Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer back in court
Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann was in court on Wednesday. This is the second time Heuermann has faced a judge since he was tied to two more murders dating back to 1993. FOX 5 NY’s Jodi Goldberg reports.
LONG ISLAND – Rex Heuermann, the New York City architect charged in a string of deaths known as the Gilgo Beach killings, is set to appear in court on Tuesday morning, with prosecutors saying they will announce a “significant development” in the investigation.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office scheduled a news conference alongside local and state law enforcement to follow Heuermann’s morning court appearance, but did not elaborate on what the announcement about the development would entail.
Valerie Mack
District Attorney Ray Tierney has previously indicated the 61-year-old is a suspect in the death of Valerie Mack, whose partial skeletal remains were found in 2000. Mack had been working as an escort in Philadelphia and was last seen by her family that year in New Jersey.
Karen Vergata
In addition to Mack, prosecutors are also looking into the death of Karen Vergata, whose remains were first discovered in 1996 and finally identified in 2022 after a new DNA analysis.
Unidentified victim
In September, authorities released new renderings of an unidentified victim who was found in 2011. Officials said the victim, who for years they had identified as male, may have presented outwardly as female and died in 2006.
What is the latest with Rex Heuermann?
Heuermann is charged with killing six women whose remains were found on Long Island, and has pleaded not guilty. But investigators are still looking into the deaths of several other people whose remains were discovered in the area.
Heuermann was initially charged in the deaths of three women in 2023, and was subsequently charged in three more earlier this year.
In a court filing for the most recent charges, prosecutors said they had recovered a file on a hard drive in Heuermann’s basement that he used to “methodically blueprint” his killings, including checklists with tasks to tick off before, during and afterwards, as well as lessons for “next time.”
What are the Gilgo Beach murders?
The Gilgo Beach murders – the deaths of 11 people whose remains were found in 2010 and 2011 – have long stumped investigators.
Most of the victims were young women who had been sex workers. Several of the bodies were found near the remote town of Gilgo Beach on the southern shore of Long Island.
Determining who killed them, and why, has vexed a slew of seasoned homicide detectives through several changes in police leadership.
The ‘Gilgo’ Four
The bodies of the “Gilgo Four” were located within a quarter-mile of one another near Gilgo Beach back in December 2010.
Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old sex worker, vanished on May 1, 2010. A police officer and his cadaver dog were looking for her body in the thicket along nearby Ocean Parkway when they happened upon the remains of a different woman. Within days, three other bodies were found, all within a short walk of one another.
Gilbert’s disappearance and search is what ultimately led to the discovery of several remains in the area.
