After Years of Horror, Rex Heuermann Faces Life Sentence and a Furious Courtroom Demanding Justice
Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann sentenced to life as he tells court ‘I’m responsible’ & victims’ families chant ‘ogre’
THE victims’ families of Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann chanted “ogre” as he was led away from the courtroom after being handed multiple terms of life in prison without parole, putting an official end to his three-decade-long reign of terror.
The judge erupted in the New York courtroom, screaming at Heuermann, 62, that he was a coward before ordering officers to remove him.
Gilgo Serial Killer Rex Heuermann was sentenced to multiple life terms on Wednesday after he admitted to killing eight womenCredit: Reuters
Heuermann was escorted out of the Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, New York in two sets of handcuffsCredit: Reuters
From top left to bottom right: Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello, Sandra Costilla and Karen VergataCredit: Suffolk County Police Department/ The U.S. Sun
A woman was seen waiting for Heuermann’s sentencing hearing outside of the Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, New York on WednesdayCredit: Reuters
Heuermann showed no remorse in April as he admitted to strangling eight women and dismembering some before dumping their bodies on an undeveloped stretch of the Long Island shoreline.
He addressed the court on Wednesday, speaking at first from his seat before the judge ordered him to stand.
“There are no words I could say. I am responsible for all that was said in this room today. The words I would say have no meaning and I’m gonna leave it there at this time,” he said, before someone in the courtroom yelled for him to speak up.
Judge Timothy Mazzei addressed Heuermann after he spoke, asking “I know you’re sorry you got caught. Are you a little bit sorry for what you did to these poor innocent women, eight women that you strangled to death, at least eight that we know of. Are you at least a little bit sorry for that?”
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“Yes,” Heuermann mouthed from his seat before repeating the word out loud.
“You know what, you’ve been described as a very big man, but you’re a disgusting and despicable small man, if you’re a man at all,” Mazzei told him.
“And you’re a coward!” the judge screamed before reading out his sentences of three consecutive life sentences plus 100 years as Heuermann stared straight ahead expressionless.
“Alright get him out of here,” the judge told court officers as the families of his victims applauded and began chanting “ogre” from the gallery afterwards.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said Heuermann should be transferred to state prison by the end of the week.
Heuermann’s attorney Michael Brown said that Heuermann was an “interesting fella” and claimed he didn’t know Heuermann was going to address the court until he began speaking.
“He’s somewhat of a charismatic figure when you talk to him, he’s engaging when you talk to him and I did kind of expect that he would say more, but that was his choice,” he said.
Brown said saw Heuermann cry over the course of representing him and saw him show “genuine emotion,” adding he believes Heuermann wants to learn what caused him to commit murders.
Heuermann stared straight ahead with no emotion on his face as the judge read out his sentencingCredit: Court TV
Judge Tim Mazzei wiped his eyes as Jasmine Robinson, the cousin of murder victim Jessica Taylor, gave a victim impact statementCredit: Getty
A new mugshot was taken of Heuermann after his sentencingCredit: Suffolk County District Attorney
Heuermann’s Attorney Michael Brown was seen arriving at the Riverhead Courthouse on WednesdayCredit: Splash
Heuermann refused to look at the victims’ family members at the hearing as they stood at a podium just under 10 feet from him, blasting him for being weak and leaving them with lifelong trauma.
He admitted to hiring eight young women as escorts before strangling them and leaving most of their bodies near Gilgo Beach or along Ocean Parkway on the South Shore of Long Island, New York.
During his court appearance in April, Heuermann remained emotionless as the Suffolk County district attorney told the judge he agreed to serve multiple life sentences and waive his right to appeal.
Heuermann also confessed to killing an eighth victim, Karen Vergata, whose legs were found in a plastic bag in 1996.
Victims’ families pay tribute to their loved ones
The families of the eight Gilgo Beach serial killer victims shared statements at Rex Heuermann’s sentencing hearing, discussing how the murders impacted them and remembering the women whose lives were cut short.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes:
Her daughter, Nicolette: “She was a warm, bubbly and artistic person. She was a language arts girly, she loved hip-hop, and said she wanted to be a rapper.”
Her son, Dillan: “My earliest memories are defined by anxiety, fear, and sadness. The trauma of losing my mom at such a young age has affected my life and will continue to affect my life.”
Her sister, Melissa Cann: “Maureen was loving, selfless, and unforgettable. She was vibrant and she is my sister. The last words she said to me was ‘I love you and I’ll see you tomorrow,’ because she was supposed to come home tomorrow from New York City.”
Jessica Taylor:
Her cousin, Violet Swagger: “If I could say to her murderer, you thought you could take her voice. You hunted her, and I hunted you. I don’t know why the FBI wants to waste their time with you. You’re boring, and you’re not prolific. You choose small women because you’re a weak and disgusting man. Your whole life was fake all to project a life that you couldn’t even perfect.”
Valerie Mack:
Her adoptive father, Ed: “Mr. Heuermann you have done horrendous things to Valerie’s body, but you have not touched Valerie’s soul. I can only imagine when my day comes, and I find myself standing before Jesus, Valerie will be by his side.”
Her adoptive mother, JoAnn: “Your Honor, I would like to say to Mr. Heuermann, what you have done to our family is beyond what words can express. Even though justice is done it can not replace what you have done to us.”
Her adoptive sister, Danielle: “My sister was not in a good place when she met Mr. H. and he took advantage of that.”
Megan Waterman:
Her daughter, Lilana: “I am now the same age my mother was when she was pregnant with me. I now realize how young she was. Today brings a measure of justice that is decades in the making. My mother mattered. She was loved. She was more than a headline, more than a victim, more than a case number.”
Amber Costello:
Her sister, Kim Overstreet: “Amber Costello’s spirit fights from the marsh grave that Rex Heuermann threw her in.”
Vergata’s skull was found in 2011 but her remains weren’t identified until 2023.
Despite the confession, Heuermann’s attorney said he would not face punishment for her murder as part of his plea agreement.
Heuermann repeated “Strangulation” eight times in court after he was asked how he caused the deaths of Vergata, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Jessica Taylor, Amber Costello, Valerie Mack, Sandra Costilla and Megan Waterman.
Violet Swagger, Taylor’s cousin, raised her voice at one point and pointed at Heuermann as she faced him on Wednesday, telling the killer “I don’t know why the FBI wants to waste their time with you. You’re boring and you’re not prolific.”
Several people were seen gathered outside of the courthouse on Wednesday, including sex workers with signs about violence against sex workersCredit: Splash
Members of a sex-workers rights group were seen hugging each other as they waited to enter the courtCredit: AP
As part of his plea deal, Heuermann will sit down for interviews with the FBI’s Behavior Analysis Unit.
“You choose small women because you’re a weak and disgusting man. Your whole life was fake all to project a life that you couldn’t even perfect,” Swagger said.
Heuermann kept his head down most of the time while the families of his victims made their statements.
He glanced up just once at Swagger before quickly turning his head away.
Heuermann (pictured in February 2025) admitted to strangling all eight of his victimsCredit: AP
“You made a whole planning document to kill my cousin and couldn’t even do that right. Let’s go through the list: DNA, you left that there. Remove ID marks, well we know you couldn’t do that because they identified her through her tattoo,” Swagger told him.
Another one of Taylor’s cousins, Jasmine Robinson also took to the podium with a statement that left the judge wiping his eyes.
“Twenty-three years we have waited. For a while it felt like this day will never come. Decades we have wondered who could have done this to her. Then that call, that call that they found her skull? My cousin’s skull?!”
“I can’t even put into words the eviscerating hatred I have for you. You fill me with so much repugnance, I can’t stand it.”
Amanda Funderburg, Barthelemy’s sister, instructed Heuermann to look up at her when she got to the podium, but he did not.
“You can look at me while I’m talking. It’s been 17 years since we last spoke, don’t forget.”
Funderburg told police that she began receiving multiple taunting phone calls after Barthelemy went missing in 2009 and believed they were from her killer.
“You told me you were letting her body rot and maybe one day you’ll tell me where she is,” Funderburg said in her statement, where she also condemned him as a “repulsive monster” an “ogre” and a “demon inside and out.”
Heuermann killed seven of his eight victims in the basement of his Massapequa Park homeCredit: Getty
Heuermann received multiple life sentences and will not be eligible for paroleCredit: Reuters
Tierney, the district attorney, said on Wednesday that Heuermann “coldly targeted his victims as though he was addressing a math problem or filling out a shopping list.”
“He talks about small is good. This is a hulking individual who is going after petite women. This is a coward. This is sport to this defendant. The taking of life is a sport.”
Heuermann had a four-day plan he carried out with his victims, where he would clean the basement and prepare for his time in his house with them on day one.
He spent the second day with the victim before murdering them and using the third day to clean up and dispose of all his evidence.
The fourth day was in case of emergencies.
“He thought his actions couldn’t be traced, they could be. He thought he was being smart, he wasn’t,” Tierney said on Wednesday before saying Heuermann was incapable of remorse.
Elizabeth Meserve, Waterman’s aunt, slammed the former Suffolk County police chief for the handling of the case that went unsolved for years and bashed Hulu, among other media companies, for making films with Heuermann’s wife and daughter.
Meserve also brought up Shannan Gilbert and the unidentified Asian male who are believed to be tied to the Gilgo Beach killer before ending her speech with, “Be gone, cowardly demon.”
Heuermann stayed expressionless as Brainard-Barnes’ sister Melissa sobbed at the podium, remembering the woman, who was found three years after she vanished, as loving, selfless and vibrant.
“Rex didn’t just take my sister, he ripped her out of my life. When he took her life she took mine without me even knowing,” she said.
“In many ways, I became one of his victims too.”
Brainard-Barnes’s two children spoke as well, including her son Dillan, who was just one year old when his mother was killed.
“My earliest memories are defined by anxiety, fear, and sadness,” he said.
“The trauma of losing my mom at such a young age has affected my life and will continue to affect my life.”
“I was a little girl and I needed my mom,” said her daughter Nicolette, who was seven at the time of Brainard-Barnes’ death.
Heuermann also remained stoic in April as he pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of second-degree murder, which came in a twist as he maintained his innocence since his arrest in July 2023.
His estranged wife Asa Ellerup revealed plans in advance to skip out on the sentencing despite attending many hearings in the past.
Ellerup believed “this day should be centered on the victims, their families and the profound impact these crimes have had on their lives,” according to her lawyer, Bob Macedonio.
Ellerup also revealed in Peacock documentary, The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets that Heuermann admitted to her, without hesitation, that he killed all but one of his victims in the basement of their home.
Tierney, the Suffolk County district attorney, slammed Heuermann in April as a demon who “still portrayed himself as that same harmless father next door.”
“This defendant walked among us, playacting as a normal suburban dad.
“When in reality, all along, he was obsessively targeting innocent women for death.
“He identified these women, lured them into Nassau County, murdered them, and left their bodies in Suffolk County. He thought that by killing them, he could silence them forever and get away with murder.”
As for what’s next besides prison, Heuermann will cooperate with the FBI and its Behavior Analysis Unit, which consults with “criminal justice professionals worldwide on different, unusual, or bizarre cases,” according to its website.
Tierney said the interviews between Heuermann and the FBI will fall within the lines of “academic exercise.”
“They’re going to hopefully gain insight into the things that created him, that drove him, what causes this,” he said.
Heuermann’s killing spree began in 1993 with Costilla’s murder.
Costilla, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, had been working as a sex worker out of the New York City area and was found stabbed, strangled and naked.
The serial killer probe began however in December 2011 while investigators searched for Gilbert, a sex worker who vanished in 2010.