Gilgo Beach murders

Explore in-depth coverage of the unsolved Gilgo Beach murders. Unearth key facts, timeline, profiles of victims, and theories about the Long Island Serial Killer.

Investigators of one of the most notorious unsolved serial killings, the Gilgo Beach murders have now claimed a breakthrough in the 13-year hunt for the suspect. Architect Rex Heuermann who calls himself a "troubleshooter" has been arrested by a special task force who have been focusing on the murders.

What are the Gilgo Beach Murders?

In the small town of Massapequa Park, nestled just north of Gilgo Beach, a peaceful community was shattered by a series of heinous crimes known as the Gilgo Beach murders. Over the decade, ten women and a toddler lost their lives, leaving a trail of unanswered questions and a community in fear. Now police have claimed a breakthrough by arresting a suspect named Rex Heuermann.

The first four victims, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Costello, 27 were discovered in December 2010. These young women, known as the 'Gilgo Four,' were found a quarter mile from one another near the beach within days.

Who is Rex Heuermann?

Six years before the serial killings, Heuermann found his company RH Architecture Design in 1994. He is the president of the firm based in Fifth Avenue, Manhattan. In a 2022 interview with a French YouTuber, Heuermann said he is "a troubleshooter born and raised on Long Island." He described his father as a cabinet maker whom he said inspired him in becoming an avid furniture maker. The architect shared that his father has also been an "aerospace engineer who built satellites."

Who were the victims of the Gilgo Beach serial killer?

The first four victims were all sex workers. They had all been involved in sex work and had advertised their services on Craigslist. They were Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
The remains of Jessica Taylor, 20, were first found in a wooden area in Manorville on July 26, 2003.  Valerie Mack, 24 an escort from Philadelphia was last seen in 2000.

Besides these, an unidentified Asain man's remains were also found along Ocean Parkway on April 4, 2011. Police found the remains of a two-year-old and her mother, who had been missing since 1997, near the burial sites of two other victims. Two sets of remains found in 2011 and 1996 on Long Island and Fire Island were linked by DNA to the same unidentified white woman with scars, known as “Jane Doe No. 7”.

How did the police nab Rex Heuermann?

Rex Heuermann was identified by a piece of DNA evidence that he unwittingly left behind on a pizza box, according to court documents. Heuermann, 59, had ordered a pizza and ate it at his office on 5th Avenue in Manhattan on January 26, 2023.