Rex Heuermann, suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer, pleads guilty to seven killings

The suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer, Rex Heuermann, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the killings of seven women over the course of decades, according to Fox 5 New York.

The investigation began after several of the victims’ bodies were found on a remote highway next to the beach in 2010 and 2011.

In this Dec. 8, 2011 photo, investigators use a backhoe to dig while searching for Shannan Gilbert's body in different sectors of a marsh area just east of Oak Beach, N.Y. A Long Island architect has been charged, Friday, July 14, 2023, with murder in the deaths of three of the 11 victims in a long-unsolved string of killings known as the Gilgo Beach murders. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Coughlin, File)
In this Dec. 8, 2011, photo, investigators use a backhoe to dig while searching for Shannan Gilbert’s body in different sectors of a marsh area just east of Oak Beach, New York. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Coughlin)

The remains of six women, including those known as the “Gilgo Four” — Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Megan Waterman, Jessica Taylor, and Valerie Mack — were recovered along Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach, according to Fox 5.

A seventh victim, Sandra Costilla, was found more than 60 miles away in the Hamptons.

Eleven sets of remains were found in connection with the case. Heuermann was only charged with killing seven.

The case went cold for many years before it was picked back up in 2022 by a task force designed to catch the Long Island serial killer.

Authorities continue to work at the home of suspect Rex Heuermann in Massapequa Park, N.Y., Monday, July 24, 2023. Heuermann has been charged with killing at least three women in the long-unsolved slayings known as the Gilgo Beach killings. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Authorities continue to work at the home of suspect Rex Heuermann in Massapequa Park, New York, on Monday, July 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York State police officers move a metal cabinet as law enforcement searches the home of suspected serial killer Rex Heuermann, Saturday, July 15, 2023, in Massapequa Park, N.Y. As new details emerge about how police finally caught the alleged killer, they've also raised questions about whether investigators adequately pursued a key lead that may have helped solve the case sooner. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon, File)
New York State police officers move a metal cabinet as law enforcement searches the home of suspected serial killer Rex Heuermann on Saturday, July 15, 2023, in Massapequa Park, New York. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)

Heuermann, a 62-year-old architect, has maintained his innocence for years but was arrested in 2023 after DNA evidence from human hair found at the scene, as well as phone records and internet searches, led police to him.

GILGO BEACH MURDERS: AUTHORITIES ACCELERATED CASE AS SUSPECT MONITORED THE INVESTIGATION

Heuermann lived with his now-ex-wife and two children for several years before his arrest.

He will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at a later date.

Related Content