An individual believed to be a serial killer has been apprehended in connection with the infamous Gilgo Beach murders on Long Island. The New York Post has confirmed this information. Rex Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect employed at a New York City firm and married, was captured after investigators compared DNA samples from victim Megan Waterman’s hair to his own.
The investigators obtained his DNA from a discarded pizza crust back in January. Heuermann, who has two children and was once a classmate of Hollywood actor Billy Baldwin, was taken into custody on Thursday. Prior to his arrest, law enforcement had been monitoring his residence on 1st Avenue in Massapequa Park, Long Island, as well as his office located at 385 Fifth Ave in Manhattan.
According to the source, the arrest of Rex Heuermann is specifically linked to the “Gilgo Four,” a group of women whose bodies were discovered wrapped in burlap within a few days of each other in late 2010. It is not connected to the other six women who were later considered potential victims of the same killer.
Heuermann made an appearance in court on Friday afternoon and entered a plea of not guilty to three charges of first-degree murder, as well as other charges related to the deaths of three women that occurred over a decade ago. Additionally, he was identified as the primary suspect in a fourth homicide. Throughout the court proceedings, Heuermann remained emotionless.
Prior to his court hearing, a bail application unveiled numerous disturbing revelations regarding his criminal activities.
- Cellphone records indicated that Heuermann used a burner phone to arrange meetings with three out of the four victims. He was also connected to one of the cell phones through surveillance footage showing him purchasing it from a store in Midtown Manhattan.
- The burner phone allegedly made a threatening call to a relative of Melissa Barthelemy after her death.
- Heuermann’s wife was out of state during the murders of Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello.
- Tinder records showed that the burner phone was associated with a fictitious account under the name “Andrew Roberts,” using an email that Heuermann accessed from his personal cellphone. Selfies, seemingly taken by Heuermann, were sent to solicit sexual encounters through this email account.
- Two of the burner phones were extensively used between 2021 and 2023 to contact sex workers and massage parlors.
- An email address linked to one of the burner phones was used for thousands of searches related to sex workers, child pornography, and disturbing sexual acts involving violence and torture.
- The email address associated with the burner phone was also used to search extensively about the Gilgo Beach murders, including queries about the killer’s capture, the ability to trace the killer’s calls, and information about the task force investigating the case. The searches also included information about specific victims, their relatives, as well as related podcasts and documentaries.
- An IP address used to book flights for Heuermann and his wife on JetBlue was traced to accessing Gilgonews.com, a website maintained by authorities to share updates on the murder case.
- Heuermann’s wife’s DNA was believed to be found on the bodies of three victims. DNA testing on a water bottle from outside Heuermann’s residence matched a sample of a woman’s hair found on tape used to bind Costello and Waterman, as well as the belt used to restrain Maureen Brainard-Barnes’ feet.
- Law enforcement suspects that the physically heavy-set Heuermann fits the description of the “ogre”-like john seen with Costello before her disappearance.
- Heuermann drives a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche, the same vehicle mentioned by a witness in Costello’s case as being driven by the suspect.
