Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Suspect Plans Guilty Plea Next Month, Sources Report

Rex Heuermann, the former architect charged with killing seven women on Long Island over 17 years, plans to change his plea to guilty at his April 8 court hearing. The 62-year-old has been held since July 2023 and was originally scheduled for trial in September.

A former architect facing charges in the notorious Gilgo Beach serial murder case plans to enter a guilty plea next month, according to two sources with knowledge of his intentions.

Rex Heuermann, 62, who stands accused of killing seven women across a 17-year period, will reportedly reverse his previous not guilty plea during his scheduled April 8 court appearance, the sources told The Associated Press.

Both individuals, who have direct involvement in the case, requested anonymity since the plea change hasn’t been formally submitted to the court. One source revealed that both the victims’ relatives and Heuermann’s family members have received advance notice of this decision.

Heuermann’s legal team has not yet responded to requests for comment.

However, circumstances could still shift before the scheduled hearing. Heuermann retains the option to reconsider his decision, and any guilty plea must receive judicial approval.

The defendant has remained in jail since his July 2023 arrest and had maintained his innocence in previous court proceedings. His trial was originally set to begin in September. Newsday first broke the story about his planned plea change.

According to prosecutors, genetic evidence, mobile phone records, and materials discovered during a search of Heuermann’s Massapequa, New York residence link him to the victims, all young women who worked in the sex trade.

Investigators discovered multiple victims’ remains along a secluded section of shoreline parkway, while other remains were located in additional remote locations.

The seven victims have been identified as Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello, Sandra Costilla, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor and Megan Waterman.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney refused to provide comment when contacted Thursday evening, as did Gloria Allred, the California-based attorney representing several victims’ families.

The case first gained public attention in 2010 when officers searching for a missing person uncovered multiple sets of human remains in brush along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach.

Throughout subsequent years, investigators employed genetic testing and additional evidence to identify victims. In several instances, they successfully connected these remains to others found previously across Long Island.

Identifying Heuermann as a suspect required years of investigative work.

A revived examination of the cold case first flagged him as a possible perpetrator in 2022. Investigators connected Heuermann to a pickup truck that a witness reported observing when one victim vanished in 2010.

Subsequently, surveillance teams obtained a discarded pizza crust from Heuermann’s garbage, which enabled them to match his DNA to hair evidence found on one victim’s remains.

Mobile phone records further demonstrated that Heuermann had communicated with several victims shortly before they disappeared, while examination of his internet activity revealed a pattern of viewing violent pornographic content and researching details about the murder investigation.

In the previous year, investigators obtained computer files from Heuermann that they characterized as a planning document for the murders, featuring multiple checklists with instructions to minimize sound, clean victims’ bodies and eliminate evidence.

During recent proceedings, the presiding judge denied defense requests to exclude specific DNA evidence from trial proceedings and to separate the case into individual trials.