Before the unveiling of a forthcoming documentary about the Long Island serial killer, let’s explore some unsettling images showcasing the residence of the suspected killer, Rex Heuermann.
For more than ten years, the tranquil area in Long Island was plagued by a series of murders of women discovered along Ocean Parkway, a serene stretch mostly frequented by beach enthusiasts during scorching summer afternoons.
Then, in July 2023, there was a break in the case.
Heuermann – an architect from Massapequa Park, about a 20-minute drive from where some of the murdered women were found – was arrested.
The 61-year-old has been charged with the murders of seven women, all but one of whom were believed to be sex workers.
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all seven killings from the early 1990s to the early 2010s.
Neighbors watched in awe as authorities combed through Heuermann’s home following his arrest.
‘CLUTTERED HOUSE’
Heuermann’s home was described as messy.
“It was a very cluttered house,” Harrison told local CW affiliate PIX11 in July 2023.
He said that Heuermann “was like a pack rat.”
Boxes were piled high, clutter was thrown about and a bathtub was cut open following the search of Heuermann’s home, photos obtained by CNN showed.
Authorities also dug up Heuermann’s backyard for clues into the killings.
A DOLL AND A PLAYBOY POSTER FOUND
Law enforcement officials were seen removing personal belongings from the house, which included a doll sized for a child, a picture of a blonde woman with visible bruises, and a poster from Playboy. These items were all captured by photographers from the New York Post.
Authorities also recovered over 200 guns from a walk-in vault in the basement of the home.
“He had an arsenal in a vault that he had downstairs,” then-Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison told Fox News in July 2023.
The doll found in Heuermann’s home appeared to have blonde, long braided hair and a red outfit with a matching bow.
The blonde woman in the confiscated portrait had dilated pupils and bruising underneath her eyes.
WIFE AND KIDS MOVE OUT
Heuermann’s wife, Asa Ellerup, quickly filed for divorce after the alleged killer’s arrest.
The couple signed the divorce papers last week, mere hours before Heuermann was due in court for a pre-trial hearing.
But Ellerup still supported Heuermann in court along with their adult daughter Victoria last Friday.
Ellerup’s divorce attorney Robert Macedonio told Newsday that she is “still withholding judgment on Rex’s guilt until all evidence is played out in the courtroom.”
After police searched Heuermann’s home, Ellerup and the kids moved to a family property in Chester, South Carolina, about an hour’s drive north of Columbia.
Macedonio said that Ellerup no longer felt a connection to the home after the police search which the lawyer called a “violation of her property rights.”
NEW UPDATES ON THE CASE
Friday’s hearing focused on whether prosecutors could use DNA evidence that they say connects Heuermann to the murders at his trial.
But the defense argues that the DNA evidence should be inadmissible given the new technique used to collect it that hasn’t been tested in New York courts yet.
Meanwhile, a new documentary series about the investigation was released on Netflix on Monday.
The three-part series titled, Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, dives into the search for the sick murderer through the lens of the victims, their loved ones and the cops.
“These family members were never going to give up.
“These women knew that there was a need to shake [up] the establishment to get attention for this case,” director Liz Garbus told Tudum, Netflix’s companion site.
Garbus continued: “Of course, they shouldn’t have [had] to work so hard.
“The system should work to protect them and should’ve protected their family members.
“But at the end of the day, their voices really mattered.”
Murder victims linked to the Long Island Serial Killer
The sleepy seaside community of Gilgo Beach in Long Island, NY, was horrified after the arrest of Rex Heuermann in July 2023 for a series of gruesome murders. Here is what we know about his alleged victims:
Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25 – Brainard-Barnes was believed to be a sex worker based in Norwich, Connecticut. She went by the names “Juliana” or “Marie” and advertised her services on various platforms, including Craigslist and Backpage. She mostly worked out of hotels in Manhattan. On the day of her death on July 6, 2007, she took an Amtrak train from New London to Grand Central Terminal. She was reported missing eight days later, but it wasn’t until 2010 that her remains were found on the north side of Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach.
Melissa Barthelemy, 24 – Barthelemy was an aspiring hairstylist who was last seen alive on July 12, 2009. She worked as an online escort and lived in the Bronx, NYC, but primarily worked out of hotels in Manhattan. She used sites such as Adult Friend Finder and went by either “Chloe” or “VerySexyChloe” online. After she disappeared, her sister revealed she had received calls from a stranger who admitted to killing her. Her body was found on Gilgo Beach on Dec 11, 2010.
Megan Waterman, 22 – Waterman was a single mother living in Scarborough, Maine, when she went missing. A sex worker who advertised her services on Craigslist and Backpage used the aliases “Lexxy” and “Sexy Lexi.” She vanished on June 6, 2010, after leaving a Holiday Inn hotel located in Hauppauge, Long Island. Two days later she was reported missing, and her body was found on December 13 of that same year.
Amber Lynn Costello, 27 – Costello lived in West Babylon, Long Island, at the time of her disappearance. She advertised as a sex worker on Craigslist and Backpage, reportedly to support her heroin addiction. She had entered a detox program shortly before his disappearance before relapsing. She was last seen alive on September 2, 2010, and her body was discovered on Ocean Parkway on December 13, 2010.
Jessica Taylor, 20 – Taylor was an escort working in Midtown, New York when she was reported missing on July 19, 2003. She was reportedly spotted at the Port Authority bus terminal in Manhattan between July 18 and 21. On July 26, 2003, parts of her body were found in Manorville. More of her remains were discovered on March 29, 2011, during the search for Shannan Gilbert, a 23-year-old sex worker.
Sandra Costilla, 28 – Costilla was a native of Trinidad and Tobago living in New York at the time of her disappearance. Investigators called Costilla a “drifter” and her last known address was in Queens. Costilla’s remains were uncovered in the woods in Southampton on November 20, 1993. Costilla had numerous sharp force injuries to her face, torso, breasts, left thigh, and vaginal area.
Valerie Mack, 24 – At the time of her disappearance, Mack was working as an escort under the alias “Melissa Taylor.” She was last seen alive in the spring of 2000 in New Jersey, but her family didn’t report her missing. Parts of her body were discovered by hikers in September 2000 in the Long Island Pine Barrens, but she was not identified and was instead given the nickname “Jane Doe No. 6.” The rest of her remains were recovered on April 4, 2011, near Gilgo Beach.
There have been several other murder victims tied to a Long Island Serial Killer, but no connection has been found to Rex Heuermann, and he is not a suspect in their deaths.
Karen Vergata, 34 – Vergata was a sex worker living on West 45th St. in Manhattan at the time of her disappearance on Valentine’s Day, 1996. She had called her father that day to wish him a happy birthday. Parts of her body were found at Davis Park on Fire Island’s Blue Point Beach on April 20 that year, but at the time, she wasn’t identified and was known as “Jane Doe No. 7.” Her skull was found on Ocean Parkway on April 11, 2011.
Additional victims – Four other remains of possible victims were also recovered but have not been officially named.
