Rex Heuermann is an American architect who was arrested in July 2023 as the prime suspect in the Gilgo Beach serial killings, a series of murders of at least four women whose bodies were found in Gilgo Beach, Long Island, New York. Heuermann has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder. He is also the prime suspect in the murder of a fourth victim, whose remains were found near the same area
Who is Rex Heuermann?
Rex Heuermann was born in 1964 in New York City and lives in Massapequa Park, near Long Island. He is 59 years old and has a height of 1.71m (5 feet 7 inches) according to one source, or 1.91m (6 feet 3 inches) according to another source. He has a healthy body weight that complements his personality. He is the founder and owner of RH Consultants and Associates, a construction firm that has worked on various senior projects, including Catholic Charities and NYC-DEP Sewers. He is married to his second wife, Asa Ellerup, and has two children from his previous marriage to Elizabeth Ryan, a former tennis player .
What are the Gilgo Beach serial killings?
The Gilgo Beach serial killings are a series of killings between 1996 and 2011 in which the remains of 11 people were found in Gilgo Beach, located on the South Shore of Long Island, New York. Most of the known victims were sex workers who advertised on Craigslist. The perpetrator in the case is known as the Long Island Serial Killer .
The victims’ remains were found over a period of months in 2010 and 2011 after the disappearance of Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old woman who had fled from a client’s home and made a 23-minute-long emergency call to 911, saying, “They are trying to kill me.” A police officer searched the area along the Ocean Parkway, near the remote beach towns of Gilgo and Oak Beach in Suffolk County, and found the first body on December 11, 2010. The remains of four victims, designated as “The Gilgo Four”, were found within a quarter of a mile of each other near Gilgo Beach in December 2010. Six more sets of remains were found in March and April 2011 in Suffolk and Nassau counties. Gilbert’s remains were found a year later, in December 2011, in a marshy area near Oak Beach. Her cause of death remains disputed, with police claiming accidental drowning and an independent autopsy suggesting possible strangulation .
The four victims of the Gilgo Four are:
- Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, of Norwich, Connecticut, who disappeared on July 9, 2007, after leaving for a client on Long Island. She was last seen alive in Manhattan.
- Melissa Barthelemy, 24, of Erie County, New York, who disappeared on July 10, 2009, after leaving her Bronx apartment to meet a client on Long Island. She was last seen alive in Manhattan.
- Megan Waterman, 22, of South Portland, Maine, who disappeared on June 6, 2010, after leaving a hotel in Hauppauge, New York, where she had been staying with her boyfriend, to meet a client on Craigslist. She was last seen alive in Hauppauge.
- Amber Costello, 27, of North Babylon, New York, who disappeared on September 2, 2010, after leaving her home to meet a client who had called her several times. She was last seen alive in North Babylon.
How was Rex Heuermann arrested?
Rex Heuermann was arrested on Friday, July 14, 2023, in Midtown Manhattan, after a long and complex investigation that involved DNA evidence, phone records, internet activity, and surveillance footage. He was linked to the murder of three of the Gilgo Four victims: Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, and Amber Costello. He was also named as the prime suspect in the murder of the fourth of the Gilgo Four, Maureen Brainard-Barnes. According to the police, Heuermann had contacted the victims through Craigslist and arranged to meet them at various locations on Long Island. He then killed them and dumped their bodies along the Ocean Parkway. He also taunted some of the victims’ relatives with phone calls from public payphones, using a disposable cell phone .
Heuermann pleaded not guilty to the charges and is currently awaiting trial. He faces life imprisonment without parole if convicted. He has denied any involvement in the Gilgo Beach murders and has claimed that he is innocent. He has also denied any connection to Shannan Gilbert’s death, which remains unsolved .
What is the motive behind the Gilgo Beach murders?
The motive behind the Gilgo Beach murders is still unclear, as the police have not revealed any details about Heuermann’s psychological profile or his possible reasons for killing the victims. Some experts have speculated that Heuermann may have had a hatred or contempt for sex workers, or that he may have been driven by a sexual sadism or a thrill of power and control. Others have suggested that Heuermann may have had a personal or professional connection to the area where the bodies were found, or that he may have been influenced by other serial killers or media portrayals of violence .