The suspect's booking photo. Credit: Suffolk County Sheriff's Department
On Friday morning, most people were shocked to learn police had a suspect in custody for at least some of the Gilgo Beach murders committed more than a decade ago. A press conference was held by investigators Friday afternoon and more information filtered out to the public as the weekend progressed.
Here is a review of some of the most pertinent information, along with the critical steps investigators have taken in recent years to try to bring justice that is long overdue.
Task force and phone records
The suspect, Rex Heuermann, was charged by a grand jury Friday with six counts of murder in connection with the deaths of three of the four women known as the “Gilgo Four”— Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Lynn Costello. Heuermann is considered the prime suspect in the death of the fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
Investigators had their sights on Heuermann for more than a year before his ultimate arrest last week. In February 2022, a task force was launched to restart the investigation into the Gilgo Beach murders, which were considered cold cases by then. Only six weeks later, in March 2022, Heuermann was internally named the prime suspect.
After killing Barthelemy, the murderer tauntingly called her family, admitting to killing and sexually assaulting her. These calls turned out to be the first clues for the task force.
Investigators went through phone records collected from both midtown Manhattan and the Massapequa Park area of Long Island—two areas connected to a burner phone they had tied to the killings. The burner phone was identified via an email account used to solicit and arrange for sexual activity. The victims were escorts who advertised on Craigslist—fitting the profile of some Gilgo Beach victims.
After narrowing down the phone records to just a handful of people, investigators focused on those who lived in the area of the pinged cell tower, matched the physical description given by a witness who had seen the suspected killer, and also searched for a connection to a green pickup truck another witness had seen the suspect driving.
Investigators eventually landed on Heuermann, who matched the physical description, lived close to the Long Island cell site and worked near the New York City cell sites that captured the other calls, and drove a green pickup truck registered to his brother.
The investigation also turned up connections with burner cellphones and other phone data allegedly linked to the suspect, including seven prepaid, anonymous burner phones used to communicate with each of the victims.
But, police needed more evidence.
Pizza, hair and DNA
In late January 2023, a surveillance team recovered a pizza box thrown by Heuermann into a garbage can on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan near RH Consultants and Associates, the suspect’s architectural firm. The box and leftover crusts were sent to the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory for analysis.
On April 28, 2023, a detective hand-delivered a portion of male hair that was recovered near the bottom of the burlap utilized to restrain and transport Waterman's deceased body.
In early June, the forensic lab used mitochondrial DNA from the pizza and the hair to conclude a match to Rex Heuermann.
That piece of male hair was not the only recovered at the times of the crimes, however. Hair was found with each of the victims, but DNA testing in the 2010s was not advanced enough given the level of degradation. That changed as the years went on.
In July 2022, 11 bottles were collected from a trash can outside of the Heuermann home and sent for mitochondrial DNA testing. DNA profiles generated from the bottles were tested against previously tested hair samples recovered on the remains of Waterman and Costello. Results found that Heuermann's wife could not be excluded from either of the female hairs recovered on the remains. Heuermann's wife (and daughters) were out-of-state at the time of each of the murders, so the hair is believed to have been transferred from the suspect’s clothing.
Warrants and timing
Authorities issued more than 300 subpoenas and search warrants in their investigation that started in February 2022.
Over the course of the investigation, investigators located a number of online accounts and burner phones linked to Heuermann, which were used for solicitation and other illicit activities. American Express records revealed recurring "Google Pay" payments made by Heuermann to the dating app "Tinder," which linked to a burner phone. Two additional burner cellphones were also used extensively between 2021 and 2023 for prostitution-related contacts.
One of the warrants showed Heuermann consistently googled the Gilgo Beach investigation, looking for specific investigative insight such as how the task force was using cell phone data. It also showed the suspect "compulsively" searching for images of the victims and their families. Other disturbing content was found in the browser history, say investigators, including child pornography.
On May 19, 2023, Heuermann was observed by law enforcement at a cellphone store in Midtown Manhattan, where they say he purchased additional minutes for a burner cellphone. He was also continuing to patronize sex workers and using fake IDs.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said that in the days leading up to Heuermann’s Thursday night arrest the need to keep the public safe outweighed the need for investigators to collect evidence.
What’s next
Heuermann was remanded without bail after he entered a not-guilty plea through his attorney. His next court date is scheduled for August 1.
Heuermann's DNA has been entered into a statewide database, available to all law enforcement agencies in New York. An NYPD official told ABC News detectives are now checking to see if his DNA or behavior fit unsolved murders and missing persons cases in or around New York City.