[ad_1]
New York architect Rex Heuermann is being charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing three women whose bodies were found in December 2010 in the unsolved string of killings famously known as the Gilgo Beach murders, according to court records unsealed on Friday.
The bodies of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello were found wrapped in burlap days apart from each other. The body of another woman Maureen Brainard-Barnes was also found wrapped in burlap at the time. He has not been charged with her murder, but he is the “prime suspect in her death,” authorities said.
Heuermann, 59, pleaded not guilty Friday to three counts each of first- and second-degree murder in connection with the case on Long Island, where the remains of at least 10 bodies were discovered more than a decade ago.
“This is a watershed event in this case,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said at a news conference Friday afternoon. He said Heuermann was surprised when he was arrested.
“We are going to convict him and we are going to hold him responsible for what he did in this case,” he said.
The case, which has long stumped investigators, has attracted national attention for years and was the subject of the 2020 Netflix film “Lost Girls.” Eleven sets of human remains were found on a stretch of highway in Suffolk County after police began searching for Shannon Gilbert, a 24-year-old sex worker who vanished in 2010 after leaving a client’s house in Oak Beach.
Most of the victims were young women who had been sex workers. Several of the bodies were found near the town of Gilgo Beach. Last year, an interagency task force was formed with investigators from the FBI, as well as state and local police departments, aimed at solving the case.
“This is a day that is a long time in coming, and hopefully a day that will bring peace to this community and to the families — peace that has been long overdue,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
Tierney said the investigation is ongoing, and a task force is going to “continue and work and investigate and try and get a small measure of closure for all of the victims.”
Here’s what we know about the case and the suspect.
Who is Rex Heuermann?
Heuermann is the owner and founder of a Manhattan architecture firm, RH Consultants and Associates, according to his LinkedIn page and the company’s website.
Tierney said Huermann has permits for 92 guns and “a very large safe for which guns are kept.”
Where was Rex Heuermann arrested?
Heuermann was taken into custody in Massapequa, New York, late Thursday and investigators were at a home connected to the case on Friday.
According to neighbors, the small red house they raided belonged to a family that had long kept to themselves, the AP reported. The house, which was in a state of disrepair, seemed out of place in the small community with neat rows of houses with well-kept lawns.
Tierney said on Friday the cause of death was homicidal violence, and due to the length of time and environment, there was not a lot that could be done to determine if there was a weapon used in the case.
Who were the victims?
Human remains of at least 10 bodies were found by police in December 2010. Among them were Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Megan Waterman, 22, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27 – known as the “Giglo 4.” The other victims included Jessica Taylor, 20, a “Jane Doe No. 7,” a “John Doe,” a “Jane Doe No. 3” who was called “Peaches” because of a tattoo, and a “Baby Doe.”
Who were the ‘Giglo 4?’
The four women – Brainard-Barnes, Waterman, Barthelemy and Costello – were found in December 2010 when police were searching for 24-year-old Shannon Gilbert, a sex worker from New Jersey. They went missing between July 2007 and Sept. 2010.
‘Lost Girls’ movie is based on Giglo Beach murders
The case inspired the Netflix drama “Lost Girls,” starring Amy Ryan, Thomasin McKenzie and Gabriel Byrne. The movie, directed by Liz Garbus, was based on the book “Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery,” written by Robert Kolker.
“Lost Girls” premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, according to Deadline, and was released the same year on Netflix.
Contributing: Associated Press
[ad_2]
Source link
