Alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuerman intends to plead guilty at his next court appearance, according to sources familiar with the decision.
A bombshell update reveals a 62-year-old man accused of murdering seven women over 17 years is to change his plea to not guilty on April 8.
The victims’ families and Heuermann’s own family have already been informed of the decision, one of the people said.
Two sources close to the case spoke on condition of anonymity because the petition has not yet been filed in court.
Heuerman and attorneys for the victims’ families did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Heuermann may still change his mind.
An Architect and married father of two From Massapequa in Nassau County On Long Island, Heuermann was arrested on July 13, 2023.
he faces seven cases of murder For the terrible murders and dismemberments of sandra costilla, valerie mack, jessica taylorAnd Maureen Brainard-BarnesMelissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello – the latter four are known collectively as gilgo four.
The remains of the victims were found dismembered and in sacks on an isolated stretch of Coastline Parkway, not far from Heuermann’s home.
Prosecutors said DNA evidence, cellphone data and evidence found in a search of Heuerman’s Massapequa home linked him to the victims, who were all young women who engaged in sex work.
Heuermann allegedly killed and dismembered his victims second ex wife, asa ellerupand his two children Always out of town on family tripsProsecutors claim.
The trial was scheduled to begin in September.
But Heuermann’s lawyers attempted to split the massive case into five separate trials because of differences in the murders.
The defense also argued that if all seven murders were tried together, jurors would struggle with the “volume and complexity” of evidence in the case.
The judge in the case rejected the defense’s motion, siding with prosecutors who argued that evidence in the cases overlapped.
News of a suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer first became public in 2010, when police searching for a missing woman found several sets of human remains in bushland along Ocean Parkway, not far from Gilgo Beach.
Over the years, investigators used DNA analysis and other clues to identify victims.
It took several years for investigators to identify Heuerman as a possible suspect.
A renewed investigation into the cold case identified him for the first time as a potential culprit in 2022.
Detectives linked Heuerman to a pickup truck that a witness had seen when one of the victims disappeared in 2010.
Then, investigators surveilling Heuerman recovered a pizza crust that he had thrown into the trash and used it to link DNA to hair recovered from the body of one of the victims.
Cellphone data also revealed that Heuermann was in contact with some of the victims just before they disappeared.
A review of his Internet searches revealed a disturbing history of violent torture pornography and information about investigations of murders.
Last year, investigators recovered files from Heuermann’s computer that they described as a “blueprint for the murders”, including a series of checklists with reminders to “limit noise, clean up bodies and destroy evidence”.
Murder victims linked to Long Island serial killer
Following the arrest of Rex Heuerman for a series of gruesome murders in July 2023, the sleepy seaside community of Gilgo Beach on Long Island, NY was terrified. Here’s what we know about his alleged victims:
Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25 – Brainard-Barnes was believed to be a sex worker based in Norwich, Connecticut. She went by the names “Juliana” or “Mary” and advertised her services on various platforms, including Craigslist and Backpage. She worked mostly in Manhattan hotels. On the day of his death, July 6, 2007, he took an Amtrak train from New London to Grand Central Terminal. She was reported missing eight days later, but by 2010 her remains were found on the northern side of Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach.
Melissa Barthelemy, 24 – Barthélemy was an aspiring hair stylist who was last seen alive on July 12, 2009. She worked as an online escort and lived in the Bronx, NYC, but worked primarily in hotels in Manhattan. She used sites such as Adult Friend Finder and looked up “Chloe” or “verysexychloe” online. After his disappearance, his sister revealed that she had received a call from a stranger who confessed to killing her. His body was found on Gilgo Beach on 11 December 2010.
Megan Waterman, 22 – Waterman was a single mother living in Scarborough, Maine, when she disappeared. A sex worker who advertised her services on Craigslist and Backpage used the aliases “Lexi” and “Sexy Lexi”. She disappeared after leaving the Holiday Inn Hotel in Hauppauge, Long Island on June 6, 2010. He was reported missing two days later and his body was found on December 13 of that year.
Amber Lynn Costello, 27 – Costello lived in West Babylon, Long Island at the time of her disappearance. She reportedly advertised as a sex worker on Craigslist and Backpage to support her heroin addiction. Shortly before she disappeared she had entered a detox program following a relapse. Costello was last seen alive on September 2, 2010, and his body was found on Ocean Parkway on December 13, 2010.
Jessica Taylor, 20 – Taylor was an escort working in Midtown, New York, when she was reported missing on July 19, 2003. He was reportedly seen at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan between July 18 and 21. On July 26, 2003, parts of his body were found in Manorville. More of her remains were discovered on March 29, 2011, during a search for 23-year-old sex worker Shannon Gilbert.
Sandra Costilla, 28 – Costilla was a native of Trinidad and Tobago and was living in New York at the time of her disappearance. Investigators described Costilla as a “vagrant” and his last known address was in Queens. Costilla’s remains were found in woods in Southampton on November 20, 1993. Costilla had multiple sharp force injuries to her face, torso, breasts, left thigh and vaginal area.
Valerie Mack, 24 – At the time of her disappearance, Mack was working as an escort under the alias “Melissa Taylor”. She was last seen alive in New Jersey in the spring of 2000, but her family did not report her missing. Parts of her body were discovered by hikers in the Long Island Pine Barrens in September 2000, but she was not identified and was instead nicknamed “Jane Doe No. 6”. His remains were recovered near Gilgo Beach on April 4, 2011.
There have been several other murder victims linked to the Long Island Serial Killer, but no connection to Rex Heuerman has been found, and he is not a suspect in his death.
Karen Vergata, 34 – Vergata was a sex worker living on West 45th St. in Manhattan at the time of her disappearance on Valentine’s Day in 1996. He had called his father that day to wish him happy birthday. Parts of her body were found in Davis Park on Fire Island’s Blue Point Beach on April 20 that year, but she was not identified at the time and was known as “Jane Doe No. 7”. His skull was found on Ocean Parkway on April 11, 2011.
Additional victims – Four other remains of possible victims were also recovered but have not been officially named.
