Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect identified as architect Rex Heuermann – live

Jump to content Sign up to our newsletters Subscribe News Sports Voices Culture Lifestyle Travel Premium News World Americas US Crime News Rachel Sharp Friday 14 July 2023 19:02 Close Gilgo Beach: What we know so far Manhattan architect Rex Heuermann has been arrested on suspicion of being the infamous Gilgo Beach serial killer who targeted sex workers and dumped their bodies along remote Long Island beaches. Police sources told News 12 Long Island that Mr Heuermann, 59, was taken into custody on Thursday in connection with the unsolved murders of at least 11 victims more than a decade ago in Suffolk County. The case began in May 2010 when Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old sex worker, vanished after leaving a client’s house on foot near Gilgo Beach. She called 911 for help saying she feared for her life and was never seen alive again. During a search for Gilbert in dense thicket close to the beach, police discovered the remains of another woman. Within a matter of days, the remains of three more victims were found close by. By spring 2011, the remains of a total of 10 victims had been found including eight women, a man, and a toddler. Gilbert’s remains were then found that December. For more than a decade, the case has stumped law enforcement officials in Suffolk County who believed it could be the work of one or more serial killers. 1689357731 Mr Heuermann is accused of murdering Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello, according to court records. Andrea Blanco 14 July 2023 19:02 1689356719 Earlier this year, police released the full audio of a 2010 911 call in which a woman, insisting people are trying to kill her, runs for her life before she disappeared. The search for her remains led police to the bodies of 10 other individuals who are believed to be the victims of a serial killer . Shannan Gilbert was 24 when she went missing in 2010. Just before her disappearance, she made a 911 call alerting authorities to her fears that someone was menacing her. During the call, Ms Gilbert sounds disoriented and repeatedly tells the 911 operator that ‘somebody’s after me’. When asked where she is, Ms Gilbert says she doesn’t know, and asks if 911 can trace her call. The operator tells her they cannot and asks her for a callback number, to which she hesitates and again states that ‘somebody’s after me. Please.’ Later in the call it is revealed that Ms Gilbert is somewhere on Long Island in New York. Ms Gilbert’s skeletal remains were located more than a year later in a marsh eight miles from Gilgo Beach. Police ruled out murder at the time of her discovery, theorising that she may have been under the influence and ran into the marsh, where she died by hypothermia or drowning. However, her family demanded an independent autopsy, which found that her death was consistent with a homicide. Woman calls 911 saying someone is ‘after me’ before she is found dead.mp4 Andrea Blanco 14 July 2023 18:45 1689355519 Andrea Blanco 14 July 2023 18:25 1689354919 It was the search for missing Shannon Gilbert that led to the discovery of several bodies in the Gilgo Beach area. Although Suffolk County authorities have consistently denied in the last decade that Gilbert’s death is linked to the serial killer case, her family has contested those assertions. Gilbert’s sister Sherre Gilbert welcomed news of the bombshell arrest of 59-year-old architect Rex Heuermann on Thursday night. ‘I am overwhelmed but relieved that they finally caught him. It’s been a long time coming and I never gave up hope that one day justice would be served,’ Ms Gilbert said in a statement to NBC News. ‘The suspect deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life. ‘He destroyed many lives so while it won’t bring our loved ones back, it does help that one less monster is off the streets and he can’t ever hurt anyone else!’ Andrea Blanco 14 July 2023 18:15 1689353719 Manhattan architect Rex Heuermann has been arrested on suspicion of being the Gilgo Beach killer, otherwise known as the Long Island serial killer. Heuermann was taken into custody in Long Island on Thursday in connection to a long string of unsolved murders in the area. One of the suspect’s neighbours in Massapequa, who has lived a stone’s throw from the Heuermanns for more than two decades, told The Independent that Mr Heuermann, along with his wife and two children, were ‘a very quiet family’ who made ‘no imprint at all’ on the neighbourhood. ‘Basically, we never had any contact with him …. living here 22 years and never said two words to him,’ the long-time Massapequa Park resident said, while quick to point out that ‘one bad apple doesn’t spoil the bunch’ in a ‘great neighbourhood.’ Sheila Flynn 14 July 2023 17:55 1689353138 ‘The day has finally come,’ New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said at an unrelated news briefing, according to NBC News. ‘Hopefully after further news is unveiled today the answer will be yes, yes, the day has finally come when someone so deprived, depraved of heart, would kill individuals, innocent individuals in the prime of their young lives, is finally brought to justice.’ Andrea Blanco 14 July 2023 17:45 1689352519 The search for missing Shannon Gilbert led to the discovery of Melissa Barthelemy’s remains near Gilgo Beach on December 11, 2010. Barthelemy was last seen at her residence in the Bronx on 12 July 2009. She told a friend, who knew she was a sex worker, that she was going to meet a client but didn’t give more details. Barthelemy’s mother reported her missing to the NYPD on 18 July, and an investigation showed cellphone activity in Manhattan, Freeport, Massapequa and Lindenhurst. Barthelemy’s younger sister received taunting calls from her phone that police believe were made by the killer. According to the Suffolk County Police Department, Barthelemy is believed to be the second of the ‘Gilgo Four’ to be killed. Andrea Blanco 14 July 2023 17:35 1689351914 More than a decade after 11 bodies were found dumped in Long Beach, married father-of-two and Manhattan-based architect Rex Heuermann is under arrest. Does this mean the hunt for the Gilgo Beach serial killer is finally over? The Independent’ s Rachel Sharp reports: More than a decade after 11 bodies were found dumped in Long Beach, married father-of-two and Manhattan-based architect Rex Heuermann is under arrest. Does this mean the hunt for the Gilgo Beach serial killer is finally over? Rachel Sharp reports Andrea Blanco 14 July 2023 17:25 1689350722 Rex Heuermann, 59, was arrested in connection with four unsolved murders in Gilgo Beach, Suffolk County. The architect was taken into custody around 8.30pm on Thursday near his Midtown office. Before the arrest, Mr Heuerman had reportedly been under surveillance by law enforcement, according to ABC News. The development comes more than a decade after four bodies were found within a quarter mile in Gilgo Beach in December 2010. The victims have been identified as Maureen Brainard Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello. Authorities were investigating the death of Shannan Gilbert when they made the series of gruesome discoveries, but determined Gilbert’s death was not linked to the serial killer cold case. However, her family contests those findings. Andrea Blanco 14 July 2023 17:05 1689349500 Mr Heuermann works in Manhattan – where some of the Gilgo Beach victims were last seen alive – as the president of the architecture firm RH Consultants & Associates. According to the company website, he founded the company in 1994. It has since worked with the likes of Catholic Charities, NYC-DEP Sewerage Treatment, American Airlines and other major tenants at the JFK International Airport. A company page called Meet The Team and featuring his photo appeared to be taken down on Friday morning as news of his arrest broke. Andrea Blanco 14 July 2023 16:45 serial killer Long Island Sex workers murder Rex Heuermann Gilgo Beach Murders Map showing where several of the bodies were found Suffolk County Police Department Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in