Rex Heuermann ID’d in Lengthy Island Gilgo Seashore murders as suspect
A New York architect is charged with first-degree homicide in reference to the deaths of three girls discovered over a decade in the past in what are generally known as the Gilgo Beach murders on Lengthy Island, in accordance with courtroom information unsealed Friday.
Detectives stated a key break within the case in opposition to the suspect, Rex Heuermann, 59, got here once they matched DNA from a pizza he ate to genetic materials discovered on the ladies’s stays.
The our bodies of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello had been discovered wrapped in burlap days other than one another in 2010. One other lady, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, was additionally discovered wrapped in burlap on the time. He has not been charged together with her homicide, however he’s the “prime suspect in her loss of life,” authorities stated Friday.
“Women and gents, Rex Heuermann is a demon that walks amongst us – a predator that ruined households,” Suffolk County police Commissioner Rodney Harrison stated. “If not for the members of this activity power, he would nonetheless be out on the streets at the moment.”
Heuermann, who has lived for many years throughout a bay from the place the stays had been discovered, pleaded not responsible to a few counts every of first- and second-degree homicide. Authorities stated at the very least 10 our bodies had been found in the identical relative space over 10 years in the past. Heuermann shouldn’t be charged in a lot of the deaths however police stated the investigation is continuous.
“This can be a watershed occasion on this case,” Suffolk County District Lawyer Raymond Tierney stated at a information convention Friday afternoon. He stated Heuermann was stunned when he was arrested.
“We’re going to convict him and we’re going to maintain him accountable for what he did on this case,” he stated.
The case, which has lengthy stumped investigators, has attracted nationwide consideration for years and was the topic of the 2020 Netflix film “Lost Girls.” Eleven units of human stays had been discovered on a stretch of freeway in Suffolk County after police started trying to find Shannon Gilbert, a 24-year-old intercourse employee who vanished in 2010 after leaving a shopper’s home in Oak Seashore.
Many of the victims had been younger girls who had been intercourse employees. A number of of the our bodies had been discovered close to Gilgo Seashore, in Babylon, N.Y. Final yr, an interagency activity power was fashioned with investigators from the FBI, in addition to state and native police departments, geared toward fixing the case.
In March, detectives tailing Heuermann recovered his DNA from pizza crust in a field that he discarded in a Manhattan trash can and matched it to a hair discovered on a restraint used within the killings, authorities stated.
“This can be a day that’s a very long time in coming, and hopefully a day that may convey peace to this group and to the households — peace that has been lengthy overdue,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul stated.
Tierney stated the investigation is ongoing, and a activity power goes to “proceed and work and examine and try to get a small measure of closure for the entire victims.”
Here is what we all know concerning the case, the suspect and the victims.
Who’s Rex Heuermann?
Heuermann is the proprietor and founding father of a Manhattan structure agency, RH Consultants and Associates, in accordance with his LinkedIn page and the company’s website. He has permits for 92 weapons and “a really massive protected for which weapons are stored,” Tierney stated throughout a press convention on Friday.
Courtroom information show Tierney signed a doc asking a choose to disclaim Heuermann’s bail utility based mostly on:
- “The intense, heinous nature of those serial murders, the planning and forethought that went into these crimes;”
- “Latest searches for sadistic supplies, baby pornography, photos of the victims and their relations, counter-surveillance performed on-line as to the felony investigation, his use of fictitious names, burner e-mail and cellphone accounts, and his entry to and historical past of possessing firearms;”
- The “power of the Folks’s case;”
- The “size of incarceration the defendant faces upon conviction;” and
- The “prolonged time period that this Defendant was in a position to keep away from apprehension.”
The place was Rex Heuermann arrested?
Heuermann was taken into custody in Massapequa, New York, late Thursday and investigators had been at a house linked to the case on Friday.
In accordance with neighbors, the small pink home they raided belonged to a household that had lengthy stored to themselves, the AP reported. The home, which was in a state of disrepair, appeared misplaced within the small group with neat rows of homes with well-kept lawns.
Tierney stated on Friday the reason for loss of life was homicidal violence, and because of the size of time and surroundings, there was not quite a bit that might be performed to find out if there was a weapon used within the case.
Who had been the victims?
Human stays of at the very least 10 our bodies within the case had been discovered by police. Amongst them had been Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Megan Waterman, 22, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27 – who’re generally known as the “Gilgo 4.”
The opposite victims included Jessica Taylor, 20, a “Jane Doe No. 7,” a “John Doe,” a “Jane Doe No. 3” who was known as “Peaches” due to a tattoo, and a “Child Doe.”
When did the ‘Gilgo 4’ disappear?
The 4 girls who make up the ‘Gilgo 4’ had been discovered when police had been trying to find 24-year-old Shannon Gilbert, a intercourse employee from New Jersey, in December 2010. The ladies went lacking between July 2007 and Sept. 2010. All of them had been “believed to be working a intercourse employee” once they disappeared, courtroom information confirmed. Every of them communicated with burner cell telephones beforehand, courtroom information present.
Waterman, 22, was final seen in Hauppauge, New York earlier than she died, courtroom information present. She disappeared on June 6, 2010.
Barthelemy, 24, was final seen in New York Metropolis earlier than she died, courtroom information present. She disappeared on July 10, 2009.
Costello, 27, was final seen at American Avenue in West Babylon earlier than she died, courtroom information present. She disappeared on Sept. 2, 2010.
Brainard-Barnes, 25, was dwelling in Norwich, Connecticut and final seen in New York Metropolis earlier than she died, courtroom information exhibits. She disappeared on July 9, 2007.
Heuermann’s spouse was out of city for the disappearances of Barthelemy, Waterman and Costello, in accordance with courtroom paperwork.
‘Misplaced Ladies’ film relies on Gilgo Seashore murders
The case impressed the Netflix drama “Lost Girls,” starring Amy Ryan, Thomasin McKenzie and Gabriel Byrne. The film, directed by Liz Garbus, was based mostly on the e-book “Misplaced Ladies: An Unsolved American Thriller,” written by Robert Kolker.
“Misplaced Ladies” premiered on the 2020 Sundance Movie Competition, in accordance with Deadline, and was launched the identical yr on Netflix.
Contributing: Related Press
Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@usatoday.com. Observe her on Twitter at @kaylajjimenez.