Rex Heuermann will be sentenced Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to a killing spree that spanned decades and became known as the Gilgo Beach serial killings.
The 62-year-old was arrested in 2023 for the murders dating back to 1993. He admitted in April that he strangled eight sex workers to death, dismembered and hid their bodies across Long Island.
Heuermann was charged with killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack. He pleaded guilty in April to killing those seven women and also admitted to killing an eighth victim, Karen Vergata.
Heuermann will face a judge Wednesday morning on Long Island. The courtroom will be packed today with emotional families waiting to read victim impact statements. It's unclear if Heuermann will make a statement himself.
What Rex Heuermann could be facing
Heuermann was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of second-degree murder. Police said the murders took place between 1993 and 2010.
A previous news release from the Suffolk County District Attorney said he's expected to be sentenced to three consecutive life sentences for the killings of Barthelemy, Waterman and Costello.
He is expected to be sentenced to a consecutive sentence of 100 years to life imprisonment for killing Brainard-Barnes, Taylor, Costilla and Mack, according to prosecutors.
The additional killing of Vergata is covered by Heuermann's plea agreement, the district attorney said.
Heuerrmann has also agreed to cooperate with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit to help catch other serial killers.
He has been housed in the county jail in Riverhead since his arrest in July 2023, but will serve out his term in a state prison.
"Heuermann has already agreed to multiple life sentences, so there's no doubt in my mind that the judge is going to sentence Heuermann to life plus consecutive sentences on top of that, such that he dies in NY state prison," said Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor.
"The case was insurmountable"
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.
Most of the victims had been working as escorts in the Tri-State Area before going missing.
Prosecutors submitted a slew of evidence against Heuermann, including DNA evidence they said tied Heuermann to the victims. There was also a so-called "blueprint" he allegedly used to "plan out his kills," along with records from burner phones and electronic devices.
Attorney Richard Schoenstein, who is not affiliated with the case, said we will never know for sure why Heuermann suddenly changed his plea to guilty.
"It could've been because the case was insurmountable. The way the case played out, some of the developments in the legal proceedings. I don't think he had any shot at an acquittal at all," he said.
Investigators believe Heuermann may be linked to additional killings.
In:
