NEW YORK (WABC) — Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann might change his plea to guilty and admit to the murders of eight women at his scheduled court appearance today, sources familiar with the case claim.
Heuermann, a New York City architect, was arrested in 2023 and has previously pleaded not guilty to killing seven women whose remains were found on New York’s Long Island.
On Wednesday, he is expected to also admit to the murder of Karen Vergata, making for a total of eight women.
Vergata was a 34-year-old woman from Manhattan who disappeared in 1996. She was believed to be working as an escort.
Vergata for many years was referred to as “Fire Island Jane Doe” because her legs and feet were found on the Bay Side of Fire Island in April of 1996. Fifteen years later, additional remains of hers were found at Tobay Beach, according to investigators.
Heuermann’s alleged killing spree spans from 1993 through 2010, and he has maintained his innocence since his arrest in July of 2023.
The first victim was Sandra Costilla, killed in 1993. Valerie Mack was killed in 2000 and Jessica Taylor was killed in 2003. Partial remains of Taylor and Mack were found near Gilgo Beach and in Manorville on Long Island, while Costilla was found in North Sea on Long Island.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes was killed in 2007 and found near Gilgo Beach. Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Lynn Costello were killed between 2009 and 2010 and also recovered near Gilgo Beach.
The former wife and daughter of Rex Heuermann arrived early to the Suffolk County courthouse on Wednesday. It’s been almost three years since Heuermann’s arrest with police carrying out multiple searches of their Massapequa Park home where investigators say they found a torture chamber, an arsenal of more than 200 guns in a vault and what they called a detailed planning document.
“No one can envision ever in their life standing here in a courthouse on a line surrounded by media, having their ex-husband accused of seven ….potentially eight homicides. It’s unimaginable,” said Asa Ellerup’s attorney Robert Macedonio.
Heuermann’s daughter Victoria was 3 years old when the murders began in 1993. Macedonio said that Victoria was too young at the time of the murders to have known anything was amiss.
If he changes his plea to guilty or is found guilty at trial, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Retired NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce comments on the case against Rex Heuermann.
RELATED | ‘Eyewitness to Gilgo Beach’: The horror by the sea — and the hunt for justice
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