Father-of-two charged in infamous Long Island serial killer case
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man has been charged in reference to the long-unsolved killings of ladies whose our bodies have been discovered on Long Island’s Gilgo Beach.
US media recognized the suspect as Rex Heuermann, 59, of close by Massapequa Park, New York.
Detectives pursuing a brand new lead say they matched DNA from a pizza he ate to genetic materials discovered on girls’s stays.
CBS News stated paperwork present that married father-of-two Heuermann has been accused of three counts of first diploma homicide and three counts of second diploma homicide within the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello.
The trio and Maureen Brainard-Barnes have been all discovered shut to 1 one other in 2010.
In complete, the stays of at the least 11 victims have been discovered within the space and are believed to be the work of the so-called “Long Island serial killer”.
Heuermann was arrested at his residence late on Thursday night time by Suffolk County Police and is being arraigned in Suffolk County Court, Riverhead.
At a news convention, Suffolk County govt Steve Bellone stated the “developments take us a major step forward” in securing justice for victims and households.
A renewed investigation tied him to a pickup truck a witness reported seeing when one of many victims disappeared.
In March, detectives tailing Heuermann recovered his DNA from pizza crust in a field that he’d discarded in a Manhattan bin and matched it to DNA from a hair discovered on a restraint used within the killings, authorities stated.
At the time, detectives have been looking for lacking girl Shannan Gilbert once they discovered the stays of 4 others wrapped in burlap sacks.
Police launched audio final 12 months from an emergency name made by Ms Gilbert simply earlier than she vanished.
The following spring, six extra our bodies have been discovered round close to Gilgo Beach.
Most of the victims have been intercourse employees. Their deaths lengthy baffled investigators, a thriller that fuelled immense public consideration and led to a 2020 Netflix movie Lost Girls. But no arrests had ever been made.
Heuermann’s lawyer Michael Brown entered a not responsible plea on his behalf Friday within the state court docket, saying they’d simply discovered in regards to the prices that morning.
Speaking to reporters after the arraignment, he stated Heuermann advised him: “I didn’t do this.”
Residents dwelling close to Heuerman advised CBS News they have been “stunned”.
Neighbour Etienne DeVilliers stated Heuermann, who has a spouse and two kids, labored as an architect.
“We’ve been here for about 30 years, and the guy’s been quiet, never really bothers anybody. We were kind of shocked, to tell you the truth,” she added.
Long Island victims Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello
/ REUTERS“Like I stated, we’re shocked. Because it is a very, very quiet neighbourhood. Everybody is aware of one another, all of our neighbours, we’re all pleasant. It’s by no means been an issue in any respect.”
Actor Billy Baldwin, youthful sibling of Alec Baldwin, tweeted on Friday that he went to highschool with Heuermann.
“Woke up this morning to learn that the Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect was my high school classmate Rex Heuermann,” including they went to Massapequa’s Berner High School and graduated in 1981.