NEW YORK (Court TV) — Accused serial killer Rex Heuermann is expected to change course and plead guilty to murder next month, sources close to the case have revealed to multiple outlets, including the Associated Press and NBC News.
Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann appears in Judge Tim Mazzei’s courtroom at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (Pool)
Heuermann, 62, was a Manhattan architect who lived on Long Island before his arrest as the primary suspect in the brutal murders of seven women whose bodies were found buried on Gilgo Beach. The victims, all petite women in their 20s, were involved in the sex trade. Their remains were all found buried along an isolated stretch of shoreline not far from the home where Heuermann lived.
Heuermann had pleaded not guilty and most recently was in court in September, where he lost his bid to have the murder charges separated into different trials. Now, it appears there will be no trial at all.
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Two people familiar with the case spoke with both the Associated Press and NBC News, saying that Heuermann now plans to change his plea to “guilty” at a court hearing scheduled for April 8. Court TV reached out to Heuermann’s attorney, Michael J. Brown, who said he was not commenting at this time.
The remains of the victims on Gilgo Beach were first found in 1993, when hunters discovered the body of 28-year-0ld Sandra Costilla. In September 2000, the skeletal remains of Valerie Mack, 24, were found, months after her initial disappearance. Three years later, Jessica Taylor’s body was found; she was 20 years old.
2007 saw the discovery of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, who was last seen leaving her hotel to meet a client. In 2010, the remains of Melissa Barthelemy, 24, were found. When Barthelemy disappeared in 2009, she told a friend she was leaving to meet a man, and her cellphone data last placed her on Long Island.
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Megan Waterman, 22, had traveled to Long Island from Maine for sex work; her body was found on June 6, 2010. Months later, On Sept. 2, Amber Costello, 27, was last seen leaving her home to meet with a client. Her body was found on Dec. 13, nearby the bodies of Brainard-Barnes and Waterman.
Heuermann was arrested after investigators used advanced DNA techniques to link him to the killings, prosecutors said. Heuermann’s daughter, Victoria Heuermann, said last year that she believed her father was guilty. Heuermann’s ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, has repeatedly said she believes her ex-husband is innocent.
Several other bodies of women also believed to be sex workers were found along Gilgo Beach. No charges have been filed in their deaths.
