Alleged Long Island serial killer intends to change plea to guilty, sources say | New York
The man accused of Long Island’s infamous Gilgo Beach serial killings plans to plead guilty in the case next month, according to two people familiar with his decision.
Former architect Rex Heuermann, accused of murdering seven women over the course of 17 years, will change his not guilty plea at his next hearing on April 8, they said.
Two people, both involved in the case, spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the claim has not yet been filed in court. One of the people said the victims’ families and Heuermann’s own family had already been notified of the decision.
Heuermann’s lawyers did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Still, a lot can happen before the court date. Heuermann could change his mind, and any guilty pleas would also have to be accepted by a judge.
Heuermann, 62, was scheduled to go on trial in September. He has been in custody since his arrest in July 2023 and had previously told the court that he was not guilty. His plan to change his plea was first reported by Newsday.
Prosecutors said DNA evidence, cell phone data and evidence found during a search of Heuermann’s home in Massapequa, New York, linked him to the victims, all of whom were young women engaged in sex work.
The remains of several victims were found on an isolated parkway along the coastline, but some remains are scattered in other remote areas.
The victims include Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello, Sandra Costilla, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor and Megan Waterman.
Ray Tierney, the Suffolk County district attorney, and Gloria Allred, a prominent California attorney representing some of the victims’ families, declined to comment when reached late Thursday.
The investigation into a potential Long Island serial killer came to public attention in 2010 when police searching for a missing woman discovered numerous human remains in brush along Ocean Parkway, not far from Gilgo Beach.
Over the years, investigators used DNA analysis and other clues to identify the victims. In some cases, they were able to link them to remains found years earlier elsewhere on Long Island.
It would be years before investigators identified Heuermann as a potential suspect.
A renewed investigation into the cold case identified him as a potential culprit for the first time in 2022. Detectives linked Heuermann to a pickup truck that a witness reported seeing around the time one of the victims went missing in 2010.
Investigators spying on Heuermann later found a pizza crust he had thrown away and used it to link it to DNA from hair taken from one of the victim’s bodies.
Cell phone data also showed Heuermann had been in contact with some of the victims just before their disappearance, and a review of internet searches revealed a history of viewing violent torture pornography and seeking information about the investigation into the murders.
Last year, investigators recovered files from Heuermann’s computer that they described as a “blueprint” for the murders, including a series of checklists with reminders to limit noise, clean bodies and destroy evidence.
In recent months, the judge in the case rejected requests from Heuermann’s lawyers to exclude certain DNA evidence from the trial and split the case into multiple trials.
