Netflix’s new docuseries, Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, follows the decade-long investigation into the Gilgo Beach Murders.
The disappearance of sex worker Shannan Gilbert in 2010 launched a search that would uncover the remains of ten other people – most of whom were also sex workers – found along the coast of the remote beach town.
After the investigation stalled in 2011, a special task force was created in 2022 to reopen the case. Within six weeks, they had their suspect.
How Rex Heuermann was allegedly linked with the case
The initial investigation into the killings turned up crucial pieces of evidence that were overlooked at the time.
Police knew that four of the victims had been in contact with a prospective client who was using a burner phone. One of the victims, Amber Lynn Costello, had told her roommate that this client called her repeatedly from the same burner number before she met with him.
The roommate also told police the car model and physical description of the client when he came to pick up Costello. Seeking an “ogre-like” man driving a Chevrolet Avalanche, police turned to phone records to find their suspect.
All of the burner numbers that contacted the four victims originated from the same small area in Massapequa Park, Long Island.
59-year-old architect Rex Heuermann lived in Massapequa Park, and police began tailing him. They reported finding a Chevrolet Avalanche on a property belonging to him in South Carolina, and observed him purchasing a burner phone.
Finding the DNA of the Long Island Serial Killer
During their observation of Heuerman, police collected a sample of his DNA from a pizza crust he threw in a dumpster. Hair found near the bodies of three of the victims – Sandra Costilla, Megan Waterman, and Jessica Taylor – allegedly linked Heuermann to the crime.
A female hair found near the body of Maureen Brainard-Barnes also allegedly matched that of either Heuerman’s wife or daughter. Both were out of town at the time of the murder.
Police then arrested Heuermann in July 2023.
In June 2024 police found a Word document allegedly created by Heuerman, which methodically details how to find, kill, and dispose of victims.
Gone Girls ends with the latest charge against Heuerman, now linking him to seven of the killings. He has pleaded not guilty to every charge, and awaits trial in custody.
First Degree has multiple episodes that explore the lives of the people victimised by these crimes. Listen to their stories here:
- Shannan Gilbert
- Amber Lynn Costello
- Jessica Taylor
- Maureen Brainard-Barnes
- Melissa Barthelemy
- Megan Waterman
- Valerie Mack
- ‘Peaches’ and ‘Baby Doe’
- The unidentified victims
And True Crime Garage has an overview of the case so far in their two-part series.
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