An architect who spent most of his life in Nassau County and worked in Manhattan was arrested Thursday night in connection with a series of murders of women near Gilgo Beach on Long Island’s south coast. The case terrified residents and remained unsolved for more than a decade.
Here are the events leading up to the arrest of architect Rex Heuermann.
May 1, 2010
Shannan Gilbert disappears.
Gilbert, 24, was an aspiring actress from Jersey City, New Jersey, and worked as a security guard. She was last seen on May 1, after she was at her job in Oak Beach, a gated community several miles from Gilgo Beach.
December 11th to 13th November 2010
Four bodies are found along the Ocean Parkway.
While searching for Gilbert’s body, Suffolk County Police found four bodies in three days along the Ocean Parkway between nearby Gilgo Beach and Cedar Beach. The bodies were scattered about 400 meters apart, about 500 feet apart.
December 14, 2010
Police have suggested a serial killer may have been behind the deaths.
“It’s no coincidence that four bodies were found in the same place,” Suffolk County Police Chief Richard Dormer told a news conference, adding: “It looks like someone targeted these people and dumped them.” rice field. “
Dormer said it looked as if the car had stopped on the side of the road and “threw it into the bush”. “It would indicate that the bodies were dumped there by the same person,” he said.
December 15, 2010
All four victims were identified as women.
Authorities are investigating whether two of the women could be Gilbert and Megan Waterman, 22. Meghan Waterman, who described herself as a bodyguard to Craigslist, was last seen emerging from a hotel a few miles northeast of where her body was found.
January 19, 2011
The first body was identified as that of Megan Waterman.
Waterman’s death was ruled a homicide.
January 24, 2011
Three other women have also been identified.
The victim has been identified as Maureen Brainard Burns, 25, of Norwich, Connecticut. Melissa Barthelemy, 24, used to live in the Bronx, but she was originally from the Buffalo area. Amber Lynn Costello, 27, was last seen in North Babylon, Long Island.
Brainard Burns has been missing since July 9, 2007. Barthelemy disappeared on July 12, 2009. Costello was last seen on September 2, 2010.
Police said the women whose bodies were found were all bodyguards.
April 4, 2011
Police find the body of an infant.
While searching Gilbert’s body, investigators found the remains of eight women and a man in his late teens to early 20s who were dressed in women’s clothing, officials said. It is said that he is believed to have died.
On April 4th, the infant’s body was found. The girl’s body was hidden among the branches and poison ivy bushes near Ocean Parkway. At the time of her death, she was 18 to 24 months old.
December 13, 2011
After finding a total of 10 bodies, police said they had found Gilbert’s body.
Law enforcement officials said they had found Gilbert’s “skeletal remains.” Officials said they believed Gilbert drowned trying to get to a park road after knocking on a door at Oak Beach.
January 16, 2020
For the first time in nearly a decade, authorities have released significant clues about a possible killer.
Investigators showed pictures of some of the evidence they had gathered at the start of the investigation. It was a black leather belt with embossed letters about half an inch high that officials said they believed spelled out the initials “WH” or “HM.” I thought the belt was the one the suspect handled. Police have also created a website with information about the incident where people can leave tips.
July 13, 2023
Rex Heuermann is arrested in Midtown Manhattan.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said at a brief press conference outside Mr. Heuermann’s home late Friday morning that Mr. Heuermann will be charged Friday afternoon.
