Gilgo Beach serial killing suspect Rex Heuermann charged in more murders

Rex Heuermann, the man accused of Long Island serial killings, was indicted Thursday (Jun 6) in the slayings of two more women, US media reported. The man has been accused of killing four sex workers and dumping their bodies on Long Island's Gilgo Beach.

In the latest development, the authorities have revealed disturbing new evidence, which included a "planning document" allegedly found on Heuermann's computer.

According to a report by Rolling Stone, a new Suffolk County bail application revealed Heuermann was charged in the cold-case murders of two more women - Jessica Taylor (20) and Sandra Costilla (28). Taylor's dismembered remains were first found days after she disappeared in 2003, whileCostilla's body was found in 1993.

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"Investigators believe the mutilation of the victim's tattoo, decapitation of her head, and dismemberment of Ms. Taylor's arms, were acts perpetrated by Rex A. Heuermann to inhibit the identification of the victim via facial recognition, fingerprints and/or tattoo identification," read thethe bail application.

"During the initial investigation in Manorville in 2003, the victim's head, arms, and hands were not found at the scene and their location remained unknown to law enforcement for approximately eight years," it added.

Meanwhile, additional mitochondrial DNA found on Costilla and her remains was connected to an unnamed woman (called "Witness 3"). She was apparently someone whom Heuermann was living with at the time of Costilla's 1993 disappearance.

In December 2010, at least 10 remains were discovered buried on Long Island's Gilgo Beach. Police initially assumed that the remains of four women discovered in close proximity to each other,wrapped in similar hessian, were killed by the same individual.

Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello - all were sex workers at the time of their deaths. They were dubbed"The Gilgo Four"and remained cold-case victims. But Heuermann was arrested in July 2023 and gave authorities a new direction to the investigation. He pleaded not guilty to the murders. His trial date has not been set.

News agency Reuters mentioned in its report that investigators determined via DNA analysis that a human hair belonging to Heuermann's wife was in the buckle of a belt used to bind Brainard-Barnes, Tierney's office said. The murders coincided with trips out of town by Heuermann's wife and their daughter, Tierney's office said.

He reportedly used a burner cellphone to contact sex workers who advertised their services online, prosecutors said. He bound them with belts or tape before wrapping some of the bodies in a burlap-type material, according to prosecutors.

(With inputs from agencies)