More than a decade after discovering ten bodies in and around Long Island beach prompted fears of a serial killer, and an arrest was finally made.
On Friday morning, Rex Heuermann, the 59-year-old owner and founder of Manhattan-based RH Consultants and Associates, was arrested in connection to the 2010 “Gilgo Four” murders at Gilgo Beach. Heuermann has worked in Manhattan since 1987, counting various high-profile clients, including Catholic Charities, NYC-DEP Sewerage Treatment, and American Airlines.
Heuermann was apprehended due to a DNA match, which is believed to link him to the four female victims of the ongoing case: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes. The arrest of Heuermann brings a sense of renewal to the investigation after the murders remained unsolved for almost ten years.
In February 2019, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison created the Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force to investigate the baffling case. This Task Force, which included contributions from state police, local sheriffs, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, and the FBI, was crucial to the investigation that led to the arrest of Heuermann.
The arrest has been welcomed by the victims’ families, who have long been frustrated by the lack of progress in the investigation. John Ray, an attorney for the family of Shannan Gilbert, was pleased that “something is finally occurring.” Gilbert’s body, which wasn’t found until December 2011, a year after the discovery of the “Gilgo Four,” was among the ten found at the Long Island beach.
With the arrest of Heuermann, law enforcement is hopeful that a clearer picture of the Gilgo Beach murders will begin to emerge. It is hoped that closure can be reached for the victims’ families and that justice will be served for one of Long Island’s most harrowing and enigmatic murder cases.