A former Army sergeant from Florida is accused of murdering the woman he had an affair with. The pair were co-parents to a son. The man has been charged with second-degree murder several decades after allegedly committing the crime.
Andrew Dykes was brought in as a suspect in the murder of his mistress. Dykes was in active service from 1980 to 2001, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
At the time, he had a wife and two children. When he was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, he met a woman named Tanya Jackson. The pair got physically involved and had a child together in 1995.
#Breaking Former U.S. Army Sgt Andrew Dykes brought to Long Island court, about to be charged in murder of Tanya “Peaches” Jackson, formerly thought to be a victim of serial killer near #GilgoBeach. pic.twitter.com/mkkZxOszeW
— Mary Murphy (@MaryMurphyMedia) December 18, 2025
Tatiana Marie Dykes, the girl, was born in March of 1995. This is when Dykes’ transfer came. The sergeant moved to Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York, later in the same year.
Jackson and Tatiana moved with him, and officials revealed that Dykes held the lease to the New York apartment that the mother and daughter stayed in. In 1997, authorities found a dismembered torso at the Hempstead Lake State Park.
The discovered torso had a tattoo of a peach, which prompted the authorities to refer to the remains as “Peaches.” In 2011, the rest of Jackson’s body parts were found in Gilgo Beach. The corpse of a 2-year-old girl was found at the dumping ground as well.
Initially, the discovered body parts were linked to a different case. Authorities thought Jackson’s death was a part of the Gilgo Beach Killings carried out by Rex Heuermann. Heuermann was arrested for the death of three s– workers whose body parts were discovered in 2010.
DNA tests finally revealed the reality and helped authorities bring in Dykes. In 2023, investigators concluded that the body parts belonged to Tanya and Tatiana. Dykes, who was listed as the father of the 2-year-old, was brought in for questioning.
In October 2024, authorities discreetly collected enough evidence for DNA tests by trailing Dykes. Investigators recovered a plastic drinking cup and straw that the former sergeant had drunk from and thrown in the trash.
On December 3, Dyke was arrested for the murder of his mistress and their daughter. Prosecutors have shared how there is enough evidence against him to prove his guilt of murdering Tatiana.
⚠️ WARNING: This post describes a double murder, child victim & dismembered remains
Andrew Dykes, 66, has been arrested in Ruskin, Florida, on a fugitive murder warrant for the 1997 killings of Tanya Denise Jackson, 26, & her two-year-old daughter, Tatiana Marie Dykes. Dykes is… pic.twitter.com/QdWqflz0CL
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) December 6, 2025
Dyke appeared in court on December 18 and pleaded not guilty. Anne Donnelly, who serves as the Nassau County District Attorney, spoke about how a 30-year-old mystery is finally in the process of being solved.
“Tanya did not meet her end at the hands of a serial killer, but she was a victim of horrifying violence by a person she trusted,” Donnelly added.
Joseph Lo Piccolo, who is Dyke’s attorney, spoke to the press after his arraignment and denied all the allegations. The attorney claimed that just because “someone may have had sexual relations with someone doesn’t mean they’re responsible for their death,” according to a report by The New York Times.
