Rex Heuermann sentenced in Gilgo Beach murders
Rex Heuermann receives multiple life sentences after pleading guilty to killing eight women in the Gilgo Beach murders on Long Island.
A serial killer who confessed to killing eight women whose remains were found near Gilgo Beach on Long Island was handed multiple life sentences on June 17, marking the end of a decades-old cold case.
Rex Heuermann, a 62-year-old New York architect, pleaded guilty to murdering seven women and admitted to killing the eighth, 34-year-old Karen Vergata, on April 8. The guilty plea was a stunning reversal for Heuermann who, according to his lawyer, tearfully denied being responsible for the killings after his arrest in 2023.
Heuermann was sentenced to three consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Megan Waterman, 22; and Amber Costello, 27; and four consecutive terms of 25 years to life imprisonment for killing Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25; Jessica Taylor, 20; Sandra Costilla, 28; and Valerie Mack, 24. As he was handcuffed and removed from the courtroom, spectators erupted in cheers and applause, according to footage from the courtroom.
Multiple family members of the victims shared memories of their loved ones and described the toll their deaths had taken during the hearing. Many addressed Heuermann directly during the emotional hearing, including Barthelemy’s sister, Amanda Funderburg who called him a “repulsive monster” and a “demon inside and out,” NBC News reported.
“I hope you take a spot in hell because I will see you there,” Funderburg said, according to the outlet.
Heuermann spoke briefly in court, telling Judge Timothy Mazzei, “the words I would say have no meaning.”
“There are no words I can say,” he said. “I am responsible for all that was said in this room.”
Mazzei then called Heuermann a “coward” and a “disgusting and despicable small man” and handed down his sentence.
Heuermann’s sentencing comes more than two decades after prosecutors say the killings, known as the Gilgo Beach murders, began with Costilla’s death in November 1993. Investigators began to suspect a serial killer was involved when some of the women’s remains were found in the area in 2010 and 2011, but it wasn’t until 2022 that Heuermann was linked to the case.
The murders, which became the subject of a 2020 Netflix documentary, left a “painful scar” on the county, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said after Heuermann’s guilty plea. He said a massive task force worked quietly to solve the murders, hoping to lull Heuermann into a false sense of security so they could collect crucial evidence.
Officials said a key break in the case came when they matched DNA from a pizza Heuermann ate to a male hair found with the remains.
Other remains have been found and identified in the area, but Heuermann has not been charged in those deaths. Attorney Michael J. Brown told reporters Heuermann maintained that he has no other victims.
What’s next for Gilgo Beach serial killer?
After the sentencing, Tierney told reporters he expects Heuermann will be moved quickly from the jail where he’s currently being held to the prison in which he’ll spend the rest of his life. “Suffolk wants to be rid of him,” he said.
The state department of corrections told USA TODAY Heuermann will likely be moved to an interim facility first while a decision is made about where he’ll serve his sentence. Brown, Heuermann’s attorney, said the same, telling reporters his client will likely end up in a maximum security facility.
As part of his plea deal, Heuermann has also agreed to cooperate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s behavioral analysis unit. Tierney said he hopes the FBI will “gain insight” that can be used by law enforcement, but his greatest wish is that the family members of the victims continue to heal.
Tierney said he wants them to take “their revenge by going on and having great lives, by being happy, by being fulfilled, by being satisfied that they stood by their loved ones and did a wonderful job.”
Tierney declined to say whether he believes or has evidence that Heuermann killed additional victims. When asked whether he believes serial killers are no longer able to get away with their crimes, Tierney said it’s become more difficult given the technological advances, but “I don’t think we’re quite there.”
Victims’ families speak out after sentencing
Liliana Waterman, whose mother was killed by Heuermann, said she’s spent her entire life thinking about the day of his sentencing, and it’s comforting to know that he can no longer hurt anyone else. She urged the public to focus on the victims, rather than on Heuermann.
“Rex will never matter,” she said. “And he is nothing to us and he should be nothing to any of you.”
Gloria Allred, the prominent attorney representing her and other victims’ family members, reflected on a revelation from Heuermann’s daughter, who said in a Peacock documentary about the case that her father admitted he didn’t see his victims as human. Allred said more needs to be done to protect women and girls.
“We all need to do more to elevate the status of women and to teach that women and girls need to be respected and valued as human beings and treated as equals,” she said. “Otherwise, all of our daughters remain at risk by those who do not see them as human.”
