Gilgo Beach serial killing suspect charged in seventh death: NPR

Rex Heuermann (center), charged with the Gilgo Beach serial killings on Long Island, appears for a hearing in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, NY, on July 30

James Carbone/Newsday via AP

Hide caption

Toggle label

James Carbone/Newsday via AP

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — The New York architect charged with murder in a series of deaths known as the Gilgo Beach murders was charged Tuesday in the death of a seventh woman.

Rex Heuermann was accused of killing Valerie Mack, whose remains were first found on Long Island in 2000. Mack, 24, had worked as an escort in Philadelphia and was last seen by her family in New Jersey this year.

“Your honor, I am not guilty of any of these charges,” Heuermann told a judge on Tuesday.

Some of Mack’s skeletal remains were originally discovered in Manorville, New York; More than a decade later, authorities found more of her remains about 50 miles west, in Gilgo Beach. They remained unknown until genetic testing revealed their identities in 2020.

Human hair found on Mack’s remains was sent for testing earlier this year and was found to likely match the genetic profile of Heuermann’s daughter, prosecutors said in court papers. His daughter is not accused of wrongdoing and would have been 3 or 4 years old when Mack died.

Heuermann, 61, is accused of killing six other women whose remains were found on Long Island.

The investigation goes back to 2010

The investigation into the Gilgo Beach murders dates back to 2010, when police searching for a missing woman found 10 human remains in brush along an offshore island park path, sparking fears of a serial killer.

Over the years, investigators used DNA analysis and other clues to identify the victims, many of whom were sex workers. In some cases, authorities linked them to remains found years earlier elsewhere on Long Island. Police also began re-investigating other unsolved murders of women found dead on Long Island.

The case dragged on through five police commissioners, more than 1,000 tips and doubts about whether there even was a serial killer.

Heuermann, who lived with his wife and two children in Massapequa Park on Long Island and commuted to an architectural firm in Manhattan, was arrested on July 13, 2023. At the time, he was charged with the murders of Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy.

Earlier this year he was charged in the deaths of three other women – Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla and Jessica Taylor. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Prosecutors allege the document was used to “methodically plan” killings

In a June court filing, prosecutors said they found a file on a hard drive in Heuermann’s basement that he used to “methodically plan” his murders – including checklists of tasks to complete before, during and after, as well as lessons for “next time.”

In court filings Tuesday, prosecutors said the document, created the same year as Mack’s murder, contains details consistent with their case.

For example, “Mill Road” – a road near where Mack’s first remains were found – is named under the heading “DS,” which investigators believe stands for “Dump Site.”

The document also lists “foam drain cleaners” under “accessories.” Prosecutors say that on Oct. 3, 2000, Heuermann’s phone records appear to show that he made two calls to a Long Island plumbing company and that the following month he paid another company to check his main drain.

During recent searches of Heuermann’s home and office, authorities said they found old magazines and newspapers with articles about the Gilgo Beach murders and investigations, which prosecutors believe he kept as “souvenirs” or “keepsakes.” Among them was a July 29, 2003 issue of the New York Post that included an article about the disappearance and death of Mack and Taylor.

Prosecutors are also investigating the death of Karen Vergata, whose remains were first discovered in 1996 and finally identified in 2022 after new DNA analysis.

In September, authorities released new accounts of an unidentified victim found in 2011. Officials said the victim, whom they had identified as male for years, may have been masquerading as female and died in 2006.