The former Manhattan architect, known as Rex Heuermann, will be sentenced for his role as the Gilgo Beach serial killer. This case haunted the Long Island shore for nearly two decades. Heuermann has confessed to the murders of eight women. He is scheduled for a sentencing in Riverhead, New York, at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Multiple life terms are expected.
Both Heuermann and family members of the victims will have the chance to speak in court. Earlier in April, Heuermann pleaded guilty to charges related to seven murders. He also admitted to causing the death of an eighth woman, Karen Vergata. However, a plea deal has excluded formal charges for Vergata’s murder.
From left, top row: Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Costello, Sandra Costilla. Bottom row: Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, Karen Vergata, and Megan Waterman. Suffolk County Police Dept.
Heuermann lived in Massapequa Park, a suburb about an hour east of Manhattan. His 2023 arrest came after DNA links were found on a pizza crust abandoned in a midtown Manhattan trash can. This arrest reopened the case, which had long perplexed investigators and distressed victims’ families.
Charges were filed against Heuermann for the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Costello, 27. These women disappeared in 2009 and 2010. They were sex workers whose bodies were found in Gilgo Beach in 2010. The bodies were bound with burlap around the head, midsection, and legs.
In 2024, Heuermann faced charges for another woman’s murder: Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25. Additional charges were for the murders of more women found along the beach parkway. These included Jessica Taylor, 20, who vanished in 2003; Sandra Costilla, 28, whose remains surfaced in Southampton in 1993; and Valerie Mack, 24, last seen in 2000.
The series of killings spread fear among Long Island residents. This large, densely populated area enjoys a mix of middle-class and affluent families, including professionals commuting to New York City.
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