Rex Heuermann, a Manhattan architect, and as of July 2023, the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer, has been charged with two additional murders in the ongoing investigation.
Heuermann was initially charged in the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello, the first three of the “Gilgo Four” victims.
The murder of the fourth victim, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, was attributed to Heuermann in January.
Last week, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney (R) revealed that not only has Heuermann been charged in the murders of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla, but that Heuermann compiled his findings in a manifesto that likely helped him evade detection for decades.
Heuermann’s growing implication in the serial killings suggest that his involvement in the crimes against sex workers spans decades, as Costilla’s remains were the first to be found in 1993 in North Sea, Southampton.
Costilla was not previously connected to Heuermann. Her remains were tied to a suspect John Bittrolff, a Manorville carpenter who in 2017 was found guilty in the murders of suspected sex workers Rita Tangredi, of East Patchogue, and Colleen McNamee, of Shirley.
The adult daughter of Tangredi was reportedly close with Melissa Barthelemy, whose murder would later be attributed to Heuermann. Barthelemy’s mother said that Melissa’s phone had “a lot of calls” to Manorville around the time of her disappearance.
What set Heuermann and Bittrolff apart in the case of Sandra Costilla was the discovery of de facto blueprints in Heuermann’s Massapequa Park home.
Heuermann is also being charged in the murder of Jessica Taylor, part of whose remains were found in Manorville in 2003. The rest of her remains were found in Gilgo Beach in 2011.
D.A. Tierney stressed at a Thursday press conference in Riverhead that the indictments have been filed and that Heuermann must be proven guilty. Tierney thanked local law enforcement for their assistance, as well as the FBI and U.S. Secret Service.
Tierney also discussed newly-found digital evidence that the prosecution will use to make their case against Heuermann.
“We’ve recovered fifteen different types of cameras, twenty-seven computers, fifty-eight internal hard drives, twenty-two external hard drives, forty-six cell phones, nine Wi-Fi routers, forty-four SD Micro cards, seventeen tablets, forty-town USB devices, eight laptops, fifty hotel cards, four GPS devices, eleven music devices, thirty-six SIM cards, thirty-three miscellaneous items, and 647 CDs, floppy discs, VHS tapes, and miscellaneous tapes,” said Tierney. He added that the Secret Service is helping analyze the “massive amounts of data.”
“Heuermann had a significant collection of violent, bondage, and torture porn dating back to 1994,” said Tierney. “That material was very similar to the condition that two latest victims were left in. The images accessed by Heuermann are consistent with the crime scenes of both Taylor and Costilla.”
Tierney revealed that in addition to the plethora of technology and data found in his home, Heuermann had documented a manifesto that Tierney says aligns “identically” with some of the murders.
“We recovered a Microsoft Word document entitled HK2002-2004 on a laptop in unallocated space, meaning there was an attempt to erase that document,” said Tierney. “Even when a document is erased on a device, forensic experts using particular software can retrieve it.”
Tierney says the document was a “locally-created draft,” one that was created on the laptop, not downloaded from the Internet. The document was found to have been created in 2000 and modified and overwritten numerous times between 2001 and 2002.
“As alleged in the bail application, the task force believes that this is a planning document utilized by Heuermann to methodically blueprint and plan out his kills with excruciating detail,” said Tierney. “This document establishes intent specifically to locate these victims, hunt them down, bring them under his control, and kill them.”
Tierney added that Heuermann’s “motivation, meticulous planning, and clear intent is obvious.”
“His intent was nothing short of murdering these victims,” said Tierney. “We allege the methodology in that document is, in some cases, identical to the methodology used to murder the six victims in this case.”
With the indictment against Heuermann in the earliest-found remains in the long-investigated Gilgo Beach murders, the timeline has now been blown wide open, implicating the defendant in a much longer list of murders than previously thought by law enforcement.
(Above) Victims allegedly tied to Heuermann.
Tierney also said that Heuermann’s manifesto contains “specific page number” references to John Douglas’ 1995 book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit. The prosecution believes that Heuermann studied the book “not to gain insight into his own behavior, but to improve his methodology and avoid capture by the authorities.”
Tienery says that while a copy of Mindhunter was not found in Heuermann’s home, another book by Douglas was found. Douglas is a retired special agent and unit chief with the FBI. A pioneer in criminal profiling, Douglas has written numerous books on criminal psychology.
The document also shows dump site metrics that align with the location of Jessica Taylor’s remains in Manorville.
When asked about the other murders that span the GIlgo timeline, Tierney reiterated that he and his department are committed to investigating the remaining murders, something he made clear when the charges were brought in the cases of the “Gilgo Four.” Tierney said then that the investigation is not concluding with those victims.
“We’re going to continue to investigate. We’ll talk about whatever other investigation is undergoing when and if we bring those charges,” said Tierney.
Another report shows early images of Heuermann at a rifle club in Manorville just days before the disappearance of his alleged victim Jessica Taylor. Prosecutors have obtained a day planner from July 20, 2003, that shows Heuermann was scheduled to attend a rifle training event at the Peconic River Sportsman’s Club that morning.
“Mr. Heuermann was not and is not a member of the Peconic River Sportsman’s Club,” club spokesperson Kerry Goldberg said. “Mr. Heuermann did participate in a few high-powered rifle events at the club, which were open to the public.”
The club sits on a portion of River Road and Connecticut Avenue. Connecticut Avenue becomes Halsey Manor Road just south of the club where Taylor’s remains were found.
A club member said that he and other members recognized Heuermann as a rifle competition attendee when photos of him were published after his arrest.
Legal experts now assume that Heuermann’s alleged crime spree is not just confined to Long Island, as he owns property in South Carolina and is known to have spent time in Nevada. Similar cold cases, especially among sex workers, are now on the radar in Nevada, South Carolina, Virginia, and New Jersey.
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
