July 14, 2023 - New York architect arrested in Long Island serial killings

Authorities decided to charge the man accused of murdering at least three of the four "Gilgo Four" when the need to keep the public safe outweighed the need for investigators to collect evidence, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

There was a "good tension" among the task force formed to investigate the long unsolved Gilgo Beach murders since its formation in 2022, Tierney said. On one hand, authorities wanted to build the strongest case they could against suspect Rex Heuermann. On the other, they also needed to keep the public safe, he said.

Heuermann, who authorities were closely monitoring as they were investigating him, was continuing to patronize sex workers and also using fake IDs and burner phones, Tierney said. Those factors led authorities to decide to arrest him Thursday.

"As we work through the case ... suddenly the balance tips in factor of public safety," he said.

Heuermann has been charged with six counts of murder in connection with the deaths of three of the four women known as the “Gilgo Four.”

Hair believed to be from Rex Heuermann’s wife was found on or near three of the Gilgo Beach murder victims, prosecutors alleged, citing DNA testing.

Forensic labs were able to match with near 100% certainty the hairs in July, prosecutors say, after investigators recovered 11 bottles from a garbage can outside Heuermann’s house. They took swabs of the bottles and subsequently matched with close to 100% certainty that DNA to the four female human hairs, according to the bail application.

One female human hair was found on one of the buckles of the three belts used to tie Maureen Brainard-Barnes’ feet, ankle and legs together, prosecutors say.

Heuermann is the prime suspect in the disappearance and death of Brainard-Barnes, the district attorney said in its bail application Friday. However, he has not yet been charged in connection with her murder.

Heuermann was charged in connection with the murder of the other three women, known together with Brainard-Barnes as the "Gilgo Four."

Two female hairs were found on a piece of tape and “outside the head area” of Megan Waterman’s body, prosecutors say. 

Another female hair was also found on a piece of tape that bound Amber Costello’s body, prosecutors say.

A task force to investigate the Gilgo Beach killings was formed in February 2022, shortly after Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney took office in January, 2022, he said at a news conference Friday.

Tierney said he made the Gilgo Beach murders — an unsolved case tied to at least 10 sets of remains discovered since 2010 in suburban Long Island — a priority “before he took office”.

“I met with the victims’ families, some of whom I’m proud to have standing with us today, and I told them that we were gonna handle this case differently,” Tierney said.

The task force consisted of the Suffolk County Police Department, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police and the FBI, Tierney said. 

The work of the task force led to the arrest of Rex Heuermann on Thursday. He has pleaded not guilty in connection with the murders of three women, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, and Megan Waterman.

He is the “prime suspect” in the disappearance and death of a fourth woman, officials said, but he is yet to be charged in that case.

Long Island serial killings suspect Rex Heuermann's wife and children were not in New York state at the time that three of the "Gilgo Four" murder victims died, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Friday.

Tierney said investigators had looked at the Heuermann family travel records and determined that during the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello, "the defendant's wife and children were out of New York state and he was alone in the tri-state area," Tierney said.

Heuermann is a married father of two, a source familiar with the case told CNN. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The suspect in the Gilgo Beach killings was in tears, telling his attorney he did not commit the murders he is accused of, his court-appointed attorney, Michael Brown said at a news conference Friday.

“Anybody who’s arrested and charged with three murders. Well, I should say obviously – well he’s destroyed. He’s clearly destroyed about the charges here,” Brown said.  

Brown said that he has not reviewed any evidence in the case but said that he believes the case is, “extremely circumstantial in nature.” 

It is not clear if Heuermann intends to hire outside counsel, according to Brown.

Authorities issued more than 300 subpoenas and search warrants in their long investigation into the suspect charged in three long-unsolved Long Island murders, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Officials first identified suspect Rex Heuermann, an architect who lives on Long Island with an office in New York City, in a database more than a year ago, Tierney said. Heuermann faces six counts of murder in connection with the deaths of three of the Gilgo Beach murder victims.

Tierney said a task force looking into the Gilgo Beach murders — an unsolved case tied to at least 10 sets of remains discovered since 2010 in suburban Long Island — held its first meeting in February 2022.

From there, officials used "the power of the grand jury" in the form of more than 300 subpoenas and search warrants used to look into Heuermann's background, Tierney said.

The task force formed to restart the investigation into the Gilgo Beach serial killings was created in February 2022 — more than 10 years after human remains were first found on a stretch of Long Island.

Six weeks later, in March 2022, Rex Heuermann was first named as the potential suspect in the killings, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said at a news conference Friday.

Heuermann's arrest this week was the culmination of the extensive investigation that followed, in which investigators used "the power of the grand jury," including over 300 subpoenas and search warrants, to collect evidence and tie Heuermann conclusively to the murders, Tierney said.

The suspect in the Long Island serial killings used the cell phone of at least one of the victims to taunt family members and admitted to killing and sexually assaulting her, prosecutors allege in court documents.

Rex Heuermann, who was arrested Thursday on suspicion of killing three of the four women known as the "Gilgo Four," made multiple taunting calls to the family of Melissa Barthelemy, the documents allege.

In one of the calls, he "admitted killing and sexually assaulting Ms. Barthelemy," according to a bail application filed by the Suffolk County district attorney. 

Investigators say they linked Heuermann to the locations where taunting phone calls or other activity was made on Barthelemy's phone, as well as the phone of Maureen Brainard-Barnes — a fourth woman Heuermann is considered the "prime suspect" for killing — after their disappearances.

A New York architect has been charged with murder for some of the Gilgo Beach murders, an unsolved series of cases that have baffled authorities for years.

Suffolk County officials and the FBI are set to give an update on the case, which involves at least 10 sets of human remains discovered since 2010.

Here's what we know so far:

This week's arrest: Rex Heuermann, who was taken into custody Thursday, was charged by a grand jury with six counts of murder in connection with the deaths of three of four women known as the “Gilgo Four": Amber Lynn Costello, 27; Megan Waterman, 22; and Melissa Barthelemy, 24.

He is the "prime suspect" in the disappearance and death of the fourth member of the group, 25-year-old Maureen Brainard-Barnes, the district attorney's office said in its bail application on Friday.

About the "Gilgo Four": Authorities, initially prompted by the search for missing Shannan Gilbert, discovered the remains of four other women along a stretch of Ocean Parkway in 2010.

The four women were wrapped in burlap and discovered within days of each other. They were last seen between July 2007 and September 2010.

Gilbert's body was found in 2011, and authorities later said they believe her death may have been accidental.

More remains found: By the time Gilbert’s body was found, investigators had unearthed 10 sets of human remains strewn across two Long Island counties.

In addition to the "Gilgo Four" found along Ocean Parkway, additional remains were uncovered in Gilgo Beach and in Nassau County, about 40 miles east of New York City. They included a female toddler, an Asian male and a woman initially referred to as “Jane Doe #6,” investigators said.

Heuermann has only been charged in the deaths of Costello, Waterman and Barthelemy.

What happens next: Heuermann was remanded without bail. He entered a not-guilty plea through his attorney, Michael Brown. His next court date is scheduled for August 1.