Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann charged with three murders – live

Jump to content Sign up to our newsletters Subscribe News Sport Voices Culture Lifestyle Travel Premium Close Gilgo Beach: Police remove evidence from home of Long Island serial killer suspect Manhattan architect Rex Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to six counts of murder in connection with the infamous Gilgo Beach serial killings. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office released charging documents on Friday confirming Mr Heuermann, of Massapequa, as the suspected serial killer who targeted sex workers and dumped their bodies along remote Long Island beaches. He appeared in court in handcuffs and wearing a polo shirt and khaki pants. Mr Heuermann was held without bail as prosecutors had previously sought, citing his recent searches for ‘sadistic materials, child pornography, images of the victims and their relatives.’ The 59-year-old pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder in the first degree and three in the second degree over the deaths of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello. The women are among the ‘Gilgo Four’ whose bodies were found along a stretch of Ocean Parkway in Long Island in 2010. Court documents state that Mr Heuermann is also the ‘prime suspect’ in the murder of the fourth woman in that group, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, though he is not facing charges related to her death. The documents outline a number of extremely disturbing searches in Mr Heuermann’s internet history, as well as burner phones he is accused of using to ‘taunt’ his victims. The Gilgo Beach serial killer had previously been linked to as many as 11 victims discovered more than a decade ago in Suffolk County. 1689415200 Gilgo Beach: Police remove evidence from home of Long Island serial killer suspect Andrea Blanco 15 July 2023 11:00 1689411600 Rex Heuermann, 59, was arrested on Thursday and charged with six counts of murder in connection with three of 11 unsolved killings known as the Gilgo Beach murders . Suffolk County district attorney Raymond Tierney wrote in a court filing that the sister of victim Melissa Barthelemy received ‘taunting calls’ near to Mr Heuermann’s office in Midtown Manhattan after her disappearance in July 2009. Mr Heuerman also used the phones of Barthelemy and another victim Maureen Brainard-Barnes to check their voicemails after they disappeared, the district attorney wrote while requesting the suspect be held without bail. Mr Heuerman has been charged with first and second-degree murders of sex workers Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22; and Amber Costello, 27, and is considered a ‘prime suspect’ in the murder of Brainard-Barnes, 25. The Independent’ s Bevan Hurley reports: Andrea Blanco 15 July 2023 10:00 1689408000 Rex Heuermann was charged Friday with six counts of murder in connection with the infamous Gilgo Beach killings, which were believed to be the work of a serial killer after the first bodies were found in 2010 along remote stretches of Long Island shoreline. The killer is believed to have claimed at least 10 victims. One long-time neighbor of the Heuermanns, who has lived a few doors down from the family for more than two decades, told The Independent on Friday that the suspect, his wife and two children were ‘a very quiet family’ who made ‘no imprint at all’ on the local community. ‘Basically, we never had any contact with him … living here 22 years and never said two words to him,’ she said – while quick to point out that ‘one bad apple doesn’t spoil the bunch’ in a ‘great neighbourhood.’ Andrea Blanco 15 July 2023 09:00 1689404400 For around two decades, the sands and marshes of Long Island’s Gilgo Beach kept a dark secret. A killer or killers was at large, luring in escorts and sex workers and brutally murdering them. Body after body was dumped along the shoreline, hidden for months and even years without being discovered. Then, in 2010, a chilling 911 call made by a woman in fear for her life led police to search the area. What they discovered was far more horrifying than anyone could have imagined. 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 15 July 2023 08:00 1689400800 One woman told News12 that it was ‘mind-boggling’ that the ‘quiet’ 59-year-old could be involved in the horrific case while another said that he was known to do outdoor activities such as woodwork. Mr Heuermann works in Manhattan – where some of the Gilgo Beach victims were last seen alive – as the president of 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 and 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. In an interview posted on YouTube by Bonjour Realty last year, the father-of-two said that he was ‘born and raised in Long Island’ but had been ‘working in Manhattan since 1987… [a] very long time’. Andrea Blanco 15 July 2023 07:00 1689397200 A 59-year-old architect with an office in Manhattan, Mr Heuermann is married with children and graduated from high school on Long Island. He faces three counts of murder in the first degree and three in the second degree over the deaths of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello. The Gilgo Beach murders have long stumped law enforcement officials in Suffolk County who believed it could be the work of one or more serial killers who targeted sex workers and dumped their bodies along the remote beaches on Ocean Parkway. The purported serial killer has been linked to up to 11 victims, though authorities have never been able to confirm if the same person was responsible for all. Andrea Blanco 15 July 2023 06:00 1689393600 Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann appeared in court on Friday as he insisted on his innocence. Mr Heuermann, 59, is accused of murdering Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello – all sex workers in their 20s who disappeared in the Massapequa Park area in Long Island before their bodies were found during a separate missing person investigation in 2010. The architect, a married father of two who lives in Massapequa Park and works in Manhattan, reportedly broke down in tears during his court appearance. He pleaded not to three counts of first-degree murder and three of second-degree murder. ‘We just got appointed on this case. There’s not much I can tell you folks at this point in time,’ his attorney, Michael Brown, told reporters, according to NBC . ‘I will say to you folks that it’s extremely circumstantial in nature. In terms of speaking to my client, the only thing I can tell you that he did say, as he was in tears, was ‘I didn’t do this.” Mr Heaurmann was walked out of the courthouse in handcuffs and wearing a polo shirt and khaki pants. He was held without bail as prosecutors had previously sought, citing his alleged recent searches for ‘sadistic materials, child pornography, images of the victims and their relatives.’ Andrea Blanco 15 July 2023 05:00 1689390007 Billy Baldwin has revealed he has an unlikely connection to suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann – following the shock arrest of the architect and married father-of-two. The actor took to Twitter on Friday to announce his shock that his high school classmate had been arrested on suspicion of carrying out up to 11 unsolved murders on Long Island. ‘Woke up this morning to learn that the Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect was my high school classmate Rex Heuermann,’ he tweeted. ‘Berner High School Massapequa, New York Class of 1981 Married, two kids, architect. ‘Average guy… quiet, family man.’ Mind-boggling… Massapequa is in shock. 23andMe strikes again???’ Rachel Sharp 15 July 2023 04:00 1689386407 His Manhattan business describes him as a registered architect with over 30 years’ experience. His neighbours describe him as a ‘family man’ living with his wife and two children in a tight-knit community in Suffolk County. But now authorities are describing him as the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer who unleashed terror along the shores of Long Island more than a decade ago. The Independent’ s Rachel Sharp reports: A Manhattan architect and father-of-two has been arrested in connection to one of the most infamous unsolved serial killer cases along the East Coast. So who really is Rex Heuermann? Rachel Sharp reports Andrea Blanco 15 July 2023 03:00 1689382807 Gilgo Beach: What we know so far Andrea Blanco 15 July 2023 02:00 serial killer Long Island Sex workers murder Rex Heuermann Gilgo Beach Murders 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