New details were revealed in the Gilgo Beach serial killings. Newsweek's live blog has ended.
End of press conference
The press conference has come to a close. Follow Newsweek for upcoming articles on Rex Heuermann's case.
The hairs
Attorney John Ray said that the hairs connected to Victoria Heuermann are not necessarily transferred by Rex Heuermann during the murders as the District Attorney has claimed.
"He has no way of knowing that for certain," Ray said. "Considering what you see and what you know, that might tip the card a little bit."
Ray also pointed to language on Rex Heuermann's detailed planning notes from a Microsoft Word document that says supplies to carry out a serial murder include the need of a hair net.
"We don't know how far there's connections reach," Ray said. "It opens up this door."
Ray said the police and the District Attorney's Office are missing key points to their charges.
"These people didn't tell the truth," Ray said. "They're misleading us."
Why Victoria Heuermann would become involved
Dr. Gary Brucato said the reasons behind a person joining in with a serial killer alternate on a "case by case basis."
There is potential that Victoria Heuermann was just surrounded by the murders and thought nothing of it. Brucato called this "normalization."
"That didn't happen out of just thin air," Attorney John Ray said, adding that Victoria's hairs are found on some of the dead bodies.
She also could have suffered from Stockholm Syndrome. The disease is a reaction to developing a psychological bond to a captor or an abuser.
"The jury is out on what this was about," Brucato said.
Ray is not looking to sue the family.
Other cases
Dr. Gary Brucato pointed to similar cases to Rex Heuermann, who potentially worked alongside his daughter Victoria, including the case of David Parker Ray. Known as the "Toy-Box Killer," Parker Ray is accused of torturing and killing around 50 women in his basem*nt. Women were sometimes brought by Parker Ray's daughter sometimes.
Brucato also noted the case of John Wayne Gacy, who is now thought to work in a group. Wayne Gacy murdered and raped over 30 young men and boys in Chicago.
"Until recently it was thought that he was a lone wolf," "There is a tendency to think that these people are lone wolfs that cannot have connections with other people."
Brucato believes there are multiple other individuals who have been harmed, killed, or kidnapped by Heuermann.
"There was no double life," Attorney John Ray said.
Working with others
Dr. Gary Brucato, forensic psychologist who has been working with Ray for over a year, noted that about 80% of serial killers operate alone.
"That leaves by estimates about 20% that operate with other people," Brucato said, adding the "help" can come from a group of people, the serial killer's spouse, or even their child.
Brucato said he has not examined Rex or Victoria Heuermann.
Fake alibi
Attorney John Ray said Rex Heuermann's family's alibi of being out of the state is incorrect. They did not check in to a hotel until a few days later.
Photos as well as phone and financial records show that Heuermann's family were out of state during the time of Taylor's murder. They were in Virginia from July 20 to 27 that year, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
"They're human devils," Ray said. "They're evil."
READ MORE
The family had to know
"When you take all of these thing collective, are you going to be able to reasonably say...'who knows if the mother really knew what was happening in the house?' 'who knows if Mr. Heuermann knew what was going on with his daughter?'" said Attorney John Ray.
Experts have told Newsweek that there is a chance the family did not know.
"It's demonic," Ray said. "How else do you describe it?"
Ray also noted the family's house in Massapequa Park. The place appears more run down than other dwellings in the neighborhood.
The family plans to remain at the house on Long Island until at least the conclusion of the trial, their attorney said.
"It matches the demonic life," Ray said. "Why do you think they have not left?"
Why there's no other evidence
Attorney John Ray said the reason there are no other images available is due to Victoria Heuermann's own attempts to delete them.
"We found that it appears that she has erased all of her sites that she has, all of her social media," Ray said. "She just missed these ones."
Victoria's mother, Asa Ellerup, has also erased her social media, Ray said.
The images
View the images that Attorney John Ray is presenting below.
Victoria Heuermann was allegedly reading about how "murder is very romantic," Attorney John Ray said.
Excerpts he reads talk about blindfolding, being "tied down," yanking hair, using "holes," killer's preparations, bruises and cutting up a body.
"Just like the description of what the District Attorney released on Heuermann's work," Ray said.
'Strange familiarity'
One image shows a "strange familiarity" that shows limbs and hands that are cut off, according to Attorney John Ray.
This matches some of Rex Heuermann's victims were found.
Jessica Taylor's torso was found in July 2003 in the wooded area of Manorville, where Rex Heuermann's Massapequa Park home is located. In March 2011, more of Taylor's remains, including her skull, hands and forearm, were found on Gilgo Beach.
One photograph Ray displayed was of a woman laying on her back, exactly how Shannan Gilbert was found.
"Make of that what you will," Ray said.
What the photos are of
One image shows a hanged person. A shoe is missing.
"Sandra Castillo was found with a shoe missing. This seems to be a fetish, a fetish that was indulged in by Rex Heuermann, a fetish that was depicted and looked into by his daughter," Attorney John Ray said. "That's a connection."
Another photo shows a hanged person with hair that is similar to Rex's, Ray said. One image appears to be of remains that are "half eaten," which Ray said relates to the cannibalism Victoria was interested in.
"There are many pictures beside what I'm showing you that are equally bad or worse," Attorney John Ray said. "We chose these pictures because of their significance in relation to Rex Heuermann as well as his daughter Victoria."
Horrific views
Rex Heuermann had also searched for similar p*rnography, according to the District Attorney's Office.
"Nearly every account is focused on the circulation of furry art and images," Ray's office said.
One account Victoria Heuermann follows refers to itself as "gore horr."
Gruesome pictures
John Ray's office has revealed seven images from Victoria's alleged Tumblr blog. Posts consist of her artwork.
There is also a "single reblog" from an account that specializes in the production and distribution of "furry p*rnography."
The blog was connected to Victoria from an identical photo posted to both Tumblr and LinkedIn. A piece of art is also signed with her name.
Victoria's website also links to a website that mirrors the Tumblr's username.
Her now-deleted Instagram was also under the same username.
"Different self"
Following Rex Heuermann's first indictment, Victoria was seen wearing a shirt with "a human skeleton."
Attorney John Ray called Victoria, 27, also a victim
Victoria's "true self is a very different self," Ray said.
Victoria Heuermann
Victoria Heuermann is the daughter of Rex Heuermann and Asa Ellerup. She was born a year after the couple was married.
Victoria has been pictured alongside her mother at one of Rex's court hearings.
"The evidence that we have suggests that we have been sold a story by the Heuermann family," Ray said.
Victoria has appeared a "very innocent" in situations with the press. Ray showed an image of Victoria "as she really is as she portrays herself on the internet."
She has artwork, one of which is a human skull.
"That's just the beginning," Ray said.
The evidence
Ray said he is pointing only toward "circ*mstantial evidence," including "inescapable conclusions."
"You will see today that Rex Heuermann's board is met by his daughter's tastes, his daughter's work," Ray said. "We are not talking about merely murder. We're talking about people who are involved and interested in torture, horrifying torture of the people that we know that are dead and many more that are to come."
Ray said there was cannibalism potentially involved in the murders.
One of Heuermann's children
Attorney John Ray represents several victims that have survived Heuermann's attacks or stalking.
"I'm in pursuit of Shannan Gilbert's killers and the full truth," Ray said.
Ray said he will speak about one of Heuermann's children and the "implications" that holds.
Two suspicions
Attorney John Ray, who represents Shannan Gilbert's family and other Gilgo Beach victims' relatives, is making a presentation.
"We disagree on two subjects: the murder of Shannan Gilbert and the suspicion of culpability of the family of Rex Heuermann," Ray said.
Dr. Gary Brucato, forensic psychologist who has been working with Ray for over a year, will connect the dots shortly.
Why we're obsessed with serial killers
Americans love true crime, especially stories about serial killers like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer and the infamous Zodiac Killer. Experts say it's the constant closeness to "can this happen to me" that keeps people coming back.
"Somewhere deep down, we know that if our circ*mstances had been a bit different – or a lot different from how they were – we ourselves could have been a serial killer," Dr. Rachel Toles, psychologist and host of the "Psychology of Serial Killers," told Newsweek. "It's an understanding. It's a tapping into our own shadow."
True crime consistently stands out as the most common topic of top-ranked podcasts in the United States, according to a study by Pew Research Center. Toles calls it a "guilty pleasure" for many.
READ MORE
Living a double life
Rex Heuermann's wife, Asa Ellerup, has claimed to have not known about the serial killer's "double life." Experts told Newsweek this could have truly been the case, especially as it parallels other serial killer cases.
Scott Bonn, an expert on the behavior and motivations of murderers, told Newsweek that Heuermann's planning and Ellerup's lack of knowledge are very similar to Dennis Rader's case.
Rader killed 10 people between 1974 and 1991. In between murders, he lived a normal-looking life in Kansas with a wife and two children.
Dr. Sanjay Adhia, a forensic psychiatrist, told Newsweek that a serial killer probably uses similar traits to carry out the murder cases as they do with their families, such as lying and manipulation.
READ MORE
Who is Rex Heuermann?
Heuermann graduated from the same local high school as actor Billy Baldwin who tweeted after the news broke about his 1981 classmate's arrest, describing it as "mind-boggling."
After getting a bachelor's degree from the New York Institute of Technology, Heuermann started his architecture firm RH Consultants in 1994. He did most of his architectural work in New York City, according to a company biography and the firm's website.
Detectives finally nabbed Heuermann in 2023 after he tossed a pizza box with leftover crust into a Manhattan trash can. The DNA from the crust matched genetic material found on the women's remains.
Police have found Heuermann owned a book of other serial killers, authored by John Douglas, according to court records obtained by Newsweek.
Heuermann is currently being held at the Riverhead Correctional Facility in Suffolk County, about 50 miles from his home.
Suffolk County Sheriff Dr. Errol Toulon Jr. said Heuermann busies himself with reading books, reading his discovery, watching TV and sleeping, according to an Oxygen article.
He has been separated from other inmates "for his safety," according to the article. Toulon called him "very compliant."
READ MORE
Rex Heuermann's family
Rex Heuermann's wife has claimed to have not known about the serial killer's "double life." Experts told Newsweek this could have truly been the case, especially as it parallels other serial killer cases.
Ellerup married Heuermann in 1996. She says that if Heuermann did commit the murders he was "living a double life" she knew nothing about.
"After 27 years with Mr. Heuermann, Ms. Ellerup maintains the belief that her estranged husband is not capable of committing these heinous acts," Robert Macedonio, Ellerup's attorney, told Newsweek.
Ellerup filed for divorced in July 2023 shortly after her husband was charged. But she has still shown up at several of Heuermann's hearings throughout the last few months.
The Gilgo Homicide Task Force had established last week that Heuermann's wife and children were out of state at the time of Taylor's disappearance.
Photos as well as phone and financial records show that Heuermann's family were out of state during the time of Taylor's murder. They were in Virginia from July 20 to 27 that year, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
Attorney Vess Mitev told Newsweek his clients, Heuermann's children, Victoria Heuermann and Christopher Sheridan have been "caught in the cross hairs of this deeply unfortunate case that they have nothing to do with other than they are related to Mr. Heuermann."
READ MORE
Heuermann is not alone
The alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann is not all that unique – at least when it comes to being a serial killer as experts describe him as a "prototypical sexual sad*st."
The motivation behind Heuermann's serial killing seems very similar to other murderers.
"I'm wondering if and why murder became a problem-solving tool for him," Dr. Robert Schug, a forensic psychologist and criminology professor, told Newsweek. "That's generally what is happening with the repeat murderers. The homicidal behavior is solving some function in their lives."
READ MORE
Not just in Long Island
Investigators are looking into unsolved murder cases nationwide as a possible connection to the Manhattan architect charged with the Gilgo Beach serial killings.
Rex Heuermann was charged last week in the deaths of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla now bringing his total possible body count of sex workers to six.
But his potential victims might not be isolated just to Long Island.
"I wouldn't doubt it," Dr. Rachel Toles, psychologist and host of "The Psychology of Serial Killers," told Newsweek. "It just depends on how intense his appetite was."
Throughout the decades-long investigation, it was discovered that Heuermann has ties to Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Virginia and South Carolina where there are similar unsolved cold cases involving sex workers.
"We're looking at all of them, not necessarily in the context of a particular defendant, including this one," said District Attorney Raymond Tierney at a press conference Thursday. "We're not going to stop. We can't stop. We owe that to the victims. That's the least we can do."
READ MORE
87 Disturbing Details
A Microsoft Word document with 87 disturbing details has come to light, shedding more insight into the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer's organized plans for how to murder including supplies such as cat litter and tarps, dump site locations, recon reports, and body prep.
This new evidence emerged as the district attorney's office charged Heuermann with two additional murders on Thursday.
New digital evidence revealed Heuermann had a "significant collection of violent, bondage, and torture p*rnography" dating back to 1994, according to court records obtained by Newsweek. The images include breast mutilation, vagin*l torture, the sexualization of decapitated women and bondage. These "notably and largely coincide with how the remains" of two of the victims were discovered in the decades-long search.
A hard drive recovered from Heuermann's basem*nt hosted a Microsoft Word document called "HK2002-04," which appears to be the alleged serial killer's "planning document," according to court documents. The Word document was recovered on March 7, according to District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
"This was a significant investigative finding," Tierney said at Thursday's press conference after the alleged Gilgo Beach killer was formally charged in a Long Island courtroom. "The task force believes that this is a planning document that was used by Heuermann to methodically plan his kills with excruciating detail."
The detailed document of an alleged serial killer's plan read included typos throughout. Newsweek published the items as written in the document.
READ MORE
Who is Amber Lynn Costello?
Amber Lynn Costello is the oldest of the "Gilgo Four" victims. She was 27 when she went missing in September of 2010.
She was a heroin addict at the time and was living with another woman and two men, who were similarly addicted to drugs.
Costello moved to New York from Clearwater, Florida. Police said she completed a 28-day drug rehabilitation program but had relapsed prior to going missing.
In order to support their addictions, Costello and the other woman advertised as sex workers on Craigslist and Backpage, according to police. They lived on Long Island.
Costello was last seen leaving the home she shared on America Avenue on Sept. 2, 2010. She was going to meet a client, who was picking her up at the house. Costello didn't have a cellphone on her at the time.
She was never reported missing.
Who is Megan Waterman?
Megan Waterman was a sex worker and resident of Scarborough, Maine. Her family watched the 22-year-old board a New York-bound bus with a man who may have been her pimp.
An investigation found Waterman was staying at a Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge on June 6, 2010. She left around 1:30 a.m. to meet a client, according to the police. However, she told her pimp that she was going to a convenience store.
Two days later, Waterman's family reported her missing to police in Maine. They said it was unlike her to not check-in on her then-3-year-old daughter.
Who is Melissa Barthelemy?
Melissa Barthelemy, 24, went missing on July 12, 2009. She was last seen at her basem*nt apartment on Underhill Avenue in the Unionport section of the Bronx.
Barthelemy told a friend the night she went missing that she was going to meet a man and would be back in the morning. The friend did not know any other details about the meet up beyond that Barthelemy was a sex worker.
Barthelemy's mother reported her missing to the New York Police Department on July 18 after not being able to reach her for a few days.
Cellphone records show Barthelemy went from the Bronx to Manhattan on July 12. Her cellphone signal was picked up in Long Island as well.
Suffolk County Police Department said Barthelemy's sister got a series of taunting phone calls. They were believed to come from her killer.
Barthelemy's body was found on Dec. 11, 2010. She was the first victim the police physically found.
READ MORE
Who is Maureen Brainard-Barnes?
Maureen Brainard-Barnes is believed to be the first victim among the "Gilgo Four." The 25-year-old was living in Norwich, Connecticut when she went missing. It is believed that she took an Amtrak train from New London to New York City on July 6, 2007.
She spent her time in the city working as a prostitute, as advertised on Craigslist, Backpage and other sites.
The weekend she went missing, Brainard-Barnes traveled with another woman to the city. The other woman, however, went back home early.
On July 9 Brainard-Barnes called a friend in Connecticut minutes before midnight. She said she was going to meet someone outside of the motel. Suffolk Police Department said that was not her typical operating procedure.
A friend reported Brainard-Barnes missing five days later.
Her body was found on the north side of Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach on Dec. 13, 2010.
READ MORE
Who is Sandra Costilla?
Two hunters discovered 28-year-old Sandra Costilla's body in a wooded area in North Sea, Southampton, on Nov. 21, 1993.
She had been strangled to death and left partially clothed. Her remains were in the woods for several days prior to being discovered.
Authorities identified Costilla by using her fingerprints, which had been entered into the system after she was arrested for jumping over a subway turnstile in 1992.
Costilla was from Trinidad and Tobago but had been living in New York prior to her disappearance, according to court records obtained by Newsweek.
Police called Costilla a "drifter." Her last known address was in Queens, but it is thought she wasn't living there at the time of her death. Police never said if Costilla was a sex worker but called her lifestyle "substantially similar."
Heuermann was charged with Costilla's murder last week.
READ MORE
Who is Jessica Taylor?
Jessica Taylor, 20, was a sex worker near the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City.
Taylor's remains were found in July 2003 in the wooded area of Manorville, where Rex Heuermann's Massapequa Park home is located. A woman walking her dog found Taylor's nude body just off of Halsey Manor Road and the Long Island Expressway.
During the examination of Taylor's body, male human hairs were found, "specifically from a surgical drape that had been underneath the victim," according to court records obtained by Newsweek. They were determined to be from the head of a person with "Caucasian/European characteristics." The hairs were unsuitable for further DNA testing."
In March 2011, more of Taylor's remains, including her skull, hands and forearm, were found on Gilgo Beach.
At the time of Taylor's disappearance, Heuermann worked in the same vicinity as where Taylor was known to "street walk," or work as a sex worker, according to court records obtained by Newsweek.
Heuermann was charged with Taylor's murder last week.
READ MORE
Shannan Gilbert: the start of it all
The hunt for a possible serial killer started in 2010 when 11 sets of human remains were discovered along a property on Gilgo Beach in Suffolk County. Law enforcement first started searching along Ocean Parkway after Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old sex worker from New Jersey, vanished in 2010.
The search first turned up the remains of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes. All the women were in their mid-20s.
Police found other remains during the search, including those that belonged to Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack, who were also in their 20s when they had gone missing years earlier. Heuermann was accused of Taylor's murder last week.
Other remains discovered in 2010 included those of a female toddler, an Asian male, an unidentified woman who was believed to be the toddler's mother and another woman identified as 34-year-old Karen Vergata who went missing in 1996.
Gilbert was found in late 2011, after the other 10 victims were found.
New details in press conference to come
Attorney John Ray is to host a press conference in New York at 11:15 a.m. to reveal additional information about the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer, Rex Heuermann.
Heuermann was charged last week with his fifth and sixth murders, of Sandra Costilla and Jessica Taylor.
The 60-year-old architect was first arrested in July 2023 for the deaths of four women whose remains were found in burlap sacks along the Ocean Parkway in New York over a decade ago. He was charged in court last week but remained emotionless.
Prior to last week, Heuermann was already facing charges for the "Gilgo Four" - Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
There is speculation that his alleged serial killer spree could spread coast-to-coast.
READ MORE
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
"); jQuery(this).remove(); }) jQuery('.start-slider').owlCarousel({ loop:false, margin:10, nav:true, items:1 }).on('changed.owl.carousel', function(event) { var currentItem = event.item.index; var totalItems = event.item.count; if (currentItem === 0) { jQuery('.owl-prev').addClass('disabled'); } else { jQuery('.owl-prev').removeClass('disabled'); } if (currentItem === totalItems - 1) { jQuery('.owl-next').addClass('disabled'); } else { jQuery('.owl-next').removeClass('disabled'); } }); } });});
