Rex Heuermann

Serial Killer

Rex Heuermann: The Gilgo Beach Serial Killer

Overview

Rex Andrew Heuermann was a New York architect who lived in Massapequa Park on Long Island while secretly carrying out a series of murders spanning from 1993 through 2010. His crimes became associated with the Gilgo Beach investigation, one of the most extensive and closely followed serial-murder cases in New York history. For years, the discovery of human remains along Ocean Parkway and in other parts of Suffolk County left investigators and victims' families with few answers. Heuermann was arrested on July 13, 2023, after a newly formed task force connected him to several victims through cellphone records, burner-phone activity, witness statements, vehicle information, DNA evidence and other investigative findings. The case continued to expand after his arrest. He was eventually charged with murdering seven women and later admitted responsibility for an eighth killing. On April 8, 2026, Heuermann pleaded guilty to the murders of Sandra Costilla, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. During his plea, he also admitted killing Karen Vergata. On June 17, 2026, he was sentenced to three consecutive terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, followed by an additional consecutive sentence of 100 years to life.

Confirmed Victims

• Sandra Costilla: Costilla was 28 years old when Heuermann killed her between November 19 and November 20, 1993. He strangled her and left her body in a wooded area near Fish Cove Road in North Sea, a community in the Town of Southampton, Suffolk County. Two hunters discovered her remains on November 20, 1993. Her case remained unsolved for more than three decades before Heuermann pleaded guilty to her murder.
• Karen Vergata: Vergata was 34 years old when Heuermann killed her in April 1996. Authorities have not established a more precise public date of death. Heuermann admitted that he strangled and dismembered her before leaving her remains in separate locations. Her severed legs were discovered on April 20, 1996, at Blue Point Beach in the Town of Brookhaven. Her skull was found on April 12, 2011, near Tobay Beach along Ocean Parkway. For years she was known as "Fire Island Jane Doe" before genetic genealogy identified her in 2023.
• Valerie Mack: Mack was 24 years old when Heuermann killed her sometime between September 1 and November 19, 2000. The precise date of her death could not be established. He strangled and dismembered her, placing portions of her remains in different locations. Her torso was discovered on November 19, 2000, near Halsey Manor Road in Manorville. Additional remains belonging to Mack were found on April 4, 2011, along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach. She remained unidentified for approximately two decades and was previously known as "Manorville Jane Doe."
• Jessica Taylor: Taylor was 20 years old when Heuermann killed her between July 21 and July 26, 2003. He strangled and dismembered her before transporting her remains to separate disposal sites. A portion of her body was discovered on July 26, 2003, in a wooded area west of Halsey Manor Road in Manorville. Her head, hands and part of an arm were found on March 29, 2011, along Ocean Parkway east of Gilgo Beach.
• Maureen Brainard-Barnes: Brainard-Barnes was 25 years old when Heuermann killed her on July 9, 2007. He had contacted her after seeing an online advertisement and arranged to meet her. He picked her up, strangled her and restrained her remains with belts before leaving her near Ocean Parkway at Gilgo Beach. Her body was discovered on December 13, 2010, beside the remains of other victims later called the "Gilgo Four."
• Melissa Barthelemy: Barthelemy was 24 years old when Heuermann killed her on July 10, 2009. He contacted her using a burner telephone after viewing an online advertisement, arranged a meeting and picked her up. He strangled her, bound her remains with tape and burlap and transported her to the north side of Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach. Her body was discovered on December 11, 2010. After her disappearance, a person believed to be her killer used her telephone to make cruel and taunting calls to her younger sister.
• Megan Waterman: Waterman was 22 years old when Heuermann killed her on June 6, 2010. Using a burner telephone, he arranged to meet her and picked her up from a Holiday Inn in Hauppauge. He strangled her, secured her remains with tape and burlap and left her along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach. Her body was discovered on December 13, 2010. Waterman was the mother of a young daughter.
• Amber Lynn Costello: Costello was 27 years old when Heuermann killed her on September 2, 2010. An attempted meeting the previous evening had been interrupted by a ruse involving another person at Costello's residence. Heuermann contacted her again the following day through a burner telephone and picked her up from her home in West Babylon. He strangled her, wrapped and restrained her remains with tape and burlap and transported her to Ocean Parkway. Her body was discovered on December 13, 2010.

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Confirmed Victims: (8)

Karen Vergata Age: (34), Date of Death: 1996-02-14

Suspected Victims:

Peaches Age: (16-30), Date of Death: June 25, 1997

Baby Doe Age: (1-4), Date of Death: 1997-2010

John Doe Age: (17-23), Date of Death: 2001-2006

Gilgo Beach serial killings - Wikipedia