New York architect Rex Heuermann is being charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing three women whose bodies were found in December 2010 in the unsolved string of killings famously known as the Gilgo Beach murders, according to court records unsealed on Friday.
The bodies of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello were found wrapped in burlap days apart from each other. The body of another woman Maureen Brainard-Barnes was also found wrapped in burlap at the time. He has not been charged with her murder, but he is the “prime suspect in her death,” authorities said.
Heuermann, 59, pleaded not guilty Friday to three counts each of first- and- second degree murder in connection with the case on Long Island, where the remains of at least 10 bodies were discovered more than a decade ago, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Friday.
The case, which has long stumped investigators, has attracted national attention for years and was the subject of the 2020 Netflix film “Lost Girls.” Eleven sets of human remains were found on a stretch of highway in Suffolk County after police began searching for Shannon Gilbert, a 24-year-old sex worker who vanished in 2010 after leaving a client’s house in Oak Beach, according to NBC News.
Most of the victims were young women who had been sex workers. Several of the bodies were found near the town of Gilgo Beach.
Last year, an interagency task force was formed with investigators from the FBI, as well as state and local police departments, aimed at solving the case.
“This is a day that is a long time in coming, and hopefully a day that will bring peace to this community and to the families — peace that has been long overdue,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
Here’s what we know about the case and the suspect.
Who is Rex Heuermann?
Heuermann is the owner and founder of a Manhattan architecture firm, RH Consultants and Associates, according to his LinkedIn page and the company’s website.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon in state court in Riverhead. Officials have scheduled a press conference to discuss the charges, according to the Associated Press.
Where was Rex Heuermann arrested?
Heuermann was taken into custody in Massapequa late Thursday and investigators were at a home connected to the case on Friday, the AP reported.
According to neighbors, the small red house raided Friday belonged to a family that had long kept to themselves. The house, which was in a state of disrepair, seemed out of place “among rows of single family homes and well kept lawns in the small community,” AP reported.
Who were the victims?
Human remains of at least 10 bodies were found by police in December 2010. Among them were Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Megan Waterman, 22, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27 – known as the “Giglo 4.” The other victims included Jessica Taylor, 20, a “Jane Doe No. 7,” a “John Doe,” a “Jane Doe No. 3” who was called “Peaches” because of a tattoo, and a “Baby Doe.”
‘Lost Girls’ movie is based on Giglo Beach murders
The case inspired the Netflix drama “Lost Girls,” starring Amy Ryan, Thomasin McKenzie and Gabriel Byrne. The movie, directed by Liz Garbus, was based on the book “Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery,” written by Robert Kolker.
“Lost Girls” premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, according to Deadline, and was released the same year on Netflix.
Contributing: Associated Press
