Gilgo Beach serial murder suspect Rex Heuermann is charged with 7th murder as startling details emerge

Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has been charged with a seventh murder: the death of Valerie Mack, whose remains were first found 24 years ago, according to a superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday.

A hunter’s dog discovered Mack’s decapitated body in a wooded area of ​​Manorville, Long Island, on November 19, 2000. Her remains were tied with rope in a black plastic bag wrapped with duct tape, according to a bail application attached to the new indictment.

Both of her hands were severed from her body and one of her legs was severed, the document said.

Mack’s remaining remains were found more than a decade later, in April 2011, along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach, according to authorities.

Mack’s parents “are very grateful for the little closure,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said at a news conference Tuesday.

Prosecutors said they linked Heuermann to Mack’s death in part through mitochondrial DNA analysis of a female hair found on Mack’s body. It matched the profiles of Heuermann’s wife and daughter, the bail application said. At the time of Mack’s murder, Heuermann’s daughter was probably between 3 and 4 years old.

Prosecutors said they also linked Heuermann to Mack’s death through evidence recovered from some of the 350 electronic devices seized from him, including his “significant collection of violence, bondage and torture pornography,” which at least dating back to 1994. That online collection included images of mutilation and the binding of women with rope, two things prosecutors said were consistent with the injuries inflicted on Mack and the way she was bound, officials said.

Investigators said they found a document that they believe shows Heuermann “planned” his killings. The document was created in 2000, the year Mack was killed. Under a section called “Consumables,” Heuermann allegedly listed “rope/string,” “saw/cutting tools,” and “foam drain cleaners.” Under a section labeled “DS,” which presumably stands for “Dump Site,” Heuermann allegedly listed one of the locations where Mack’s remains were found, officials said.

The document also included a section on “body preparation” with a note to “remove the head and hands,” according to the bail application.

Heuermann allegedly kept newspaper and magazine clippings about the Gilgo Beach serial killings at his Massapequa Park home, prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday.

Prosecutors said they found a 2003 copy of the New York Post with an article headlined “Serial Killer Eyed in LI Slay” and a 1993 copy of Newsday with the headline “Body Discovered in Woods.”

“Rex A. Heuermann sought, purchased and kept these publications as souvenirs or mementos of his crimes,” prosecutors said.

Heuermann, 61, was charged with one count of second-degree murder in connection with Mack’s death.

He appeared in court on Tuesday shackled in a suit and told the judge: “Your honor, I am not guilty of any of these charges.”

Judge Timothy Mazzei continued to hold Heuermann without bail.

Families of the other Gilgo Beach victims presented flowers to Mack’s parents Tuesday after the trial.

“He has said from day one that he is not responsible for these murders,” defense attorney Michael Brown told reporters Tuesday. “From day one he wanted his day in court.”

The defense has been given until next month to file motions related to evidence. The defense has questioned prosecutors’ DNA methods and may seek to limit its admissibility in court. Brown also said the defense will file a motion to separate some cases.

The New York architect was initially arrested in July 2023.

Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the murders of six other women: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Costello, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla. The first victim was found in 1993 and the last victims were found in 2010.