Accused Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann pleads not guilty
The alleged Gilgo Beach slayer was in tears after his arrest on three counts of murder and sobbed “I did not do this,” his lawyer revealed Friday.
However, by the time of his arraignment Rex Heuermann had become silent and betrayed no emotion in court as he was formally charged with murdering three women whose bodies were found on Long Island in 2010.
was silent and betrayed no emotion in court as he was charged with murdering three women whose bodies were found on Long Island in 2010.
Rex Heuermann, who had been arrested at his office in New York City the previous day, wore a gray polo, white pants, and shaggy hair in court.
He appeared unfazed as prosecutors rattled off a laundry list of reasons why he should be remanded at the Cromartie Court Complex in Suffolk County, New York.
Among their evidence was cell phone records, analyses of burner phones, Google searches and Heuermann’s DNA from a half-eaten pizza linking him to the killings of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello.
Follow The Post’s live blog for updates on the Gilgo Beach serial killings arrest
Heuermann only spoke to confirm his name at the beginning of the packed hearing. He pleaded not guilty to the charges before Judge Richard Ambro cited the “extreme depravity” of the crimes in ordering him held without bail.
He is charged with both first and second degree murder in the case of each of the victims.
His defense attorney, Michael Brown, reserved the right to file a bail application, citing time needed to gather evidence.
Who is Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann?
A suspected serial killer has been arrested over the notorious Gilgo Beach murders in Long Island, The Post can confirm.
Rex Heuermann, 59, a married dad of two and architect at a New York City firm, has a home on 1st Avenue in Massapequa Park, sources told The Post.
His arrest is tied to the “Gilgo Four,” four women — Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, Amber Lynn Costello, 27, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25 — found wrapped in burlap within days of each other in 2010.
The body of Barthelemy was first found along Ocean Parkway on Dec. 11, 2010, sparking fears of a serial killer in the area.
By spring 2011, the number of bodies had climbed to 10, including eight women as well as an unidentified man and toddler.
Heuermann’s arrest comes after Suffolk County’s new police commissioner created a special Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force in February 2022.
Follow the Post’s Live blog for updates
“In terms of speaking to my client, the only thing I can tell you that he did say as he was in tears was, ‘I didn’t do this,’” Brown told reporters after the hearing.
Heuermann is a family man who is married to his second wife Asa Ellerup, 59. Neighbors told The Post Friday they have two children, a daughter and a son.
A bail application released to the public shows Heuermann was charged in connection with only three of the eight women who have been associated with the Gilgo Beach serial killer, but notes he is the “prime suspect” in at least one more.
They claim Heuermann is also being eyed in the case of the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who’s body was found on the same beach years earlier.
The bodies of each of the three women Heuermann is charged with killing were found along the same stretch of Long Island’s Gilgo Beach between June and September 2010.
The case captured the nation’s attention as it was revealed the bodies of eight women had been found in the same general area in the past few years.
In January 2022 the police created a team of investigators specifically focused on the serial killer.
Police set their sights on Heuermann just two months later, when they learned he owned a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche, which was described by witnesses as the vehicle driven by Costello’s killer, according to the arrest affidavit.
The discovery led to more than 300 subpoenas and search warrants executed over the ensuing months.
Investigators pointed to evidence which showed Heuermann’s wife and children were out of town around the same time each of the three women disappeared. In Waterman’s case, she was in Maryland, the application states.
She was allegedly in New Jersey when Costello vanished and Iceland when Barthelemy was last seen.
And he made extensive searches on the Gilgo Beach murders and family members of offspring, including “over 200” in a single four-month period, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said.
Investigators also uncovered cell phone records linking him to “the burner cellphones used to arrange meetings with three of the four victims,” as well as to mane “taunting calls to a relative of Ms. Barthelemy,” and a “call made by a detective to Ms. Barthelemy’s cellphone while looking into her disappearance” as well as “calls checking voicemail on Ms. Brainard-Barnes” cellphone after her disappearance.
This is a developing news story please check back for updates.
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