Gilgo Beach murders – updates: Serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann charged with fourth murder
Rex Heuermann appeared in Suffolk County Courthouse in Long Island on Tuesday where he was charged with the murder of a fourth victim
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann is back in court today where he is expected to be formally charged with the murder of a fourth victim.
The 60-year-old Manhattan architect appeared in Suffolk County Courthouse in Riverhead, Long Island – a hearing that comes weeks before the accused killer had been scheduled to return to court.
Mr Heuermann was arrested back in July in what marked a bombshell development in the notorious case that had rumbled on unsolved for over a decade, after the remains of 11 victims were found dumped along the shores.
At the time, he was charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Melissa Barthelemy – who each vanished after going to meet a client for sex work.
On Tuesday, Mr Heuermann was charged with a fourth murder related to the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
Together, the four women he’s accused of killing are known as the “Gilgo Four”.
Suffolk County DA Raymond Tierney held a press conference after the court appearance, remarking on the “cutting edge” technology that led to the new charges.
How did they catch the Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect?
Did he know that his time was up?
His alleged internet searches would certainly seem to suggest so.
In the year between March 2022 and June 2023, the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann repeatedly looked online for updates in the investigation police say.
He searched for details about the victims and their families. He googled the use of new phone technology in the case and looked for podcasts and documentaries about the murders. And he even took a keen interest in the newly-launched task force – headed up by newly-appointed Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison – that was actively hunting for him.
On 13 July 2023, as he left his office in Midtown after a day’s work and walked along a busy Manhattan road, a group of suit-clad men approached and surrounded Rex Heuermann.
The gig was finally up.
Mr Heuermann – a 60-year-old married father-of-two, professional architecture, Manhattan business owner and Long Island native – was arrested and charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello.
So how did they find the Gilgo Beach killer suspect?
How did they catch the Gilgo Beach killer?
It’s taken 13 years but Suffolk County Police finally say they’ve caught the serial killer who dumped his victims along the shores of Gilgo Beach. Here is the evidence that led investigators to Long Island suspect Rex Heuermann. Rachel Sharp reports
Interview: Attorney for Gilgo Beach murder suspect’s children hits back at claims family knew about alleged crimes
An attorney representing the adult children of suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has hit out at the “wild conspiracy theories” that the family may have known about his alleged crimes.
Vess Mitev told The Independent that the unfounded accusations “shouldn’t even be dignified with a response” – as he said that the family has been plunged into a “constant surreal waking nightmare” since the bombshell arrest of the 59-year-old professional architect.
“These allegations shouldn’t even be dignified with a response,” he said.
“But they are emblematic of someone with a thirst for the spotlight – an unquenchable thirst.”
The pushback from Mr Mitev, who began representing Victoria Heuermann, 26, and Christopher Sheridan, 33, after their father’s arrest, comes after Long Island attorney John Ray accused Mr Heuermann’s wife Asa Ellerup of being involved in her husband’s alleged killing spree.
Read the full interview here:
Attorney for Gilgo Beach suspect’s children slams claims family knew about crimes
Exclusive: Attorney Vess Mitev tells The Independent that Victoria Heuermann, 26, and Christopher Sheridan, 33, are ‘just trying to survive’ following father’s bombshell arrest
What’s happening today?
Rex Heuermann is expected in court again today.
Reports suggest he will be charged with the murder of a fourth woman, whose body was found dumped along the shores of Long Island over a decade ago.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney is slated to announce what is tipped to be a “significant development” in the investigation into the Gilgo Beach killings in a press conference on Tuesday morning after a court hearing.
Read the full story...
Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect expected to be charged with fourth murder
Rex Heuermann was previously named the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes
New charges unveiled
Heuermann has been charged with the murder of a fourth victim — this time he’s accused of murder in the second degree in connection to the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, according to reports.
Brainard-Barnes was last seen alive in July 2007, when she left a motel in Manhattan to meet a client for sex work.
At the time, the 25-year-old was living in Norwich, Connecticut, but had travelled to Manhattan in early July where she was staying at and working out of the Super 8 Motel on 59 West 46th St.
Rachel Sharp has the full story...
Rex Heuermann charged with murder of fourth Gilgo Beach victim
Maureen Brainard-Barnes was last seen alive in July 2007, when she left a motel in Manhattan to meet a client for sex work
What happened to Maureen Brainard-Barnes?
Maureen Brainard-Barnes was last seen alive in July 2007, when she left a motel in Manhattan to meet a client for sex work.
At the time, the 25-year-old was living in Norwich, Connecticut, but had travelled to Manhattan in early July where she was staying at and working out of the Super 8 Motel on 59 West 46th St.
She was known to advertise her services on Craigslist, Backpage and other websites under the names of Juliana or Marie. Just before midnight on 9 July 2007, Brainard-Barnes called a friend in Connecticut to say she would be going to meet a client on an “out-call” outside of the motel.
She was never seen or heard from again.
Over three years later in December 2010, her remains were discovered dumped in the remote marshes along Ocean Parkway, near Gilgo Beach.
Her body had been bound by three leather belts, one of which was embossed with the initials “W.H.” or H.M.”
Tuesday’s charges mean that Heuermann has been charged with all four of the “Gilgo four” murders.
The suspected killer’s relatives are attending his court hearing
Lawyer for suspected killer’s estranged wife says new charges ‘makes clear’ she had ‘no involvement’ in the killings
ICYMI: What charges is Rex Heuermann facing?
The accused killer is already charged with the murders of three women – Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello.
Today, he was charged with the murder of a fourth woman.
While it wasn’t previously clear which of the 11 victims recovered from the Gilgo Beach area Heuermann could be accused of killing, he was previously named as the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
Reports indicated that he is now accused of murdering Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
Who are the ‘Gilgo Four’?
Rex Heuermann has been charged with a fourth murder, now being fully accused of killing the Gilgo Four.
All four had disappeared in similar circumstances; each working as sex workers who advertised on Craigslist and vanished after going to meet a client. Brainard-Barnes was the first to go missing.
Their bodies were all found within days of one another during a search for Shannon Gilbert, a 24-year-old woman working as a sex worker. She had disappeared in May 2010 after calling 911 for help after leaving a client’s house on foot near Gilgo Beach.
In the chilling call, she is heard repeatedly telling the 911 operator that “somebody’s after me” and saying that she feared for her life.
She was never seen alive again.
What do the fresh charges say?
Heuermann was second-degree murder for the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes in July 2007.
He joined his wife and children in Atlantic City a week after his family arrived, the superseding indictment states.
“Based on the foregoing, the murders of all four victims occurred at times when Defendant Heuermann’s wife and children were traveling out of state, which allowed Defendant Heuermann unfettered time to execute his plans for each victim without any fear that his family would uncover or learn of his involvement in these crimes,” the filing says.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.