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Accident – death – Obituary News : Rex Heuermann, a married father and New York architect, has been charged with the murder of four women whose bodies were discovered bound with belts or tape and wrapped in burlap along a stretch of Long Island’s Gilgo Beach in 2010. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is currently being held without bail.
The Suffolk County district attorney has revealed that Heuermann faced three counts of first-degree murder for the killings of Melissa Barthelemy in 2009, and Megan Waterman and Amber Costello in 2010. He has now also been charged in the disappearance and killing of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Heuermann’s defense attorney has stated that he has maintained his innocence from the beginning and is looking forward to fighting the charges.
Authorities first identified Heuermann as a potential suspect in early 2022, following the formation of a multi-agency task force to examine cold cases involving human remains found along Long Island’s South Shore between 2010 and 2011, including the “Gilgo Four.” The task force utilized cell phone data, witness descriptions, and other information to link Heuermann to the crimes. Investigators also obtained a sample of his DNA from a pizza box he threw out, which matched DNA found on a leather belt used to restrain Brainard-Barnes.
The grand jury investigation into the “Gilgo Four” has concluded, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, although the same panel will continue to look into other murder cases. Gloria Allred, a victims’ rights attorney representing the families of Barthelemy, Brainard-Barnes, and Waterman, has expressed the importance of providing justice for vulnerable women who are missing and murdered. Allred believes that it is up to a jury to decide whether Heuermann will be found guilty of the murders.
Details of the four victims have also been revealed. Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25 years old at the time of her disappearance, was believed to be a sex worker. She was reported missing in 2007 and her remains were found in 2010. Cell phone data, witness descriptions, and DNA evidence linked Heuermann to her murder. Brainard-Barnes’s family has described the latest indictment as an important chapter in their pursuit of justice.
Melissa Barthelemy, 24, was last seen in 2009. She was a sex worker who told a friend she was meeting a man and would be back in the morning. Barthelemy’s remains were the first set of female remains found, and her case led investigators to the discovery of the other victims. An unidentified male caller made taunting calls to Barthelemy’s family using her phone. Barthelemy’s mother has expressed the ongoing pain she feels over her daughter’s death.
Megan Waterman, 22, was last seen in 2010 after boarding a bus from Maine to New York. She was also a sex worker. Waterman’s family hired private investigators to help search for her, and it was revealed that she boasted about having clients who were doctors, lawyers, and law enforcement officers.
Amber Lynn Costello, 27, struggled with a heroin addiction and worked as an escort. She was last seen leaving her home in September 2010 to meet a client. Witnesses described the client as a large, white male with oval glasses, resembling an “ogre.” Costello’s sister has spoken about the devastating impact her sister’s death has had on their family.
As the case against Rex Heuermann progresses, the families of the victims hope that justice will be served for their loved ones. The grand jury’s findings will play a crucial role in determining his guilt or innocence in the murders of these four women..
