'A Demon That Walks Among Us ': Gilgo Murder Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

MASSAPEQUA PARK, NY — A Massapequa Park man pleaded not guilty in a Riverhead courtroom Friday afternoon to six murder charges in connection with the decades-old Gilgo Beach serial killings.

Rex Heuermann, 59, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of sex workers Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway in 2010, according to court documents.

He was arrested Thursday in New York City, John Ray, attorney for the victims' families said. Heuermann was remanded without bail.

His court-appointed attorney Michael Brown, speaking with reporters outside the courthouse, said Heuermann told him, his voice filled with tears: "I did not do this."

At a press conference on Friday afternoon, Suffolk County Police Department Chief Rodney Harrison gave his condolences to victims' families.

"Rex Heuermann is a demon that walks among us. A predator that ruined families," he said. "If not for the members of this task force, he would still be on the streets today. However, even with this arrest we're not done."

Brown added that, although he had only gotten the case an hour before and had not had a chance to speak thoroughly to his client, as it stands, the plan was for a jury trial and that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

Tierney said he felt the remand was appropriate. Heuermann has other homes in South Carolina and Las Vegas, and he said it was necessary "based on the serious, heinous nature of these offenses." He added, "We feel the urge to flee would probably be irresistible."

Justice Richard Ambro agreed, citing the "extreme depravity" of the killings and the possibility of life in prison. When asked by Brown, however, Ambro did say the attorney would have the opportunity to seek a bail hearing in the future. Brown said he needed to first speak with his client.

Tierney said that even up until the time of his arrest, Heuermann still looked at child porn, and engaged in an "obsessive" search on the internet — with more than 200 searches — for information not just about Gilgo victims, but also their relatives, siblings and offspring. In addition, access to the ability to own guns presented another threat, Tierney said.

Since 2010, at least 11 sets of remains have been found, believed to be related to the Gilgo Beach killings. Police have searched for a serial killer ever since. At least four of the killings included strangulation, and two showed signs of blunt-force trauma. The cause of death remains inconclusive for some victims.

Law enforcement officers on Friday morning swarmed a small red house in the suburb about 40 miles east of midtown Manhattan. Dozens of neighbors watched, along with police and media, as investigators in protective suits gathered outside the front porch, which The Associated Press described as being in disrepair, with its roof propped up by 2-by-4s.

Ray spoke to the media before and after court proceedings. He said he hadn't heard anything up until that point about Heuermann. Jasmine Robinson, representative of the Jessica Taylor family and her first cousin, also attended.

"We breathe a great sigh of relief," said Ray, who has been on the case for 12 years. "Finally, something has been done. And finally somebody has been caught. Maybe final justice will be accomplished here on earth."

But, he said, "This is just the beginning — the very edge of a bigger body of water of murder that's taken place."

Ray believes other killings may still be uncovered, and he added that he believes there may have been a "ring" of killers involved.

Robinson also spoke, expressing her gratitude that there might be some justice for Taylor, her cousin.

"I'm grateful that today is happening and I'm hopeful for the future," she said. "I hope that she's remembered as a beautiful young woman, not what her occupation was at that time. She's loved and missed every day."

Asked about how her loss impacted her life and her family's life, Robinson said: "It destroyed us."

Of the news, she said: "It's been surreal. I'm shell-shocked. It's been 20 years this month."

For Robinson, "full justice means all the cases being closed."

Ray added that the others who were found were dismembered and victims included not just women, but a toddler and a male in the LGBTQ community.

"It's not necessarily true at all that the killer is just after females and that the killer is after only sex workers," he said. "We think that there needs to be far more investigation and maybe now, the dam has broken."

Burner Phones, Taunting Calls, And Chevy Avalanche Detailed In Indictment

On Dec. 11, 2010, Police Officer John Malia was conducting a training exercise with his K9 partner, Blue, along Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach. During the exercise, Blue located a set of human remains, which were later identified to be those of Melissa Barthelemy.

Two days later on Dec. 13, 2010, police continued to search the area around Barthelemy's remains. Officers found three other remains in close proximity to each other. They were identified as belonging to Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello.

The cause of death of all four women, or the "Gilgo Four," was determined to be homicidal violence, according to court documents obtained by Patch.

All were found with missing clothing and personal posessions, and their remains wrapped in camouflage burlap, normally used for hunting, Tierney said.

However, before their disappearances, they all had contact with a person using a "burner" cellphone.

The cellphones of Brainard-Barnes and Barthelemy were used by the killer after their deaths, prosecutors said.

In January 2022, Tierney said a Suffolk County task force was founded, with an "experienced team of investigators, analysts and prosecutors" in partnership with law enforcement from Suffolk County police, New York State Police, the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office, and the FBI.

"When I took office in January of 2022, I made Gilgo a priority," he said at a press conference. "I met with the victim's families, some of whom I'm proud to have standing with us today. And I told them that we were going to handle this case differently."

Tierney said that he made it a point to limit his media presence. When Suffolk County Police Department Chief Rodney Harrison made public announcements, he did it in a "controlled" manner.

"I think in the past the reason why these various investigations fell short was because there was a lot of outside influence a lot of people who had nothing to do with the investigation," said Tierney. "That did not happen with our task force."

The arrest came after investigators caught a break last year — a major clue surfaced.

"On March 14, 2022, approximately two months into the renewed joint investigation, this comprehensive review led to the discovery of a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche that was registered to defendant Rex. A. Heuermann at the time of these murders," authorities said in court documents. "This was significant because a witness to the disappearance of Amber Costello identified a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche as the vehicle believed to have been driven by her killer."

Through Heuermann's cellphone billing records, authorities said they discovered he used burner phones to arrange meeting with three victims, made "taunting" calls to Barthelemy's family member after her death, and made calls checking the voicemails of Brainard-Barnes' cellphone after her disapearance. The investigation consisted of more than 300 subpoenas.

Tierney said that investigators noticed a geographical pattern based of signals from cellphone towers. Specifically: Massapequa Park.

Heuermann also conducted the calls from his office in midtown Manhattan, prosecutors said.

They also observed the same signal pattern on the dates Barthelemy, Costello and Waterman went missing — the same dates when Heurmann's family had traveled outside of New York state.

On multiple occasions, authorities alleged Heurmann used burner phones and online accounts to create fictitious names such as "Andrew Roberts" and "John Springfield" for illicit activities.

On another fake account, Heurmann conducted thousands of searches related to sex workers, sadistic, torture-related pornography, which investigators discovered through Google records and a search warrant, authorities said. Some of the search terms, they said, included: "pretty girl with bruised face porn," "mature escorts Manhattan," "girl with face beat up," "10 year old blonde hair girl," and "13 year old school girl."

At the time of his arrest, Heuermann was found with a burner phone on his possession, Tierney said.

Tierney also said that cell and burner phones were always at the same location, whether on Long Island or in New York City, where Heuermann worked. Signals at four cell towers in Massapequa Park formed a "box," and investigators believed the suspect likely lived in that area, he said.

Investigators also discovered that Heuermann conducted 200 online searches in a 14-month period regarding the Long Island Serial Killer case.

"Not only was he looking at investigative insight, he was looking trying to figure out: "How is the task force using cell phones to try to figure out what's happening?"; "What are the developments with regard to the task force?" said Tienery.

This encouraged the task force to continue keeping the investigation secret.

"We knew that one person would be watching and we didn't want to give him any insight into what we were doing," he said. "We didn't want him to know just how close we were getting."

Tierney said "commonalities" in the cases were found and investigation would continue to try to get a "small measure of closure" for all families.

DNA discovered through hair found with the victims proved critical, Tierney said. Heurermann's family was also out of the country at the time of the murders, he said.

Additionally, in September 2010, a prostitution client showed up at Amber Costello's home in West Babylon.

"After the client entered the home, a ruse was executed on the client whereby a person pretended to be the outraged boyfriend of Amber Costello and the client left the residence, while Amber Costello retained the money the client had brought to pay for her services. Based upon interviews, that client was described as a large, white male, approximately 6-feet, 4-inches to 6-feet, 6-inches in height, in his mid-40s, with "dark, bushy hair," and oval eyeglasses.

He added: "A witness described him to police as appearing like an 'ogre.'"

Also, a witness saw a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche parked in the driveway.

DNA Analysis

During the initial examination of Waterman's remains, police discovered a male hair from "the bottom of the burlap" used to wrap Waterman. All three women were bound with belts, Tierney said.

Hair was found on all of them, but due to amount of time their bodies were exposed to the elements, the evidence was degraded and a typical DNA analysis could not be performed. In 2022, forensics used mitochondrial analysis to identify the DNA.

"The technology wasn't there for mitochondrial DNA," Tierney said.

On Jan. 26, a surveillance team recovered a pizza box thrown out by Heurmann in Manhattan. A swab taken from the pizza crust matched the DNA from the hair found in the burlap.

See also: Who Is Rex Heurmann?

Heuermann, 59, an architect and owner of the Manhattan-based RH Consulting, is a building facilitator for the city's Department of Building, helping clients navigate the complicated construction process, according to an interview that Bonjour Realty conducted with him last year.

In the interview with Bonjour Realty, Heuermann told his host that he began working in Manhattan in 1987.

When the interviewer asked Heuermann what kind of tool he would be, Heuermann said he would be a cabinet maker's hammer.

"It is persuasive enough," he said, raising his eyebrows and tilting his head. "When I need to persuade something, not someone, something, and it always yields excellent results."

Long Island Neighbors Express Shock

Neighbors told Patch and AP the home belonged to a family that had long kept to themselves.

“I passed the house all the time. I never really [saw] anybody outside," a 20-year-old neighbor told Patch, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 15 years. They did not want to be identified. "It’s just a house you don’t go to. Trick-or-treating, you just stay away. You just know that there’s danger there. Parents were always like, ‘Don’t go up the street too far.’”

Pete Gorham, who lives a few blocks away, has lived in the neighborhood since 1976.

"It’s very scary, really,” he said. "He has two kids. These are the ones who are really going to suffer."

Brett Rosenfeld moved to a home around the corner earlier this year. He chose to live in Massapequa Park because it's normally a "pretty quiet, friendly" neighborhood.

"This is definitely a shock," he said.

On Friday morning, he told Patch that he woke up to seeing cop cars and evidence trucks "barreling" down the street.

"My mom actually texted me. ‘Did you see the news?’" he said. "I didn't."

Once he turned on the television, he saw what was happening.

"It’s wild. You never think it’s going to be that close," said Rosenfeld. "That’s literally behind us. We’re on Second Ave."

Nikki Hall, who lives nearby, told Patch: “It’s crazy to think that going food shopping we could have passed him. Just thinking of that alone gives me the creeps.”

She added: “I never thought something like this would have happened in this area. You hear about these things, and you hear about these cases, but you never think it’s going to be this close to home.”

The dilapidated property stands out in the row of single family homes and well-maintained lawns, according to AP.

“This house sticks out like a sore thumb. There were overgrown shrubs, there was always wood in front of the house,” Gabriella Libardi, a 24-year-old teacher, told AP. “It was very creepy. I wouldn’t send my child there.”

Another neighbor, Barry Auslander, told AP the man who lived in the house took the train daily to New York City and wore a suit and tie, carrying a briefcase.

“It was weird. He looked like a businessman,” said Auslander. “But his house is a dump.”

"We're very happy to see that the police have finally made a move on some part of this case," said Ray, attorney for the families of Shannan Gilbert and Taylor.

Billy Baldwin, actor and brother of Alec Baldwin, tweeted Friday morning that he attended high school with Gilgo Beach serial killing suspect Rex Heuermann. Massapequa is in "shock" over the news, he said.

"Woke up this morning to learn that the Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect was my high school classmate Rex Heuermann," Baldwin said, adding that he was from the Class of 1981 at Berner High School in Massapequa.

Timeline Of Gilgo Beach Killings

Shannan Gilbert's remains were found in 2011 in Oak Beach. She was a New Jersey escort who disappeared on May 1, 2010, after meeting a client for sex on Oak Beach.

The search for Gilbert first led to the bodies of four other sex workers, known as the "Gilgo Four": Maureen Brainard Barnes, 25 ; Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Megan Waterman, 22; and Amber Lynn Costello, 27 — all of whom were strangled and stuffed in burlap bags.

In May 2020, the remains of Valerie Mack, or known as the woman known as "Manorville Jane Doe," or "Jane Doe #6," were identified by law enforcement.

Mack went missing in 2000 at the age of 24. She was working as an escort in Philadelphia at the time of her disappearance. Her partial remains were found by hunters on Nov. 19, 2000, in a wooded area off Halsey-Manor Road in Manorville, the same year she went missing.

In 2011, remains of a woman, Jane Doe No. 3, also known as "Peaches,"was found in Zach’s Bay in Jones Beach during the Gilgo Beach murder investigation.

The woman received the nickname "Peaches" because of a peach tattoo she had above her left breast. DNA later linked her to the skeletal remains of a toddler found 7 miles east on Ocean Parkway near Cedar Beach.

In October 2022, the FBI confirmed it was investigating a lead in Alabama to confirm the identities of Peaches and her toddler daughter.

“The FBI is seeking relatives and friends of Elijah ‘Lige’ Howell/Howard (1927-1963). Mr. Howard lived in Prichard, AL with his wife Carrie and passed away in Mobile, AL in 1963 with Ms. Lillie Mae Wiggins Packer. His relatives may be able to assist in the case of a woman and child found in another state,” the Mobile Police Department said in a social media post.

Below is the full timeline of key events leading up to Friday's arrest in the Gilgo case:

July 26, 2003 — Remains of Jessica Taylor found in a wooded area in Manorville.

July 9, 2007 — Maureen Brainard-Barnes is last seen in New York City.

July 10, 2009 — Melissa Barthelemy is last seen in New York City.

June 10, 2010 — Megan Waterman is last seen on video footage at a Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge.

Sept. 2, 2010 — Amber Costello is last seen leaving her West Babylon home.

Dec. 11, 2010 — Remains of Melissa Barthelemy, of the "Gilgo Four", found along Ocean Parkway.

Dec. 13, 2010 — Remains of Maureen Brainard-Barnes of the "Gilgo Four" found along Ocean Parkway.

Dec. 13, 2010 — Remains of Amber Lynn Costello of the "Gilgo Four"found in an area off Ocean Parkway.

Dec. 13, 2010 —Remains of Megan Waterman of the "Gilgo Four" discovered along Ocean Parkway.

March 29, 2011 — Jane Doe No. 5 remains found east of the Gilgo Beach Four.

March 29, 2011 — Remains of Jessica Taylor found.

April 4, 2011— Skeletal remains of an Asian male are discovered along Ocean Parkway, believed to be about five to 10 years prior to the discovery.

April 4, 2011 — Remains found of of Valerie Mack, "Jane Doe No. 6"

April 4, 2011 — Female toddler: Remains found

Dec. 13, 2011 — Shannan Gilbert: Remains found

Jan. 16, 2020 — Police reveal new belt buckle as evidence

Jan. 28, 2020 - Netflix film about the murders debuts

May 28, 2020 - Police identify remains of Jane Doe No. 6 as Valerie Mack

Police Evidence

Last year, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison released video evidence of victim Megan Waterman, 22, and 911 audio of Shannan Gilbert from the night she disappeared to enlist the public’s help in solving the murders.

On May 5, police also provided more information about the "Gilgo Four".

In 2020, police released a black belt embossed with the letters "HM" or "WH,"; the letters are 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch — the first piece of evidence released by police.

A Netflix movie, "Lost Girls," was made about the case; the movie was filmed on the North Fork in 2018.

Patch reached out to Suffolk County Police, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, and New York State Police for more information.

With additional reporting by Peggy Spellman Hoey and Cailin Loesch.

This is a developing story. Be sure to follow Patch for more information.