Gilgo Beach serial killer who strangled eight women jailed for life
Rex Heuermann, 62, was sentenced to life without parole.
An architect from New York who murdered eight women before dumping their bodies on Gilgo Beach has been jailed for life.
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Rex Heuermann, 62, appeared before a judge in Riverhead, New York, on Wednesday after admitting to the murder of eight women.
The killer pleaded guilty in April to the murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla.
He was never charged over the death of Karen Vergata but admitted in court that he murdered her.
The killer said he strangled his victims, most of them sex workers, and dismembered some of their bodies.
Heuermann appeared in a Long Island courtroom on Wednesday with his hands clapsed while tapping his fingers, wearing a black suit, a blue shirt, and a light-coloured tie.
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Ahead of the sentencing, Jasmine Robinson, a cousin of victim Jessica Taylor, told the murderer: "You fill me with so much repugnance, I can't stand it."
His first victim, Sandra Costilla was found dead in 1993. Valerie Mack went missing in 2000. Jessica Taylor was his next victim to go missing in 2003.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello all vanished between 2007 to 2010.
The group later became known as the Gilgo four.
Police later found the remains of Karen Vergata, his eighth known victim, who disappeared in 1996.
Many of the women remained unidentified for years.
However, a break in the case came after police pieced together information from Heuermann’s car, his roommate, phone records and DNA.
He had been held in custody since he was arrested on a Manhattan street in July 2023 and initially pleaded not guilty.
Heuermann later changed his plea and agreed to several life sentences without the possibility of parole in exchange for pleading guilty.
More to follow.