Gilgo Beach killer receives life without parole

Rex Heuermann, the former Manhattan architect who admitted strangling and dismembering women in the Gilgo Beach serial killings, was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole after an emotional hearing packed with victims’ relatives.

Heuermann, 62, pleaded guilty in April to charges tied to seven murders and admitted intentionally causing the death of an eighth woman, Karen Vergata. The killings dated from 1993 to 2010. He had originally pleaded not guilty after his arrest in July 2023.

Relatives of the women Heuermann admitted killing stood one by one in court and described years of grief, trauma and anger. JoAnn Mack, the adoptive mother of Valerie Mack, who disappeared in 2000, told the court, “What you have done to our family is beyond what words can express.”

Melissa Cann, a sister of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, broke down as she said her sibling was “not just murdered, she was the victim of a predator and a serial killer so evil, it has been unbearable.” She called Heuermann “a coward who preyed on vulnerable, innocent women behind a mask, a man without empathy, without a soul, who hunted tortured and murdered women.”

Amanda Funderburg, a sister of Melissa Barthelemy, called Heuermann an “ogre,” a “repulsive monster” and a “demon inside and out.” She added, “I hope you take a spot in hell, because I will see you there.”

Heuermann kept his head down during the statements, even as some speakers demanded he look them in the eye. When Judge Timothy Mazzei asked whether he wanted to speak, Heuermann replied, “There are no words I can say. The words I would say have no meaning.” Asked whether he was sorry he killed his victims, Heuermann answered, “Yes, I am.”

Mazzei sharply rebuked him before imposing the sentence. “I assume you are a little bit sorry for the eight women you strangled. Eight that we know of,” the judge said, according to CBS News. “You’ve been described as a big man, but you are a disgusting and small man if you’re a man at all, and you’re a coward.” NBC News reported that Mazzei ordered Heuermann to serve multiple life sentences concurrently without parole, then said, “Get him out of here,” as cheers erupted in the courtroom.

Heuermann was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of second-degree murder. He was charged in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack. Under the plea deal, prosecutors said the killing of Vergata was covered, though NBC News reported he was not charged with her murder.

Most of the victims’ remains were found buried along Ocean Parkway in Babylon between December 2010 and May 2011. Costilla’s body was found in a wooded area in the North Sea, and NBC News reported her remains were found in Southampton in 1993. Most of the victims had worked as escorts in the Tri-State Area before they disappeared.

Authorities built their case with evidence including DNA, burner phone records and electronic device records. NBC News reported that DNA traces from a discarded pizza crust found in a midtown Manhattan garbage can helped lead to Heuermann’s arrest. CBS News reported that prosecutors also cited a so-called “blueprint” he allegedly used to “plan out his kills.”

Heuermann has been held in the county jail in Riverhead since his arrest and will serve his sentence in state prison. CBS News reported that he has agreed to cooperate with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit to help catch other serial killers. Investigators believe he may be linked to additional killings.