Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann charged in slayings of two extra girls | EUROtoday

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Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has been charged with the brutal murders of two extra girls, whose stays have been discovered over twenty years in the past, together with a sufferer whom investigators had beforehand linked to a special suspect.

Heuermann, 60, was again in courtroom in Riverhead, New York, on Thursday morning the place he was arraigned on homicide expenses within the 2003 dismemberment demise of 20-year-old Jessica Taylor and the 1993 demise of 28-year-old Sandra Costilla. He pleaded not responsible to the stunning expenses that got here simply days after one other exhaustive search at his Long Island dwelling.

The former Manhattan architect, who was first arrested in July 2023, has already been charged with the 2009 and 2010 murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes – collectively often called the “Gilgo Four” – after their stays have been present in burlap sacks alongside Ocean Parkway.

The stays of the 4 girls have been the primary of 10 discovered alongside a distant seaside parkway on Long Island between late fall 2010 and early spring 2011. All 4 girls have been intercourse employees, authorities have mentioned.

Jessica Taylor, a Poughkeepsie resident who labored as an escort in New York City, was discovered dismembered in a wooded space of Manorville, New York, on July 26, 2003. Her torso was discovered, however different components have been lacking.

Those stays, together with her head, fingers and forearm have been found years later – alongside Ocean Parkway on March 29, 2011 – and initially labeled “Jane Doe No. 5.”

Sandra Costilla was a resident of Queens whose stays have been discovered on November 20, 1993, on Cove Road in North Sea, a Southampton city. She had not been included among the many group of Gilgo Beach victims — till now.

Instead, investigators suspected that convicted serial killer John Bittrolff was linked to Costilla’s homicide, however he was by no means charged. He is at the moment serving a 50-years-to-life sentence at Clinton Correctional Center in Dannemora.

New homicide expenses observe second large search at suspect’s dwelling

Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla are the primary alleged victims of Heuermann who have been murdered earlier than 2007, based on Newsdaywhich first reported information of the indictment this week.

This can be the primary time he’s been charged in reference to victims whose stays have been discovered dismembered and someplace apart from Ocean Parkway. This expands the realm of the place he allegedly dumped our bodies by greater than 40 miles.

Heuermann, who has been held with out bail since his arrest on July 13, has pleaded not responsible to the 4 homicide expenses. He was beforehand due again in courtroom for a standing listening to on June 18 till this week’s indictment got here by way of.

It comes simply days after Gilgo Beach Task Force investigators accomplished a second search of Heuermann’s dwelling in Massapequa Park and a search of an space of Manorville the place the partial stays of two Jessica Taylor — and Valerie Mack — have been discovered greater than twenty years in the past.

Taylor’s torso was discovered off Halsey Manor Lane in Manorville a couple of mile south of the place Valerie Mack’s stays have been found close to the Long Island Expressway, Newsday reported. However, Mack’s demise is just not part of the brand new indictment, sources informed the paper.

Over the course of 9 days again in April of this yr, Gilgo Beach Task Force investigators searched the realm of Manorville the place the stays of Taylor and Mack have been found, in addition to Heuermann’s dwelling.

A primary search of the home again in July lasted 12 days and turned up greater than 200 firearms, together with dozens saved in a basement vault. Investigators additionally tore up a wood deck, used an excavator to dig up the yard and scanned for buried objects with specialised tools.

Robert Macedonio, who represents Heuermann’s estranged spouse, Asa Ellerup, talked to Newsday final week after inspecting the situation of the Massapequa Park property following the newest search.

“It seems to be that the focus was in the basement,” Macedonio mentioned on the time.

“There doesn’t seem to be much disturbance in the bathrooms [and] bedrooms.” But particulars of what precisely the investigators have been in search of within the basement stays a thriller.

Gilgo Beach sufferer was as soon as tied to a special suspect

Investigators descended on Long Island’s Manorville in April in search of proof within the 1993 homicide of Sandra Costilla, which that they had hoped to tie to convicted assassin John Bittrolff, 57, police sources with information of the case informed the New York Post on the time.

The intensive search shifted to North Sea, a hamlet inside Southampton Town, the place she had been discovered on November 20, 1993, overwhelmed and strangled. She was nude and her fingers have been tied behind her.

Costilla, who additionally used the final title Cutello, was 28 years outdated when she was killed. She had lived in Ridgewood, Queens till round 1992, police mentioned on the time. And data confirmed she had additionally beforehand lived in an condominium in Flushing, Queens

She was initially linked to the murders of Colleen McNamee and Rita Tangredi, who John Bittrolff was later convicted of killing.

But the DNA linking him to the opposite two victims was not discovered at Costilla’s scene, former Assistant District Attorney Robert Biancavilla mentioned in 2014.

Her demise had not been tied to the Gilgo Beach investigation till Okay-9 items spent 5 hours in April looking the wooded North Sea property the place her stays had been discovered, Newsday reported.

While the opposite Gilgo Beach homicide victims have been described by police as intercourse employees, Costilla was not.

Just months earlier than Heuermann was arrested at his Manhattan agency final yr, Bittrolff was dismissed because the Gilgo Beach suspect.

Gilgo Beach saga started with a lacking intercourse employee

The case started again in May 2010 when Shannan Gilbert, a younger girl working as a intercourse employee, vanished after leaving a consumer’s home on foot close to Gilgo Beach. She referred to as 911 for assist saying she feared for her life and was by no means seen alive once more.

During a seek for Gilbert in a dense thicket near the seaside, police found human stays. Within days, 4 victims had been discovered. By spring 2011, the variety of victims rose to 10.

Gilbert’s physique was then present in December 2011. Her reason for demise is broadly contested with authorities lengthy claiming that it isn’t linked to the serial killer or killers however that she died from unintentional drowning as she fled from the consumer’s dwelling.

However, an unbiased post-mortem commissioned by her household dominated that she died by strangulation and her household continues to imagine she was murdered.

Court data present that Heuermann was linked to the “Gilgo Four” murders by way of a tip about his pickup truck, a stash of burner telephones, “sadistic” on-line searches and telephone calls taunting victims’ households.

Email accounts allegedly utilized by Heuermann have been used “to access and/or conduct searches related to pornography, rape, torture, and sex workers several thousand times,” prosecutors mentioned.

Among the harrowing searches have been: “autopsy photos of female”, “stories of rape audio”, “escorts manhattan”, and “very skinny white teen tied up porn.”

His DNA was additionally discovered on one of many victims, whereas his spouse’s hair was discovered on three of the 4 girls he’s linked to, based on prosecutors.

Investigators are persevering with to work to find out if Heuermann can be linked to any of the opposite victims – whereas regulation enforcement officers throughout the nation are probing chilly case murders for any potential ties.

A trial date has not been set.