"Repugnant, cowardly": serial killer and dismemberer sentenced after decades of panic in NY
· Telemundo McAllen (KTLM)
NEW YORK — After decades of waiting for justice, the families of the victims of the Gilgo Beach serial killer in New York confronted him on Wednesday before he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the crimes he confessed to committing. The judge described Rex Heuermann as a "repugnant and despicable man, a coward" as he handed down the sentence, immediately ordering him removed from the courtroom. Victim's families stood up and celebrated. "A million years is not enough," said Jasmine Robinson, cousin of victim Jessica Taylor. "Nothing will ever repair this." Heuermann clasped his hands on the defense table in an East Long Island courtroom, staring ahead while lightly drumming his fingers. The Long Island architect, who led a secret life for years before admitting to killing eight women, was arrested in 2023. "You disgust me so much I can't stand it," Robinson said. Amanda Funderburg, sister of victim Melissa Barthelemy, urged Heuermann to look at her as she spoke. He turned his gaze toward her, though he kept his eyes slightly downcast. "I hope you suffer," Funderburg said, recounting a mocking phone call she received from him days after Barthelemy's disappearance when she was 15 years old. The sentencing concludes an investigation that solved one of New York's most baffling mysteries: a case that began as a series of seemingly unrelated disappearances of young women, largely overlooked, but eventually became the focus of documentaries, books, and true crime podcasts after police began uncovering the skeletal remains of the victims among the sandy vegetation along a coastal highway. "Justice has been served, but that cannot replace what has been taken from us," said JoAnn Mack, mother of victim Valerie Mack. "She had dreams, and you took them all away." Heuermann, who had remained mostly silent during numerous court appearances since his arrest, also had the opportunity to speak on Wednesday. His ex-wife and two adult children did not attend the sentencing; through their lawyers, they communicated that they would stay away out of respect for the victims' families. Heuermann, 62, pleaded guilty in April to the murders of seven women: Barthelemy, Mack, Taylor, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, and Sandra Costilla. Heuermann also admitted in court to killing an eighth victim, Karen Vergata, although he was never formally charged in her death. He stated that he strangled his victims—many of whom were sex workers—and dismembered some of their bodies. The two children of Brainard-Barnes, who were 7 and 1 when she disappeared, highlighted on Wednesday how her absence marked their lives and how she never got to know the adults they have become. Her sister, Melissa Cann, said she lived for decades with "survivor's guilt," wondering if she could have done more to protect Brainard-Barnes. "It was a burden I carried everywhere," Cann said through deep sobs. But, she added, that guilt "is not mine to carry. It belongs to Rex, and only to Rex." Liliana Waterman was 3 years old when her mother, Megan Waterman, disappeared. The daughter recounted that she did not fully understand what happened until she was about 9 years old. "In an instant, my world shattered," she said. "Did she feel pain? Was she scared?" Most of the women disappeared between 2000 and 2010, and most of their remains were found along a road near Gilgo Beach on Long Island, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Manhattan. Costilla's remains were found in 1993, over 100 kilometers (60 miles) away, in the Hamptons, while Vergata's appeared in 1996 on Fire Island, more than 32 kilometers (20 miles) east of Gilgo Beach. The case came to light in 2010 when investigators began finding remains along Ocean Parkway while probing the disappearance of another sex worker, Shannan Gilbert, whose death was ultimately ruled an accidental drowning. The investigation stalled until 2022 when detectives linked Heuermann to a pickup truck that a witness saw when one of the victims disappeared in 2010. They eventually matched DNA obtained from a pizza crust Heuermann had thrown in a Manhattan trash can with genetic material extracted from severely deteriorated hair strands found on the victims' remains. Investigators gathered other evidence, including mobile phone and location data showing that Heuermann arranged meetings with some of the victims shortly before they disappeared. After Heuermann's arrest, prosecutors recovered from his computer files what they described as a "detailed plan" for committing the murders. As part of his plea agreement, Heuermann agreed to cooperate with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit to help catch other serial killers. Heuermann has spent the last three years alone in a solitary cell at the Suffolk County jail, reading detective novels, receiving occasional visits from his lawyers or family, and initiating brief correspondence with the infamous "Happy Face Killer," according to Sheriff Errol Toulon.
AI summary · Source: Telemundo McAllen (KTLM) →
