Who are the alleged victims of Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann?
Who are the alleged victims of Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann?
EMILY SHAPIROTue, April 7, 2026 at 5:48 PM UTC
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Who are the alleged victims of Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann?
Suspected Gilgo Beach, New York, serial killer Rex Heuermann is accused of killing seven women, and he might change his plea to guilty and admit to the crimes at his court appearance on Wednesday, sources familiar with the case told ABC News.
Heuermann, a New York City architect who was arrested in 2023, has pleaded not guilty to killing the seven women, some of whom were sex workers. His trial is set for September.
Here's what we know about Heuermann's alleged victims.
James Carbone/Newsday, Pool - PHOTO: Rex Heuermann, who is accused of killing seven women over the span of decades on Long Island, appears in court in Nassau County, Sept. 3, 2025.
Gilgo Beach murders: A timeline of the investigation
Sandra Costilla
The first alleged victim was Sandra Costilla, who was killed in 1993.
Costilla was a native of Trinidad and Tobago and had been living in New York. Her remains were found in the town of North Sea on New York's Long Island, officials said.
Suffolk County Police Department - PHOTO: Police released this photo of Sandra Costilla.
Initially, authorities suspected a different killer, but the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said advanced DNA linked Heuermann to a hair lifted from Costilla’s shirt.
Valerie Mack
Valerie Mack was killed in 2000, but she was the last of the seven alleged victims to be linked to Heuermann, who was charged with her death in December 2024.
Suffolk County Police Department via AP - PHOTO: This undated photo provided by the Suffolk County, New York, Police Department, Thursday May 28, 2020, shows Valerie Mack who went missing in 2000.
A hunter's dog discovered Mack's decapitated body in a wooded area of Manorville, on Long Island, on Nov. 19, 2000, court documents said. Her remains were bound with rope inside a black plastic bag which was wrapped with duct tape, according to court documents. Both of her hands had been severed from her body and one of her legs was cut off, court documents said.
The rest of Mack's remains were found more than a decade later, in April 2011, along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach, authorities said.
Prosecutors said they linked Heuermann to Mack's death in part through a mitochondrial DNA analysis of a female hair found on Mack's body. It matched the profiles of Heuermann's wife and daughter, court documents said.
Prosecutors said they also linked Heuermann to Mack's death through evidence recovered on some of the electronic devices they seized from Heuermann that include his "significant collection of violent, bondage and torture pornography" dating back to at least 1994. This online collection included images of mutilation and tying up women with ropes, two things prosecutors said are consistent with injuries inflicted on Mack and how she was bound, officials said.
Jessica Taylor
Jessica Taylor, 20, went missing in July 2003, according to Suffolk County police.
John Ray Law via AP, FILE - PHOTO: This photo provided by John Ray Law on July 14, 2023, shows Jessica Taylor, whose remains were found decades ago along on a highway along Gilgo Beach, on New York's Long Island.
Taylor was decapitated and her arms were severed from her torso, possibly in an attempt to hide her identity, according to court documents.
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Some of her remains were found in July 2003 in Manorville on Long Island and some were recovered in March 2011 near Gilgo Beach, police said.
Taylor's cousin, Jasmine Robinson, told reporters she was "shell shocked" by Heuermann's arrest.
"I hope that she's remembered as a beautiful young woman" and not as a sex worker, Robinson said.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes
Maureen Brainard-Barnes was 25 when she vanished in 2007, according to Suffolk County police.
"She had bright, blue eyes. She was very outgoing, very outspoken," her friend Sara Karnes told ABC News' "20/20." "Every time I talk about it, it doesn’t get any easier."
Brainard-Barnes' remains were found at Gilgo Beach in December 2010, police said.
Investigators found DNA belonging to Heuermann's then-wife in hair recovered from a belt used to restrain Brainard-Barnes, according to the indictment. Heuermann's family was out of state when Brainard-Barnes was killed, prosecutors said, and his wife was not suspected to be involved in her death.
Brainard-Barnes' daughter, Nicolette, who was 7 years old when her mother was killed, told reporters when Heuermann was charged, "While the loss of my mom has been extremely painful for me, the indictment by the grand jury has brought hope for justice for my mom and my family."
Melissa Barthelemy
Melissa Barthelemy, 24, went missing in July 2009, according to Suffolk County police.
Barthelemy's sister, Amanda Funderburg, had received several taunting phone calls in 2009 that were believed to be from her sister's killer, according to authorities.
Barthelemy's remains were found in Gilgo Beach in December 2010, police said.
Megan Waterman
Megan Waterman, 22, went missing in June 2010, according to Suffolk County police.
Her remains were found in December 2010 in Gilgo Beach, police said.
Amber Lynn Costello
Amber Lynn Costello, 27, went missing in September 2010, according to Suffolk County police.
Her remains were found in Gilgo Beach in December 2010, police said.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
