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The architect Rex Heuermann, 62, is sentenced for the murders of eight women.
In the courtroom, the judge exploded.
And burst into tears.
By day, he was a successful architect and family man with a wife and children.
At night, a sadistic killer.
Rex Heuermann’s double life went on for almost two decades – the time when it feared “Long Island serial killer” spread terror in New York.
It started in 2010 when body parts of four women started turning up along Gilgo Beach on Long Island. The remains were wrapped in burlap, only a hundred meters apart.
Arrested after pizza find
But it took until March 2023 before Heuermann was arrested in New York. Then the police had found his DNA on a pizza edge that he threw in the garbage. It could be matched to a hair on a garbage bag used in one of the suspected murders.
In April this year, he admitted murdering seven women between 1993 and 2010. He also admitted killing an eighth woman in 1996, a case not included in the indictment.
All had been killed by strangulation.
“Evil Demon”
The hatred towards the 62-year-old in the courtroom was unmistakable when he was sentenced on Wednesday.
Dressed in a black suit, he first had to listen to testimony from a dozen or so relatives of the victims about how the murders have affected them.
Most of the victims were prostitutes and in Heuermann’s computer was a document showing how he carefully planned the murders, which were described as bestial. Several of the victims were raped and dismembered. In one case, he called the relatives afterwards and told them what he had done.
An aunt of one of the women called him “an evil demon”.
Judge Tim Mazzei wiped away tears with a handkerchief as the testimony was read.
The judge’s disgust
The judge then asked if the former architect had anything to say before handing down the sentence.
– Stand up! urged Mazzei.
– Everything that has been said is true. There are no words I can say. The words I would say have no meaning, replied Heuermann.
When the judge again addressed the judge, he could “barely hide his disgust,” reports said New York Post from the courtroom.
– Mr. Heuermann, I know you are sorry that you got caught. I assume you are sorry for what you did to your wife and children. Are you the least bit sorry for what you did to these poor innocent women – eight women you strangled to death, at least eight that we know of. Are you the least bit sad?
Cheers in the courtroom
Heuermann sat silent and expressionless as the judge continued:
– You have been described as a very big man, but you are a disgusting and despicable little man – if you are a man – and you are a coward, Mazzei said before handing down the sentence, concluding with:
– Get him out of here.
Cheers erupted in the courtroom. Some of the audience chanted “Troll! Troll” as the police handcuffed Heuermann.
The sentence was three life sentences.
Eight murdered women
Melissa Barthelemy, 24
Was a sex worker who was found dead on December 11, 2010. She was last seen on July 18, 2009. She was the first of the four women found, but is believed to be the second murder in the Gilgo Four sequence.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25
Sex worker, whose body was found on December 13, 2010. She was last seen alive on July 6, 2007. The weekend she disappeared, she had traveled with a friend. She was reported missing on July 14 after she told a friend she was going to visit a client. Brainard-Barnes is believed to be the first murdered of the four.
Megan Waterman, 22
Was a single mother and sex worker. She was last seen on June 6, 2010. She was reported missing two days later. Her body was found on December 13, 2010.
Amber Lynn Costello, 27
Sex worker. Last seen on September 2, 2010 and her body was found on December 13, 2010. She was never reported missing.
The four women are usually called the “Gilgo Four”. All were found dead at a distance of approximately 400 meters from each other.
Valerie Mack, 24
Despite having worked as an escort when she disappeared in 2000. She was the mother of a small son. Her body parts were found in 2000 and 2011.
Jessica Taylor, 20
Be a sex worker. Reported missing July 21, 2003. Five days later her body was found.
Sandra Costilla, 28,
The killer’s first victim. Her body was found in November 2003 by hunters in a wooded area on Long Island. Costilla came from Trinidad Tobago but lived in New York.
Karen Vergata, 34
Was the mother of two sons. She was reported missing in February 1996. Police believe she worked as an escort. Her body was found on Fire Island in April 1996. Murder was not part of the original indictment, but Heuermann admitted in April 2026 that he killed her.
