The Gilgo Beach serial killings are lastly solved. What to learn about assassin Rex Heuermann and his victims | EUROtoday

For greater than a decade, the Gilgo Beach serial killings baffled investigators. The break got here from an unlikely supply – a discarded pizza crust.

In January 2023, architect and “family man” Rex Heuermann threw away a pizza field on Fifth Avenue exterior his Manhattan workplace. Months later, DNA from the leftover crust linked him to a 2010 homicide and, later, a string of unsolved killings in a chilling case that has haunted New York’s Long Island for years.

Prosecutors alleged Heuermann was accountable for the deaths of seven ladies: Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Amber Lynn Costello, 27, Megan Waterman, 22, Sandra Costilla, 28, Jessica Taylor, 20, and Valerie Mack, 24. He initially denied all of them.

Heuermann returned to courtroom April 8, 2026, the place he switched his plea from not responsible to responsible. He additionally admitted to an eighth murder – the 1996 killing of Karen Vergata, a Manhattan mom of two whose stays have been discovered west of Gilgo Beach and on Fire Island, greater than a decade aside.

The investigation into the crimes spanned many years, starting with a 1993 killing and stretching by the 2010 disappearance of one other girl that may finally expose a burial floor alongside a desolate stretch of Ocean Parkway. But an arrest wouldn’t come for 13 extra years.

Who is Rex Heuermann?

Rex Heuermann, a longtime Long Island resident, is a married father of two who lived in Massapequa Park. He commuted into Manhattan for his job as an architect at an organization he based, RH Consultants & Associates.

He was arrested on July 13, 2023, close to his Midtown workplace, the place authorities stated key proof, together with cellphone information and burner telephone exercise, positioned him involved with a number of victims.

Heuermann lived in Massapequa Park, about 20 minutes from Gilgo Beach, together with his spouse, Asa Ellerup, and their grownup youngsters. Neighbors described him as a quiet, largely unremarkable household man, although others recalled unsettling encounters.

In his skilled life, some acquaintances described him as conceited or intense. Paul Teitelbaum, who labored with him, stated Heuermann had a “swagger” and an angle that stated: “I’m the expert, you’re lucky to have me.”

Interior designer Dominique Vidal recalled repeated, undesirable calls and a “creepy” voicemail regardless of no working relationship.

Heuermann has lived on Long Island most of his life and attended Berner High School in Massapequa Park, the place classmates described him as shy and socially awkward.

The Gilgo Beach killings: How the case started

A case that may finally result in Heuermann’s arrest started in May 2010 with the disappearance of 23-year-old Shannan Gilbert.

During a 21-minute 911 name, she pleaded for assist: “There’s somebody after me…somebody’s after me, please.” She fled a shopper’s residence within the early morning hours and vanished.

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.

They first 4 victims grew to become referred to as the “Gilgo Four” – Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello and Megan Waterman. All 4 of the ladies have been of their 20s and labored as escorts.

Over the following 12 months, investigators uncovered extra stays – finally totaling no less than 10 victims, together with ladies, a person and a toddler.

Gilbert’s physique was present in December 2011. But she has not been linked to Heuermann and authorities lengthy maintained her demise was unintended. Her household strongly disputed that conclusion.

Who are the victims?

Prosecutors charged Heuermann with the deaths of seven ladies.

Maureen Brainard-Barnes was 25 when she vanished in 2007. Her stays have been discovered at Gilgo Beach in December 2010, police stated. DNA belonging to Heuermann’s then-wife was present in hair recovered from a belt used to restrain Brainard-Barnes, based on an indictment.

Ellerup was not thought-about a suspect as she was out of state when Brainard-Barnes was killed.

Melissa Barthelemy, 24, went lacking in July 2009. That similar 12 months, Barthelemy’s sister, Amanda Funderburg, stated she had obtained a number of taunting telephone calls that have been believed to be from the killer, based on authorities.

Her stays have been present in December 2010 alongside Ocean Parkway close to the others.

Megan Waterman, 22, was final seen at a resort in Hauppauge earlier than her stays have been discovered alongside Gilgo Beach in December 2010.

Amber Lynn Costello, 27, disappeared in September 2010 after leaving her residence to fulfill a shopper. A witness described that shopper as “ogre-like” and driving a Chevrolet Avalanche, based on prosecutors.

Her stays have been present in December 2010.

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

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

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

In June 2024, Heuermann was charged with two extra murders.

Sandra Costilla and Jessica Taylor have been the primary victims of Heuermann who have been murdered earlier than 2007.

Costilla, whose stays have been discovered on November 20, 1993, on Cove Road in North Sea, a Southampton city, is the earliest identified sufferer

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

DNA proof later linked Heuermann to the case.

Taylor, a 20-year-old 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 elements have been lacking.

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

In December 2024, Heuermann was charged with the demise of a seventh girl.

Valerie Mack, 24, whose stays have been first discovered on Long Island in 2000, had been working as an escort in Philadelphia and was final seen by her household that 12 months in New Jersey.

Some of Mack’s skeletal stays have been initially found in Manorville, New York; authorities discovered extra of her stays about 50 miles west, in Gilgo Beach, greater than 10 years later. They have been unidentified till genetic testing revealed her identification in 2020.

Human hair discovered with Mack’s stays was despatched for testing earlier this 12 months and located to be a probable match with the genetic profile of Heuermann’s daughter, prosecutors stated in courtroom papers. His daughter just isn’t accused of any wrongdoing and would have been 3 or 4 years outdated when Mack died.

After pleading responsible to the seven killings Wednesday, Huermann additionally admitted that he “caused the death” of Karen Vergata and transported her physique out to a distant spot. Vergata, a Manhattan mom of two, disappeared in 1996. Her stays have been discovered west of Gilgo Beach and on Fire Island greater than a decade aside.

How was Rex Heuermann caught?

For years, the Gilgo Beach killings remained unsolved.

The investigation was tormented by inner points, together with allegations that former Suffolk County police chief James Burke hindered cooperation with federal authorities. Burke later resigned and served jail time on unrelated fees.

But the case gained new momentum in 2018 and once more in 2022 with renewed management and a devoted activity power.

Early clues pointed to a particular car: a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche seen by a witness in Amber Costello’s disappearance. That lead introduced investigators to Heuermann.

From there, authorities constructed a case utilizing cellphone information, burner telephone information and placement monitoring. The telephones used to contact victims have been traced to areas close to Heuermann’s residence and Midtown workplace.

Investigators additionally linked him to the acquisition and use of burner telephones, together with one tied to a web-based account.

Then got here the essential DNA proof.

Surveillance groups noticed Heuermann discarding a pizza field exterior his Manhattan workplace. A lab examined DNA from the leftover crust and matched it to a hair discovered on burlap used to wrap Megan Waterman’s physique.

“On March 14, 2022, the name Rex was first mentioned,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney stated throughout a press convention following the arrest.

“A New York state investigator was able to identify him in a database and from that point on we used the power of the grand jury, over 300 subpoenas and search warrants, looking into this individual’s background to bring us to this day.”

The DNA match – mixed with digital proof and witness accounts – led to his arrest in July 2023.

A ‘blueprint’ of crimes

In 2024, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney revealed that Heuermann stored a “blueprint” of his crimes on a tough drive within the basement of his Massapequa Park residence, which was just lately looked for a second time.

Tierney stated Gilgo Beach Task Force believed “this planning document that was used by Heuermann to plot out his kills with excruciating detail.”

“His motivations, meticulous planning, and clear intent were obvious,” Tierney advised reporters following the arraignment. “His intent was nothing short but to murder these victims.”

Attorney John Ray, who represents a number of the victims’ households, referred to as Heuermann a “stalker” who took nice pleasure in looking the ladies he killed.

The twisted doc the killer stored in his residence, which was launched shortly earlier than the listening to started, includes a collection of checklists with duties to finish earlier than, throughout and after the killings, in addition to sensible classes for “next time.” Among the handfuls of entries written are reminders to wash the our bodies and destroy proof, to “get sleep before hunt” and to “have story set.”

One part, titled “things to remember,” seems to spotlight classes from earlier killings, prosecutors stated, reminiscent of utilizing heavier rope and limiting noise to maximise “play time.” A “body prep” guidelines consists of, amongst different gadgets, a word to “remove head and hands.”

Ray stated the digital information was important to the costs towards Heuermann and their quest for justice.

“The lives of these women matter,” Tierney stated on the 2024 press convention. “No one understands that more than the families.”