Rex Heuermann pleads guilty to 7 murders in Gilgo Beach case

Massapequa Park architect admits to killing seven women and dumping their bodies; also admits to killing an eighth victim

Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty Wednesday to seven murders, bringing significant closure to a decades-long mystery for families of the victims and relief to a Long Island community that has sought answers since the discovery of human remains near Gilgo Beach in December 2010.

The 62-year-old Massapequa Park architect entered his plea before Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei in a Riverhead courtroom, admitting to the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor, Valerie Mack and Sandra Costilla — the seven women he had been formally charged with killing.

Heuermann also admitted to killing an eighth victim, Karen Vergata, who disappeared in 1996 and whose death had not been formally charged to Heuermann.

In exchange for the Heuermann’s guilty pleas, there will be no further prosecutions on the eight victims he admitted to killing. Heuermann also agreed to cooperate with the FBI’s Behavior Analysis Unit.

The guilty pleas come five months before Heuermann was scheduled to stand trial in September, with Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney taking the uncommon approach of trying the case himself. Heuermann will be sentenced June 17, bringing to a close what had become one of the nation’s most closely watched serial killer investigations.

Tierney said in a statement that Heuermann is expected to be sentenced to three consecutive sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. He is also expected to be sentenced to a consecutive sentence of 100 years to life imprisonment for killing Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla and Valerie Mack, the district attorney added.

Tierney is set to deliver remarks on the case and the guilty pleas later today.

Inside the packed courtroom, the atmosphere was heavy and subdued as Heuermann, wearing a dark suit and tie communicated with the judge and entered his pleas, individually for each victim.

Family members grew more emotional as Heuermann continued with his admissions, including acknowledging the method in which he killed each of the women.

• Valerie Mack, 24, disappeared in 2000 while working as an escort in Philadelphia. Her dismembered remains were discovered in Manorville later that year, with additional remains found near Gilgo Beach in 2011. She remained unidentified until 2020. She left behind a 6-year-old son, whose name was tattooed on her leg.

• Jessica Taylor, a Poughkeepsie native, was killed in 2003. Her decapitated torso was found in Manorville, with her head and arms located eight years later along Gilgo Beach.

• Melissa Barthelemy, 24, of the Bronx, disappeared in July 2009. Her body was found near Gilgo Beach in December 2010. Her sister received taunting calls from someone believed to be the killer after she was reported missing.

• Megan Waterman, an escort from Maine, was last seen in surveillance footage leaving a Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge in June 2010. Her remains were found in the Oak Beach marsh. She left behind a young daughter.

• Amber Lynn Costello disappeared from her West Babylon home in September 2010. Her remains were recovered at Gilgo Beach three months later. she was 27 years old when she was killed.

• Maureen Brainard-Barnes was killed in July 2007. Her remains were found along Ocean Parkway. She was 25 years old and was the mother of two children when she was murdered.

Karen Vergata, 34, the Manhattan woman whose death Heuermann has not been formally charged with, disappeared in 1996 while working as an escort.

“After picking up Ms. Vergata, the defendant subsequently strangled her,” Tierney said in a statement. “Following her death, Ms. Vergata was dismembered by Heuermann, who then transported her remains to various locations.”

The woman’s legs were found in a plastic bag on Blue Point Beach that year. Her skull was discovered 15 years later west of Tobay Beach off Ocean Parkway. Vergata, who had two sons, was referred to as “Fire Island Jane Doe” for years before being identified.

The breakthrough came when detectives used a vehicle registration database to connect Heuermann to a green Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck that a witness reported seeing when one of the victims disappeared in 2010.

That connection triggered more than 300 subpoenas and search warrants, allowing investigators to build a comprehensive case against the Manhattan architect who had lived in Massapequa Park for decades — about a 25-minute drive from where many of the victims’ remains were found.

Billing records for burner phones allegedly used to arrange meetings with victims, and cellphone data showing Heuermann was in contact with some victims just before they disappeared, authorities said.

A Microsoft Word file recovered from deleted space on Heuermann’s computer, created in 2000 and modified between 2001 and 2002, contained what prosecutors described as a “blueprint” for the killings with checklists including “More Sleep & Noise Control = More Play Time,” “Remove Marks From Torture,” and reminders to limit noise, clean bodies and destroy evidence.

Investigators also uncovered internet browser history showing Heuermann viewed violent torture pornography and exhibited an intense interest in the Gilgo Beach killings and the renewed investigation.

Detectives searching Heuermann’s home uncovered a basement vault containing 279 weapons, along with newspaper and magazine articles about the victims.

Additional charges were added in June 2024 for the murders of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla, followed by a seventh charge in December 2024 for Valerie Mack’s killing.

His defense team spent months unsuccessfully attempting to suppress key evidence, including DNA evidence and a “planning document” found on his computer. In September 2025, Judge Mazzei ruled that all seven murder cases would be consolidated into a single trial and that the DNA evidence would be admissible.

Civil lawsuit filed days before plea

Just two days before Wednesday’s guilty plea, Benjamin Torres — the only son of victim Valerie Mack — filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Heuermann, his ex-wife Asa Ellerup and their daughter Victoria Heuermann.

The civil suit, filed by attorney John Ray, alleges wrongful death, assault, battery, false imprisonment and other claims. It also seeks to recover more than $1 million that Ellerup and Victoria Heuermann allegedly received for participating in the Peacock documentary “The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets,” which aired in June 2025.

Torres was 6 years old when his mother disappeared in 2000.

Family statements

Ellerup, who filed for divorce from Heuermann after his arrest and finalized it in 2025, has maintained through her attorney Robert Macedonio that she had no knowledge of the crimes.

The attorney said “individual responsible” acted alone and that his clients have fully cooperated with law enforcement.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

_{Top: Convicted Gilgo serial killer Rex Heuermann appears inside Judge Timothy Mazzei’s courtroom with his attorney Michael Brown at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead (James Carbone/Newsday via AP).}