Serial Killer Latest: "Prime Suspect" Rex Heuermann Arrested
The Long Island serial killer suspecy is in custody
On Thursday, Rex Heuermann, an architect who lives in Nassau County, Long Island, was apprehended following an investigation, and is the "prime suspect" in serial killings. According to the bail application, he faced charges related to three homicides and was considered the primary suspect in a fourth. Although Heuermann has not yet been formally accused of the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who is one of the four women collectively known as the "Gilgo Four," the application asserts substantial evidence of his involvement in her disappearance and death. The bail application confirms that Heuermann is currently facing six counts of murder in connection with the killings of Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, and Megan Waterman, who are the remaining members of the "Gilgo Four." During the court proceedings on Friday, Heuermann entered a plea of not guilty to these charges. Read on to hear the details of the case, and more about Heuermann.
On May 1, 2010, 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert, a worker who was seeing a client on Jones Beach, made a chilling 911 call. "They're trying to kill me," she screamed. "It doesn't matter if people think that she's a victim of the Long Island serial killer. Something happened to her night. She was in fear for her life. She called 911. She was coherent enough to stay on a phone call for over 20 minutes," Shannan Gilbert's younger sister, Sherre, said last year.
In late 2010, four bodies wrapped in burlap were found along the coast of New York's Long Island, dubbed the Gilgo 4, after the beach where they were found. By the next spring, six more were located, with law enforcement finally confirming the work of a serial killer. Gilbert's body was found in 2011.
For over 12 years the Long Island Serial Killer case remained unsolved. There was even a Discovery+ series called "Unraveled: Long Island Serial Killer" about the crimes and the botched investigation.
On Thursday police arrested Rex Heuermann, 59, a married dad of two and architect at a New York City firm, at his home on 1st Avenue in Massapequa Park, multiple sources tell NBC News. He is due in court later today and State and Suffolk County Police have teased an upcoming press conference.
Heuermann founded and owns Midtown architecture firm RH Consultants and Associates. His clients include Catholic Charities, NYC-DEP Sewerage Treatment, and American Airlines as clients, according to his company's website.
Bill Baldwin knew the suspect. "Woke up this morning to learn that the Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect was my high school classmate Rex Heuermann," the actor tweeted today. The two attended Berner High School in Massapequa, New York, and graduated in the class of 1981."Mind-boggling… Massapequa is in shock," he wrote.
"The day has finally come," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said responding to the news of the arrest. "Hopefully after further news is unveiled today the answer will be yes, yes, the day has finally come when someone so deprived, depraved of heart, would kill individuals, innocent individuals in the prime of their young lives, is finally brought to justice," she said.
Although Heuermann is innocent until proven guilty, his arrent is already causing a stir. "It's been a long time coming & I never gave up hope that one day justice would be served," Sherre Gilbert said in an email to NBC News. "I'm just happy it happened sooner rather than later. The suspect (Rex) deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life. He destroyed many lives so while it won't bring our loved ones back, it does help that one less monster is off the streets and he can't ever hurt anyone else!"
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a serial killer is defined as "a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors." Unfortunately, there are several serial killers on the loose in 2023, as investigators struggle to identify and arrest notorious killers. However, authorities believe they have arrested one of the most dangerous serial killers of the present day and possibly solved a crime that has been stumping them for over a decade.
