim during a dispute over medication.
  
• He allegedly slams a large kitchen knife repeatedly into a table.
  
• He yells “give me my medication or I will kill you.”
  
• He is also accused of choking the victim.
  
• He is later convicted on the weapons related offense, not the choking charge.

2012

• Brodsky is sentenced to approximately one year in prison after pleading guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the August 2011 incident.

Later Narcotics and Robbery Related Allegations

• While on narcotics possession charges in a later incident, NYPD notifies Nassau County Police.
  
• Nassau County Police arrest him for a reported robbery of a 19 year old man he knew from prison.
  
• Allegations include
  
• Driving to the victim’s home in Oyster Bay.
  
• Luring him into a car with two other unknown white males.
  
• Threatening the victim with a hypodermic needle and demanding he empty his pockets.
  
• Taking the victim’s wallet and pushing him out of the car.
  
• Fleeing westbound on Shore Road.
  
• The victim is not physically injured.