Serial Woman Killer Arrested Near Gilgo Beach
Serial Woman Killer Arrested Near Gilgo Beach
The discovery of the bodies, which occurred more than a decade ago on Long Island’s South Shore close to the desolate Gilgo Beach, shook the community and left the families of the victims distraught. In total, the skeletal remains of ten people—nine women, one guy, and a toddler—were found.
Since that time, detectives have been working to establish whether the homicides were carried out by a single individual or by a group of assailants working together. However, over a decade passed with none of the cases being solved.
The following day, Rex Heuermann, an architect who had spent the majority of his life in Nassau County and worked in Manhattan, was arrested on suspicion of killing three people and is suspected of being involved in the killing of a fourth woman. Heuermann was taken into jail on Thursday. Before they were able to apprehend him, police had to comb through clues that ranged in complexity from something as basic as a monogrammed belt that had been wrapped around one of the victims to the electronic signals of disposable mobile phones.
Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman, and Melissa Barthelemy were found dead on a stretch of beach within a quarter mile of each other. Mr Heuermann was charged with three counts of first degree murder and three counts of second degree murder in connection with their deaths. Their bodies were wrapped in hunting camouflage hessian. They had all been in their 20s, of a tiny build, and had been employed as escorts. They were not to be found between 2009 and 2010.
In the same manner as the other three women’s bodies,
the skeletal remains of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, who had been reported missing in July 2007, were discovered beside their bodies.
M. Heuermann was not charged with the murder of Ms. Brainard-Barnes; nonetheless, according to the bail application submitted by Allen Bode, the top assistant district attorney in Suffolk County, he is “the prime suspect in her death.” Although Mr. Heuermann was not charged with the murder of Ms. Brainard-Barnes, he is “the prime suspect in her death.” The evidence presented in her case “fits the modus operandi of the defendant.”
In the court documents, the prosecutors made a request for Mr. Heuermann to be held without bail due to a number of factors. These factors included “the serious, heinous nature of these serial murders,” the planning that went into them, the suspect’s history of firearm possession, and “his recent searches for sadistic materials, child pornography, images of the victims and their relatives.” The court granted the request to hold Mr. Heuermann without bail.
Mr. Heuermann, who had been detained in Midtown Manhattan on Thursday night, made an appearance Friday afternoon at a courthouse in Suffolk County, where he spoke in a quiet voice merely to identify himself. He had been arrested the previous night.
As the District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney detailed the DNA evidence that linked him to the crime,
the suspect grimaced and groaned as he was handcuffed and his hair was in a mess. The evidence had been collected from pizza crust, bottles, and human hairs.
According to Mr. Tierney, Mr. Heuermann had licences for 92 guns and a “irresistible” desire to depart the scene of the crime.
The judge, Richard Ambro, explained that the reason he was issuing the order to hold him was “because of the extreme depravity of the allegations.”
Michael Brown, Mr. Heuermann’s attorney, stated outside the courthouse that the evidence was circumstantial and that his client had grieved and told him, “I didn’t do this.” Brown also stated that the evidence was dubious.
“The work is not done, but this is a major, major step forward,” said Steve Bellone, the executive of Suffolk County. “This is a major, major step forward.”
The arrest of Mr. Heuermann, according to the families of some of the victims, has given them reason to feel hopeful that the crimes involving their loved ones will also be solved.
“I’m grateful for the hard work that has been done,”
said Jasmine Robinson, a cousin of Jessica Taylor, a twenty-year-old woman who had worked as an escort in New York. Jessica Taylor had been employed in the city. In 2003, not long after she had been reported missing, some of her remains were located. Early in 2011, further remains were discovered along Ocean Parkway close to Gilgo Beach.
Ms. Robinson expressed her gratitude by saying, “I’m grateful that today is happening.” “And I have high hopes for the years to come.”Prosecutors devised a complex inquiry, which yielded a breakthrough in March 2022 when it was learned that Mr. Heuermann had been the owner of a Chevrolet Avalanche truck at the time of the murders. Mr. Bode, the prosecutor, wrote in his petition that a witness had reported seeing an Avalanche parked in the driveway of one of the women who had been slain not long before she vanished.
