{"id":133615,"date":"2026-06-17T15:38:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/rex-heuermann-to-be-sentenced-in-new-yorks-gilgo-beach-serial-killings\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T19:24:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T01:24:17","slug":"a-million-years-isnt-enough-victims-relatives-confront-gilgo-beach-serial-killer-at-sentencing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-million-years-isnt-enough-victims-relatives-confront-gilgo-beach-serial-killer-at-sentencing\/","title":{"rendered":"‘A million years isn\u2019t enough’: Victims’ relatives confront Gilgo Beach serial killer at sentencing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gilgo
Gilgo Serial Killer Rex Heuermann is sentenced before Judge Timothy Mazzei at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, N.Y., on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (James Carbone \/Newsday via AP, Pool)<\/span>(James Carbone \/Newsday via AP, Pool)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) \u2014 After decades waiting for justice, relatives of women murdered by New York\u2019s Gilgo Beach serial killer<\/a> laid into him Wednesday before he was sentenced to life in prison. He told them: \u201cI am responsible\u201d for the crimes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe words I would say would have no meaning,\u201d added Rex Heuermann<\/a>, the Long Island architect who lived a secret life of violence for years before admitting he killed eight women.<\/p>\n

The sentencing capped an extraordinary investigation<\/a> that solved one of New York\u2019s most perplexing mysteries. The seemingly unconnected and largely overlooked disappearances of young women became the focus of true-crime documentaries, books and podcasts after police began discovering the victims\u2019 skeletal remains in the sandy scrub along a coastal parkway.<\/p>\n

Heuermann, 62, will have no possibility of parole.<\/p>\n

\u201cA million years isn\u2019t enough,\u201d Jasmine Robinson, a cousin of victim Jessica Taylor, said. \u201cNothing will ever make this right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou fill me with so much repugnance, I can\u2019t stand it,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Judge calls Heuermann \u2018despicable\u2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n

As a series of victims’ kin spoke, Heuermann sat with his hands on the defense table, looking straight ahead and lightly tapping his fingers.<\/p>\n

Then Amanda Funderburg, victim Melissa Barthelemy’s sister, commanded Heuermann to look at her. He glanced in her direction, but his eyes were slightly downcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope you suffer,\u201d Funderburg said as she recounted a taunting phone call she received from him days after Barthelemy disappeared. Funderburg was 15 years old.<\/p>\n

JoAnn Mack, the mother of victim Valerie Mack, told the killer that her daughter \u201chad dreams, and you took them all away from her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJustice has been done, but it can\u2019t replace what has been taken,\u201d Mack said.<\/p>\n

Heuermann pleaded guilty in April to charges that he murdered seven women: Barthelemy, Mack, Taylor, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, and Sandra Costilla.<\/p>\n

Heuermann also admitted in court to killing an eighth victim, Karen Vergata, though he was never charged in her death. He said he strangled his victims, many of them sex workers, and dismembered some of their bodies.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you at least a little sorry?\u201d Judge Timothy Mazzei asked Wednesday in an indignant voice.<\/p>\n

Heuermann nodded and appeared to mouth \u201cyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are disgusting \u2014 a despicable man, if you are a man at all,\u201d the judge said, his voice rising. \u201cAnd you are a coward.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Heuermann was led away in handcuffs, spectators in the packed courtroom jeered.<\/p>\n

Victims’ families recount a confounding loss <\/strong><\/p>\n

Liliana Waterman, who was 3 when her mom vanished, said she has been waiting her entire life to confront her mother\u2019s killer.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe can finally rest in peace,\u201d Waterman said outside the courthouse. \u201cHe can\u2019t hurt anybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of the women disappeared between 2000 and 2010 and their remains were all found on Long Island. Most were along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach. Costilla\u2019s remains were found in 1993 in the Hamptons, while Vergata\u2019s remains were found in 1996 on Fire Island.<\/p>\n

Brainard-Barnes\u2019 two children, who were 7 and 1 when she disappeared in 2007, underscored Wednesday how her absence shaped their lives and how she never got to know the adults they became.<\/p>\n

Her sister, Melissa Cann, sobbed deeply as she described wondering for decades if she could have done more to protect Brainard-Barnes. But, she said, that guilt is \u201cnot mine to carry. It is for Rex and Rex alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heuermann\u2019s ex-wife and two adult children said they did not attend the sentencing out of respect for the victim\u2019s families.<\/p>\n

How the Gilgo Beach serial killer was caught<\/strong><\/p>\n

The case spilled into view in 2010<\/a>, when investigators started to find remains along Ocean Parkway while looking into the disappearance of another sex worker, Shannan Gilbert, whose death was ultimately ruled an accidental drowning.<\/p>\n

The case went cold until 2022, when detectives linked Heuermann to a pickup truck that a witness reported seeing when one of the victims disappeared in 2010.<\/p>\n

Eventually, they matched DNA from a pizza crust<\/a> Heuermann discarded in a Manhattan trash can to genetic material extracted from highly degraded hair fragments<\/a> found on the women\u2019s remains.<\/p>\n

Investigators amassed other evidence, including cellphone and tracking data showing Heuermann arranged meetings with some victims shortly before their disappearances.<\/p>\n

After Heuermann’s 2023 arrest, prosecutors recovered what they described as a \u201cblueprint\u201d for the killings<\/a> from his computer files. Among the documents was a series of checklists with reminders to limit noise, clean the bodies and destroy evidence.<\/p>\n

Life behind bars<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heuermann will soon be transferred to a state prison after having spent the past three years<\/a> alone in a segregated cell at the Suffolk County jail, reading crime novels and striking up a brief correspondence with the infamous \u201cHappy Face Killer<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calling him \u201ca monster,\u201d Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney declared there was nothing Heuermann could say to mitigate his deeds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no doubt this defendant is sorry,\u201d Tierney said. \u201cHe is sorry he got caught.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defense lawyer Michael Brown said Heuermann has shed tears, and there may be \u201csome sincerity in his expressions of remorse.\u201d His client appeared \u201cas normal as they come\u201d during their interactions, Brown said, in stark contrast with his crimes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s somewhat of a charismatic figure when you talk to him,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

As part of his guilty plea, Heuermann has agreed to cooperate with the FBI\u2019s behavioral analysis unit to help catch other serial killers.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Peltz reported from New York.<\/p>\n

\"Gilgo
Gilgo Serial Killer Rex Heuermann is escorted away after being sentenced by Judge Timothy Mazzei at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, N.Y., on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (James Carbone\/Newsday via AP, Pool)<\/span>(James Carbone\/Newsday via AP, Pool)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Natile
Natile Dilea, a member of a sex-workers rights group, stands in line to enter the Arthur M. Cromarty Criminal Court Complex ahead of a court sentencing for convicted murderer, Rex Heuermann, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in Suffolk County, New York. (AP Photo\/Ryan Murphy)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Ryan Murphy)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Melissa
Melissa Cann, sister of Maureen Brainard Barnes, speaks prior to sentencing of Gilgo serial killer Rex Heuermann by Judge Tim Mazzei at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, N.Y., on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (James Carbone\/Newsday via AP, Pool)<\/span>(James Carbone\/Newsday via AP, Pool)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Judge
Judge Tim Mazzei becomes emotional as Jasmine Robinson, cousin of Jessica Taylor, speaks during a victim impact statement during sentencing of Gilgo serial killer Rex Heuermann at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, N.Y., on Wednesday, June. 17, 2026. (James Carbone\/Newsday via AP, Pool)<\/span>(James Carbone\/Newsday via AP, Pool)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gilgo Serial Killer Rex Heuermann is sentenced before Judge Timothy Mazzei at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, N.Y., on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (James Carbone \/Newsday via AP, Pool)(James Carbone \/Newsday via AP, Pool) RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) \u2014 After decades waiting for justice, relatives of women murdered by New York\u2019s Gilgo Beach serial killer laid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":133616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5734],"tags":[],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-133615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-associated-press"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133615"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133779,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133615\/revisions\/133779"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133615"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=133615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}