Long Island Gilgo Beach bodies linked to serial killer
But they now say a single serial killer appears to have been responsible, and that the perpetrator is probably local.
A $25,000 (£16,000) reward has led to 1,200 tips relating to the case but no suspects have yet been identified.
“Looking at the common denominators involved with the dumping ground, the type of victims, the dismemberments, all on Long Island, our theory is that it’s probably one serial killer,” Suffolk County police commissioner Richard Dormer told the Associated Press news agency.
But Mr Dormer, who at one time thought as many as three killers could have been responsible, conceded not everyone in his department shared his latest view.
The first remains were discovered on 11 December 2010 when a police officer and sniffer dog were looking for the body of a New Jersey escort who went missing in May of that year.
The dead adults are all thought to have been prostitutes, including the male, an unidentified Asian, who was found wearing female clothing.
The baby has been linked by DNA to another victim thought to be her mother. They were found seven miles (11km) apart.