Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann expected to plead guilty in murder case: reports
The accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann is expected to accept a plea deal in New York in connection with more than a half dozen murders that spanned decades, according to reports.
Heuermann is expected to plead guilty in the case, sources told FOX 5 Thursday.
His defense attorney, Michael J. Brown, and Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney are negotiating a deal that could result in Heuermann pleading guilty at his court appearance on April 8, sources told the New York Post.
Heuermann had been indicted for seven murders that authorities say occurred between 1993 and 2010.
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About 12 years after police in Suffolk County discovered the first of 11 bodies near the beach, they arrested Heuermann, a 62-year-old architect from suburban Massapequa Park, outside his Manhattan office.
Gilgo Beach is about 45 miles east of New York City along Ocean Parkway, and a short drive south of his home.
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He initially faced murder charges for three of the victims: Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Costello, 27.
All of their remains were discovered in 2010 amid a search for another woman, Shannan Gilbert.
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Tierney's office tacked on additional charges as the investigation delved deeper.
The next case involved Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, whose remains were near the other three. Prosecutors then charged him with the 2003 murder of Jessica Taylor and 1993 slaying of Sandra Costilla.
Last year, they announced charges for the murder of 24-year-old Valerie Mack, of Philadelphia.
By then, police had uncovered two other alleged dumping grounds further east on Long Island.
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Heuermann, whose defense failed to convince Judge Timothy Mazzei to toss damning DNA evidence before his change of plea, faces up to life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors said the crimes involved torture, mutilation and dismemberment.
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The victims were all described as "petite" women, many of them around 5 feet tall and barely over 100 pounds — all just a fraction of the size of Heuermann, who has been seen in court towering over those standing near him.
In 2010, Gilbert placed a frantic and incoherent 911 call, begging for help and claiming someone was after her. Then she vanished.
Before police found her remains, they found 10 other bodies along Ocean Parkway. Her death is the only one that police have said they believe was accidental.
