Peter Hackett: The Calls, the Lawsuit, and Shannan Gilbert

Dr. Peter Hackett is the osteopathic physician and former Oak Beach, New York, neighbor who became a persistent figure of suspicion in the Shannan Gilbert case after he called Gilbert’s mother two days after Shannan vanished on May 1, 2010, allegedly claiming he had treated her and ran a home for “wayward girls.” Hackett has denied making those statements, has never been charged with a crime, and police have said he is not a suspect. A civil suit filed by Gilbert’s family in 2012 is still pending, and in November 2025 a judge ruled that emotional distress claims against him can move forward.

Who Peter Hackett Is

Charles Peter Hackett is a licensed Doctor of Osteopathy who practiced medicine in New York State.¹ He previously headed Suffolk County Emergency Medical Services and was known within the private, gated Oak Beach community as an informal figure in security and emergency response. He acknowledged that he “at times” provided first aid to neighbors. He has also faced criticism, unrelated to the Gilbert case, for allegedly embellishing his role during the investigation of the 1996 TWA Flight 800 crash off Long Island.²

Hackett sold his Oak Beach home in 2012 and reportedly moved to Florida.²

The Phone Calls to Mari Gilbert

On May 3, 2010, two days after Shannan Gilbert fled a client’s Oak Beach home during a 4:51 a.m. 911 call and disappeared, Hackett called her mother, Mari Gilbert. According to Mari, the caller identified himself as Dr. Hackett and said he ran a “halfway house for people who wanted to get off the street.” He told her Shannan had been at his home, that she had been “distressed,” and that he had “treated Shannan and had medicated her.” He said Shannan later left with her driver and that he was worried about her disappearance. Mari said Hackett called again on May 6, 2010.¹³

When Shannan’s sisters later confronted him in person, Hackett denied calling their mother and said he had never seen or met Shannan. He eventually admitted making the call after phone records surfaced. CBS’s 48 Hours obtained records showing the May 3 call was placed from his wife’s cell phone. Hackett then offered a revised account, saying the call happened later in the week and that he had reached out at the request of friends to be “supportive.” In written statements to 48 Hours, he said, “at no time … did I suggest I had ever met her or render medical care of any sort to her.” Asked about his contradictory accounts, he told the program, “I couldn’t remember my story. Seriously, a person gets a lot of phone calls.”³

In cell phone video from a later confrontation, Mari Gilbert asked Hackett about the rehabilitation facility he had described. He responded: “I never saw her, I never met her. … I don’t have a rehab, I don’t do rehab.”³

Why Police Did Not Pursue Him

Despite the questions raised by the calls and Hackett’s shifting explanations, investigators did not treat him as a suspect. Former Suffolk County Chief of Detectives Dominick Varrone said police interviewed Hackett and dismissed him. Varrone described him as “a storyteller and an exaggerator” whose behavior was “not out of character” for someone who “likes to get involved.” He told CBS, “We didn’t pay that much attention to him. I don’t think we missed anything,” and added, “I don’t think he’s a murderer.”⁴ Police have consistently said Hackett is not a suspect in Gilbert’s death or in the Long Island serial killer case.²

The Civil Lawsuit Against Hackett

In November 2012, Mari Gilbert sued Hackett in Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Index No. 12-33683). The complaint alleges Hackett led Shannan and her mother to believe he ran a home for “wayward females” out of his Oak Beach residence, that he took Shannan into his care on May 1, 2010, “imprudently administered medication” to her while she was disoriented and incapable of consenting, and then allowed her to wander into the nearby marsh without calling 911 or taking steps to keep her safe.⁵¹ The complaint further alleges Hackett engaged in conduct to conceal information about his treatment of Gilbert and to obstruct the discovery of her body, delaying determination of her cause of death.⁶ No court has ruled on the merits of those allegations.

Hackett denies every material allegation. He maintains he never met Shannan Gilbert, never treated her, never administered medication, never ran a medical practice from his home, and never operated a home for women.¹ His attorney, James O’Rourke, called the allegations “categorically false” and said there was “not an iota of evidence” to support them.²

Mari Gilbert was killed in July 2016 by her daughter Sarra Gilbert, who was convicted of second-degree murder in April 2017.⁷ The lawsuit continues under substituted plaintiffs: Sheree Gilbert and Frances Nictora as co-administratrices of Shannan Gilbert’s estate, and Sheree Gilbert as administratrix of Mari Gilbert’s estate.¹

Key Rulings in the Case

December 2013. Justice Martin dismissed the wrongful death and intentional tort claims as time-barred. Surviving claims included medical malpractice, negligence, gross negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraudulent inducement.¹
December 2017. Judge Sanford Neil Berland denied Hackett’s motion for summary judgment without prejudice, allowing renewal after discovery.¹
October 2018. The court ordered Suffolk County Police to produce recordings and transcripts of 911 calls from May 1–3, 2010. Judge Berland found the department’s claim that disclosure would interfere with its investigation “conclusory” and “speculative,” noting more than eight years had passed without any arrest.⁶
May 2020. The Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed the order compelling production of the 911 tapes.⁸
November 2025. A judge ruled there was enough evidence for the emotional distress claims to move forward, denying Hackett’s latest bid to have the case dismissed.⁹

Where Gilbert’s Death Fits

Shannan Gilbert’s skeletal remains were recovered from a marsh in December 2011, roughly eight miles from Gilgo Beach.¹⁰ The Suffolk County Medical Examiner classified the cause and manner of death as “undetermined.” Police long theorized she became disoriented and drowned or died of exposure. An independent autopsy by former New York City chief medical examiner Dr. Michael Baden reported findings “consistent with homicidal strangulation,” noting her larynx was missing and two portions of her hyoid bone were absent. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini said at the time the independent findings provided “no additional information” beyond the undetermined ruling.¹¹ Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison later said the prevailing view was that her death was “most likely non-criminal.”¹²

Gilbert is not considered a victim of Rex Heuermann, the Long Island architect who in April 2026 pleaded guilty to murdering eight women whose remains were found near Gilgo Beach and was sentenced to life without parole in June 2026.¹³ Hackett has not been publicly tied to Heuermann’s case.

Portrayals in Books and Film

Hackett appears prominently in Robert Kolker’s 2013 book Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery and its 2020 Netflix adaptation, Lost Girls, where actor Reed Birney plays him. The film depicts Hackett calling Mari Gilbert, claiming to have drugged Shannan, and then denying the encounter, closely following the family’s account.² No public legal challenge by Hackett to his portrayal in either the book or the film has been reported.

1
New York State Unified Court System. Estate of Shannan Gilbert v. Hackett
2
Oxygen. Lost Girls: What Happened to Dr. Peter Hackett
3
CBS News. 48 Hours Uncovers Missing Escort Shannan Gilbert’s Final Minutes
4
CBS News. Long Island Serial Killer Clues – 48 Hours
5
Times Herald-Record. Ellenville Mom Files Wrongful Death Suit
6
Findlaw. Estate of Gilbert v. Hackett
7
NBC New York. Sarra Gilbert Murder Trial
8
New York State Unified Court System. Estate of Shannan Gilbert v. Hackett – Appellate Decision
9
News 12 Long Island. Judge: Shannan Gilbert’s Estate Can Move Ahead With Lawsuit Against Dr. Peter Hackett
10
CBS News. Long Island Serial Killings Investigation Timeline
11
CNN. New York Shannan Gilbert Case
12
CBS News. Shannan Gilbert Gilgo Beach Long Island Serial Killer
13
CNN. Gilgo Beach Victims