REX Heuermann, the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer, has been charged with two additional counts of murder.
Heuermann appeared in a Long Island courtroom on Thursday, where he was formally charged with the murders of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla.
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The recently unsealed indictment comes after officials with the Gilgo Beach Task Force executed another search warrant at Heuermann's Long Island home in Massapequa Park, New York, on May 20.
Heuermann is already facing charges in connection to the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, Amber Lynn Costello, 27, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25 - also known as The Gilgo Four.
He has pleaded not guilty to the four charges.
Now, prosecutors are linking the 60-year-old architect with the murders of Jessica Taylor, 20, in July 2003, and Sandra Costilla, 28, in November 1993.
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"He is not guilty, and he wants you to accept his not guilty plea," Michael Brown, Heuermann's attorney, told the judge on Thursday.
District attorney Raymond Tierney said all the victims who were murdered in Suffolk County over the past three decades are in play in their investigation into Heuermann.
Costilla's remains were uncovered in the woods in Southampton on November 20, 1993.
A native of Trinidad and Tobago, she was strangled to death and left partially clothed, investigators said.
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They said Costilla had numerous sharp force injuries to her face, torso, breasts, left thigh, and vagin*l area.
Prosecutors said Heuermann was living with a woman in 1993 whose hair was found on Costilla's right arm.
Rex Heuermann Explainer
In April, investigators searched the area where Costilla's body was discovered in 1993.
'NEWS ARTICLE SEARCH'
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Taylor, who authorities say was a sex worker who worked out of Midtown Manhattan, went missing on July 19, 2003, after she failed to attend her mother's birthday in Poughkeepsie, New York.
At the time of Taylor's disappearance, Heuermann worked in the same area where Taylor was known to "street walk," the indictment reads.
Taylor's severed torso was first uncovered on July 26, 2003, in Manorville.
Investigators said Taylor's tattoo had been "obliterated by a sharp object."
Prosecutors allege Heuermann mutilated Taylor's tattoo to hinder efforts to identify her.
At the time, investigators spoke to a witness who said they saw a dark-colored Chevrolet pickup truck backing into the same wooded area where Taylor's body was found, according to court records.
Heuermann purchased a 2002 dark-colored Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck in March 2002.
Evidence recovered from Heuermann's home showed that on or about July 28, 2003, he accessed a Newsday article titled, Cops Seek Help in IDing Manorville Body, regarding Taylor's remains.
The online search was quickly deleted on July 29, 2003, according to court documents.
Taylor's skull, hands, and forearm were eventually found eight years later on Gilgo Beach on March 29, 2011, on the same road where the Gilgo Four's remains were located months prior.
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'PLANNING DOCUMENT'
In the months after Heuermann's arrest in July 2023, investigators extracted data from over 350 electronic devices found at his home, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said investigators unearthed a "collection of violent, bondage, and torture p*rnography that dated back to 1994."
Heuermann allegedly accessed p*rnographic images, including "breast mutilation, vagin*l torture, sex substitution, sexualization of decapitated women, bondage and whipping."
Investigators said the graphic search on Heuermann's hard drives coincides with how the remains of Costilla and Taylor were discovered.
Authorities believe a Microsoft Word document titled "HK2002-04" found on a hard drive in Heuermann's home was utilized as a "planning document" that he used to "plan out his kills" and problems he could have in covering up his tracks.
The document contained four category sections, "problems," "supplies," "DS," and "TFG."
Investigators believe the information guided Heuermann on issues like evading apprehension, what supplies are needed to carry out serial murders, and how to avoid leaving DNA evidence behind.
A second document contained three category sections, "pre-prep," "prep," and "post event."
Officials believe the second Word document seemed to direct Heuermann on issues like inspecting his car before and after committing a murder, destroying files, and changing tires.
Separate documents also listed details on how to prepare a body and what items should be disposed of.
In the "things to remember" section, Heuermann appeared to have written down what to consider "next time," such as travel sounds and getting rest before the "hunt."
'YOU WILL FOREVER BE MISSED'
Attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Jessica Taylor's mother, Elizabeth Baczkiel, and family members of Brainard-Barnes, Waterman, and Barthelemy, called the allegations against Heuermann extremely difficult.
"It's very difficult for them, emotionally. They've been waiting 21 years for answers, and they're hoping that justice is on its way," Allred said on behalf of the families.
"Jessica was my daughter, she was loving and compassionate and so funny," Allred read a statement from Baczkiel.
"Jessica loved to make people laugh, she tried very hard in school. Jessica had two brothers and they would always play together.
"She loved playing board games, she loved playing cards, she loved cartoons, she loved to sing, she would sing along with the radio and was in the choir at church.
"She loved to cuddle with me, and her brothers when she was young. They would pile on the couch and watch TV together.
"I miss how she called me mommy, and mama.
"Jessica, my darling daughter, you will never be forgotten. You will always be missed. You will forever be in our hearts."
Taylor's cousin, Jasmine Robinson, emotionally added, "Jessica was a beautiful person. Simple memories such as sitting down for dinner together, drawing pictures, dancing, jump rope, and sleepovers with her and my sister are memories that I cherish.
"I was lucky to share my childhood with her and I wish every day that we got the chance to create new memories.
"When I think of her I see her smile first - big and bright, lighting up her face, beaming through her beautiful eyes.
"She was and still is loved immeasurably. When her life was stolen a light went out, she is forever missed."
John Ray, the attorney for the family of Shannon Gilbert, whose search led to the discovery of The Gilgo Four, said Heuermann's notes mentioned Stockholm syndrome, which suggests he held his victims for an unknown time.
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"How long did he keep them alive is the big question," Ray told reporters after Thursday's hearing.
Heuermann is due back in court on July 30.
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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 last year 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 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.
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 vagin*l area.
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.
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.
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.
