Valerie Mack as a child with her baby sister, Quinn. (Courtesy of family)
When Valerie Mack disappeared in 2000, her younger sister liked to think it was to get a fresh start.
"I liked to think for years that she just started a new life elsewhere and she'd come back one day, even if it wasn't realistic," Quinn Mack said. "I thought about her all the time."
It would be 20 years before the family would learn Valerie's remains had been found Nov. 19, 2000, in a wooded area of Manorville, N.Y. The remains were in a black plastic bag wrapped with duct tape.
More remains were found in 2011, on Gilgo Beach, Long Island, along with five other victims of Rex Heuermann, who on Wednesday admitted to killing eight women.
"Finding out what happened to her was the worst wake up call," Quinn Mack told BreakingAC. "Rex Heuermann robbed us of her. He will never receive my forgiveness. But Valerie will always live on in our hearts and the way we remember her."
The memories are deep and treasured by those who knew her beyond a much-shared mugshot and a chapter in the horror story of an architect who targeted escorts to carry out his depraved fantasies.
"She was loved by many, and it’s such an unfortunate tragedy," childhood friend Jackie Lugg said. "That man can’t take the memories from all of us. It’s nice to be able to look back on photos and remember the fun, loved child she was."
Shawn Gallegos said Valerie was more than a friend, she was family.
The two grew up side-by-side, sharing memories that included family road trips to Maine and summers at Bible camp in Canada.
"I can still picture us laughing uncontrollably in the very back of the brown-and-white van my parents owned," he recalled. "Laughing so hard we could barely catch our breath. Those were the simple, carefree days that shaped our bond and created memories I will carry with me forever."
Valerie Kyn Fulton had a difficult start when she came into the world June 2, 1976, in Atlantic City.
When she was 2 years old, she was taken from her mother and put into the state's foster care system.
She would first find the love of a mother and father with Al and Ivy Gimillaro, who brought the little girl into their Mullica home with her older sister, Dierdre.
Unfortunately, that would not last.
Al died when Valerie was about 6. She lost Ivy about three years later, Quinn Mack recalled.
"She was heartbroken," Mack said. "They were the only parents she knew. She loved them dearly and they loved her."
Valerie would find the love of a family again at 10, when she became a Mack, joining the family that included a son and two daughters in Port Republic.
Valerie was the oldest girl, with an older brother, Allen. Then there was Angela and littlest sister, Quinn.
"I loved being Valerie's sister," Quinn Mack said. "She had the best sense of humor. She had an attitude. She was protective of me, sometimes overly so."
Valerie was 17 when she gave birth to her son, living with his father for a time in Wildwood.
Then troubles hit. Arrests and escort work. Then, she disappeared.
On Wednesday, Heuermann would admit to ending Valerie Mack's life and the lives of seven other women.
"I have just always felt that her life was a struggle from beginning to end and this closure brings a big feeling of relief," Lugg said. "it feels, to me, like her soul can finally know peace."
