REX Heuermann is a New York-based architect accused of a string of murders in the Gilgo Beach area of Long Island.
He was arrested in July 2023 and is the prime suspect in some of the Gilgo Beach murders — Heuermann, who denies all of the charges, appeared in court briefly for a hearing on March 11, 2025.
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What are the Gilgo Beach murders?
The Gilgo Beach murders were a string of serial killings between 1993 and 2011 in the Gilgo Beach area of Long Island.
Police identified at least 11 victims killed during that time, though it remains unclear if they were all murdered by the same person.
The remains of many of the victims were found within a period of months in 2010 and 2011 by police along the road Ocean Parkway.
Most of the known victims are believed to have worked as escorts and advertised themselves on Craigslist.
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“The Gilgo Four” are four of the victims found within a quarter-mile stretch of each other in December 2010.
Carole Lieberman, a forensic psychiatrist, told The US Sun that the Gilgo killer has a “hatred for women” and “enjoyed tearing these women apart”.
Who is Rex Heuermann?
Heuermann, 61, worked as an architect in Manhattan, and is married with two children.
He lived in Massapequa Park, just a 20 minute drive from Gilgo Beach where the bodies were dumped.
He was “born and raised in Long Island” but had been “working in Manhattan since 1987”, according to an interview posted on YouTube last year.
Calls made from burner phones and to some of the victims’ cellphones can be traced to his office, according to court documents.
The architect has been married twice, sharing a 26-year-old daughter and stepson with special needs with his second wife Asa Ellerup.
Lawyers for the victims have called for Asa to also be investigated as a suspect.
Heuermann allegedly used skills he learned as an architect to carry out some of the murders.
He has been described as “creepy” by former colleagues.
[Rex Heuermann] enjoyed tearing these women apart
forensic psychiatrist Carole Lieberman
What is Heuermann accused of?
Heuermann was initially arrested in July 2023 and charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder.
These charges related to the deaths of three women: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello.
In January 2024, he was charged with the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
Then, in June 2024, he was further charged with the murders of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla.
Sandra’s death has not previously been linked to the Gilgo Beach serial killings.
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The connection extended the case back to the early 1990s – much further back than cops initially thought.
Finally, Heuermann was charged with a seventh murder in December 2024 – that of Valerie Mack.
What led to Heuermann’s arrest?
Heuermann was linked to the three murders he was first charged with by cellphone evidence and surveillance, according to court documents.
A bail application released by the Suffolk County District Attorney revealed alleged internet searches for “sadistic materials, child pornography, images of the victims and their relatives” by Heuermann.
Through a huge investigation, cops discovered burner phones allegedly used to arrange meetings with three of the Gilgo Four.
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One key piece of evidence used to arrest Heuermann was a hair found on the material used to wrap Megan’s body, which matched his DNA, according to court documents.
The hair was matched with his DNA from leftovers of a pizza Heurmann threw away.
Where is Rex Heuermann now?
Heuermann remains behind bars on Long Island.
The suspect appeared in court on March 12, 2025, to attend a conference hearing.
His lawyers are pushing for the murder cases to be tried separately, rather than as one case, but Suffolk County prosecutors are opposing that.
Heuermann’s legal team wants to break up the murders because they reportedly fear that the cumulative effect of being tried for all seven at once could damage his defense.
They also requested in February that the judge exclude all DNA evidence from the case.
The trial is scheduled for late 2025 or early 2026. He denies all the charges.
