Suffolk County, New York – Rex Heuermann, a 62-year-old architect from Massapequa Park, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Suffolk County Court to the murders of eight women, bringing a partial resolution to a series of killings that have haunted Long Island for over three decades. Heuermann, who had maintained his innocence since his arrest in July 2023, admitted to strangling his victims in a composed tone, responding with a single word "guilty" to each count.
The plea agreement covers seven murders for which Heuermann was previously charged, along with an eighth murder—that of 34-year-old Karen Vergata—for which he had not been formally accused. Under the terms, Heuermann surrenders all rights to appeal and will face no further prosecution related to these eight murders. He is scheduled to return to court on June 17 for sentencing, where he could receive up to seven consecutive life terms.
"The pain her husband caused the victims’ families as 'immeasurable'." — Asa Ellerup, Ex-wife of Rex Heuermann
The victims, all of whom had been working as sex workers in the New York City and Long Island area, vanished over a period spanning nearly two decades. Their remains, some dismembered or mutilated, were discovered scattered across remote stretches of Long Island, notably near Gilgo Beach along Ocean Parkway. Investigators now believe that Heuermann’s childhood home in Massapequa Park, where he later raised his own children, served as the site where victims were allegedly held, tortured, killed, and in some cases, dismembered. Prosecutors allege Heuermann would carry out these acts while his family was away on vacation.
The earliest known victim, Sandra Costilla, a Trinidad and Tobago native living in Queens, disappeared in 1993. Her body, bearing sharp force injuries, was found days later in a wooded area in North Sea. For years, her death was attributed to a different suspect until advanced DNA testing matched a hair found on her body to Heuermann, linking him to the cold case.
The killings continued into the next decade and a half. Valerie Mack, initially known as “Fire Island Jane Doe,” was last seen in Manhattan in February 1996. Her dismembered remains surfaced in pieces, with legs wrapped in plastic found on Fire Island’s Blue Point Beach in April 1996 and her skull discovered off Ocean Parkway in April 2011. She was not identified until 2020. Jessica Taylor, 20, vanished in July 2003 after being seen near the Port Authority bus terminal, close to Heuermann’s Midtown Manhattan office. A distinctive tattoo on her body had been deliberately disfigured, a detail consistent with instructions found in a document recovered from Heuermann’s hard drive, which prosecutors described as a "killing blueprint" detailing how to clean and dismember bodies and remove identifying marks.
National attention first focused on the case with the discovery of the "Gilgo Four." Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, disappeared in July 2007. Her body was found bound with three leather belts, one of which carried DNA belonging to Heuermann’s wife. Melissa Barthelemy, 24, vanished in 2009; her family received mocking calls from her phone after her disappearance. Megan Waterman, 22, was last seen in June 2010. Amber Costello, 27, disappeared in September 2010 after meeting a client described by her roommate as “ogre-like” and driving a distinctive green Chevy Avalanche, a vehicle Heuermann owned at the time. Three months after Costello vanished, the remains of Barthelemy, Brainard-Barnes, Waterman, and Costello were discovered near Gilgo Beach. By spring 2011, ten bodies had been recovered in the surrounding area.
Heuermann’s arrest in July 2023 marked a significant breakthrough in the long-stalled investigation. Key evidence included a witness tip regarding his pickup truck, burner phone location data placing him near his home and office, and DNA from a discarded pizza crust that matched a hair found on Megan Waterman’s body. While hairs linked to his wife and daughter were found on six of the seven originally charged victims, neither woman is considered a suspect, as investigators stated the family was out of town during each of the murders.
Following the court proceedings, Heuermann’s defense attorney, Michael Brown, indicated that his client chose to accept responsibility rather than proceed to trial, acknowledging the prosecution’s "overwhelming" case. When asked if Heuermann was sorry, Brown responded, "I would hope so." Brown also suggested that entering the plea brought his client a "sense of relief" and that Heuermann is expected to speak at his sentencing.
Outside the courthouse, Heuermann’s ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, and their daughter, Victoria, briefly addressed reporters. Ellerup read a prepared statement, describing the pain her husband caused the victims’ families as "immeasurable," before declining further questions. Their attorney, Bob Macedonio, stated that Ellerup "never wanted to believe the man she was married to for 27 years, the father of Victoria, was capable of such heinous acts." Inside the courtroom, Ellerup gripped the seat in front of her as each guilty plea was entered, and she and Victoria held hands as Heuermann was escorted out. Legal observers anticipate additional civil actions, with Valerie Mack’s son already having filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Heuermann, Ellerup, and Victoria following news of the plea change. Heuermann has remained held in isolation at Suffolk County Jail since his arrest.
