Gilgo Beach Murderer Rex Heuermann's Chilling Crime Scene Photos Revealed — After He Shared Sickening Details About How He Killed Eight Women
Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty to murdering seven women.
April 9 2026, Published 6:45 p.m. ET
Chilling photos from the investigation into alleged Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann show authorities going through his home and items in Long Island, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Following decades of dead ends as investigators looked into numerous brutal killings in the area, police were finally able to make an arrest in July 2023.
The Gilgo Four
Authorities discovered the remains of four women near Gilgo Beach.
The bodies of Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Maureen Brainard-Barnes – who were famously nicknamed the "Gilgo Four" – were found wrapped in burlap and hidden under brush near Gilgo Beach on Long Island.
While the women all went missing at various points between 2007 and 2010, there were few answers until more than a decade later, when Heuermann, now 62, was charged with slaying Costello, Waterman and Barthelemy. Authorities were able to help crack the case with DNA discovered on the bodies, as well as cell phone location data that put him in a similar place at a similar time.
As the investigation progressed, he was eventually also charged with the second-degree murder of Brainard-Barnes in January 2024.
Rex Heuermann's Other Victims
Police outside of Rex Heuermann's home on Long Island.
Heuermann's now self-admitted killings went back as far as 1993, when he allegedly strangled Sandra Costilla to death.
As far as police are aware, his next alleged victim came several years later when former sex worker Karen Vergata was found on Fire Island in 1996. The partial remains of her body were discovered two months after her family had last heard from her.
Rex Heuermann confessed to killing multiple women over the last 30 years.
He was also charged in connection with the deaths of Valerie Mack and Jessica Taylor, who both disappeared in 2000 and 2003, respectively.
Over 2024, Heuermann was linked to the murders of all three women in the shocking cold cases.
Rex Heuermann's Guilty Plea
Rex Heuermann was arrested on murder charges in 2023.
Heuermann initially proclaimed his innocence to a judge. However, on Wednesday, April 8, Heuermann appeared in Suffolk County court and pleaded guilty to seven counts of murder as he confessed to strangling and dismembering his victims.
As a part of a plea deal, he also admitted to intentionally causing the death of an eighth victim – Vergata. The agreement stipulated that he would not be charged with her murder if he confessed to the crime.
Heuermann was previously married to ex-wife Asa Ellerup and father to daughter Victoria Heuermann, who were both in court that day. His attorney, Robert Macendonio, said neither of them had knowledge of or involvement in the murders.
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When Will Rex Heuermann Be Sentenced?
Items from Rex Heuermann's home were searched during the investigation.
Prosecutors expect Heuermann to "serve three consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole."
His sentencing hearing will take place on June 17.
Melissa Cann, the sister of Brainard-Barnes, expressed her relief after the 62-year-old's guilty plea as the yearslong case finally comes to a close.
"This has been a long journey of hope – hope that one day we would stand here and say her name with justice beside it," Cann said earlier this week. "Today, that long, painful journey brings us to this moment."
