Jesus but he's a big fucker isn't he?
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Rex Heuermann admitted murdering seven women in a string of long-unsolved crimes known as the Gilgo Beach killings, at a hearing in Riverhead, New York, on Wednesday. Picture: James Carbone/Newsday via AP
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An architect accused in a string of long-unsolved slayings of prostitutes unexpectedly pleaded guilty on Wednesday, closing the case of one of the most prolific serial killers in recent American history.
Rex Heuermann, 62, was charged with murdering seven women and dumping their bodies undetected along a strip of Gilgo Beach in Long Island, New York over a nearly two-decade period.
Addressing a Suffolk County court judge, Heuermann admitted to strangling to death Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla and Valerie Mack. Although he was not charged in her death, he also admitted killing an eighth woman, Karen Vergata, in 1996.
Heuermann had previously pleaded not guilty and said through his lawyer that he was looking forward to his day in court.
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Long Island architect pleads guilty to Gilgo Beach murders
A Long Island architect admitted in court on Wednesday (April 8) to killing eight women in attacks...
more
The decision means he is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison. It ended a highly anticipated trial that promised to be a big spectacle in a quiet and serene corner of Long Island.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney scheduled a news conference for Wednesday afternoon, local time, after a morning court hearing. He would be joined by members of the victims’ families and of the Gilgo Beach homicide investigation taskforce, which cracked the case with the help of clues that included DNA from a discarded pizza crust.
The police arrested Heuermann in July 2023, nearly three decades after the first body was found in the 1990s in Southampton. Eventually, 11 bodies were uncovered along a beach parkway on the South Shore of Long Island, in the Gilgo Beach area. Heuermann was not charged over the deaths of three of the women.
Media and members of the public packed the courtroom on Wednesday morning. Reporters and cameramen swarmed Heuermann’s ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, and their daughter as they walked into the building.
“It’s a difficult day,” said Robert Macedonio, a lawyer for Ms Ellerup. “No one can envision ever in their life standing here in a courthouse … surrounded by media, having their ex-husband accused of seven, potentially eight, homicides. It’s unimaginable. There’s no way to prepare for it.”
The Gilgo Beach investigation began in earnest in 2010 after police found numerous sets of human remains along a remote beach highway on Long Island’s South Shore, setting off a search for a potential serial killer that attracted global interest and spawned a Hollywood movie.
Investigators used DNA analysis and other evidence to identify victims. In some cases, they were able to connect them to remains found elsewhere on Long Island years earlier.
Remains of six victims were found in the scrub along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach. The remains of another victim, Costilla, were found almost 100km away in the Hamptons.
Police also identified an eighth woman, Vergata, whose remains were found on Fire Island in 1996 and near Gilgo Beach in 2011.
Despite the attention, including a documentary series and 2020 Netflix film Lost Girls, the investigation dragged on for more than a decade, punctuated by fleeting leads and dashed hopes.
Heuermann appeared to live a double life. He worked in Manhattan as an architectural consultant, returning each evening to a modest home in Massapequa Park where he lived with his wife and two adult children. All the while he was organising meetings with escorts and prostitutes.
In 2022, six weeks after a new police commissioner formed the Gilgo Beach taskforce, detectives identified Heuermann as a suspect by using a vehicle registration database to connect him to a pick-up truck a witness reported seeing when one of the victims disappeared in 2010.
Detectives collected billing records for burner phones he allegedly used to arrange meetings with the victims, retested DNA found with the bodies, and scoured Heuermann’s internet search history, which showed that he had viewed violent torture pornography and exhibited an intense interest in the Gilgo Beach killings and the renewed investigation. Mobile phone data showed Heuermann was in contact with some victims just before they disappeared, investigators said.
Gilgo Beach serial killer makes surprise confession
JOSIE ENSORNew YorkListen to this article
4 min
Rex Heuermann admitted murdering seven women in a string of long-unsolved crimes known as the Gilgo Beach killings, at a hearing in Riverhead, New York, on Wednesday. Picture: James Carbone/Newsday via AP
Gift this article
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Make us preferred on Google2 hours ago.
Updated 1 hours ago
An architect accused in a string of long-unsolved slayings of prostitutes unexpectedly pleaded guilty on Wednesday, closing the case of one of the most prolific serial killers in recent American history.
Rex Heuermann, 62, was charged with murdering seven women and dumping their bodies undetected along a strip of Gilgo Beach in Long Island, New York over a nearly two-decade period.
Addressing a Suffolk County court judge, Heuermann admitted to strangling to death Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla and Valerie Mack. Although he was not charged in her death, he also admitted killing an eighth woman, Karen Vergata, in 1996.
Heuermann had previously pleaded not guilty and said through his lawyer that he was looking forward to his day in court.
Loaded: 79.49%
00:00 / 00:00
Long Island architect pleads guilty to Gilgo Beach murders
A Long Island architect admitted in court on Wednesday (April 8) to killing eight women in attacks...
more
The decision means he is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison. It ended a highly anticipated trial that promised to be a big spectacle in a quiet and serene corner of Long Island.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney scheduled a news conference for Wednesday afternoon, local time, after a morning court hearing. He would be joined by members of the victims’ families and of the Gilgo Beach homicide investigation taskforce, which cracked the case with the help of clues that included DNA from a discarded pizza crust.
The police arrested Heuermann in July 2023, nearly three decades after the first body was found in the 1990s in Southampton. Eventually, 11 bodies were uncovered along a beach parkway on the South Shore of Long Island, in the Gilgo Beach area. Heuermann was not charged over the deaths of three of the women.
Media and members of the public packed the courtroom on Wednesday morning. Reporters and cameramen swarmed Heuermann’s ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, and their daughter as they walked into the building.
“It’s a difficult day,” said Robert Macedonio, a lawyer for Ms Ellerup. “No one can envision ever in their life standing here in a courthouse … surrounded by media, having their ex-husband accused of seven, potentially eight, homicides. It’s unimaginable. There’s no way to prepare for it.”
The Gilgo Beach investigation began in earnest in 2010 after police found numerous sets of human remains along a remote beach highway on Long Island’s South Shore, setting off a search for a potential serial killer that attracted global interest and spawned a Hollywood movie.
Investigators used DNA analysis and other evidence to identify victims. In some cases, they were able to connect them to remains found elsewhere on Long Island years earlier.
Remains of six victims were found in the scrub along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach. The remains of another victim, Costilla, were found almost 100km away in the Hamptons.
Police also identified an eighth woman, Vergata, whose remains were found on Fire Island in 1996 and near Gilgo Beach in 2011.
Despite the attention, including a documentary series and 2020 Netflix film Lost Girls, the investigation dragged on for more than a decade, punctuated by fleeting leads and dashed hopes.
Heuermann appeared to live a double life. He worked in Manhattan as an architectural consultant, returning each evening to a modest home in Massapequa Park where he lived with his wife and two adult children. All the while he was organising meetings with escorts and prostitutes.
In 2022, six weeks after a new police commissioner formed the Gilgo Beach taskforce, detectives identified Heuermann as a suspect by using a vehicle registration database to connect him to a pick-up truck a witness reported seeing when one of the victims disappeared in 2010.
Detectives collected billing records for burner phones he allegedly used to arrange meetings with the victims, retested DNA found with the bodies, and scoured Heuermann’s internet search history, which showed that he had viewed violent torture pornography and exhibited an intense interest in the Gilgo Beach killings and the renewed investigation. Mobile phone data showed Heuermann was in contact with some victims just before they disappeared, investigators said.
