Gilgo Beach serial killer sentenced to life in prison for murdering eight women

Rex Heuermann, known as the Gilgo Beach serial killer, was sentenced to the maximum penalty Wednesday for murdering eight women. Judge Timothy Mazzei imposed three consecutive life sentences for first-degree murder and 25 years to life for four second-degree murder counts at a Riverhead, Long Island courtroom.

Heuermann, a 62-year-old architect and married father of two, was arrested in 2023 after police linked him to the murders using DNA from a pizza box. He admitted to strangling and binding his victims between 1993 and 2010 before scattering their remains along remote Long Island beaches.

Victims' families delivered angry, poignant statements before the sentencing. Amanda, sister of victim Melissa Barthelemy, described phone calls Heuermann made after killing her sister, detailing how he let her body "rot" and raped her. "I was 15," she said. She directly addressed Heuermann: "You can look at me when I'm talking to you. It's been 17 years since we last spoke." Heuermann briefly turned toward her before looking away.

Liliana Waterman, daughter of Megan Waterman, was 4 when her mother's body was found. She said she learned details of the crime online at age 9. "I remember asking my grandparents what the words 'prostitute' and 'pimp' meant," she said. Maureen Brainard-Barnes' sister broke down sobbing, saying "nothing could have prepared me for the day Maureen didn't come home" and describing "lifelong devastation."

Judge Mazzei called Heuermann "a disgusting and despicable small man, if you're a man at all" and said "Get him out of here" as the courtroom erupted in cheers. Heuermann gave a brief statement claiming responsibility but acknowledging his words had "no meaning."

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney credited the victims' families, saying he wanted them to "get their revenge by going on to have wonderful lives" and that "now it's time for them to heal." He noted that the victims were sex workers, and some family members alleged police investigations were not aggressive enough because of that.

The case came to light in 2010 when investigators found four sets of remains within a quarter mile of each other on Gilgo Beach. Police investigated for over a decade, but a task force created in 2022 led to Heuermann within six weeks, based on a description from 2010 of a large man driving a Chevrolet Avalanche.