Who are the victims of admitted Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann?
Accused Gilgo Beach, New York, serial killer Rex Heuermann admitted to the murders of eight women in court on Wednesday as he changed his plea to guilty.
Heuermann, a New York City architect, was arrested in 2023 and initially pleaded not guilty to killing seven women. Over 17 years, he targeted sex workers and dumped their bodies near Long Island's Gilgo Beach, prosecutors said.
Here's what we know about his eight victims:
Sandra Costilla
The first victim was Sandra Costilla, who was killed in 1993.
Costilla was a native of Trinidad and Tobago and had been living in New York. Her remains were found in the town of North Sea on New York's Long Island, officials said.
Initially, authorities suspected a different killer, but the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said advanced DNA linked Heuermann to a hair lifted from Costilla’s shirt.
Karen Vergata
On Wednesday, Heuermann admitted to the murder of 34-year-old Karen Vergata. He was not formally charged with Vergata’s death but admitted to it as part of the plea agreement.
Vergata went missing in February 1996, and authorities believe she worked as an escort at the time, prosecutors said. Some of her remains were found in April 1996 on Long Island's Fire Island, prosecutors said, and additional remains were recovered in April 2011 on Long Island's Tobay Beach.
She was survived by two sons, officials said.
Valerie Mack
Valerie Mack was killed in 2000.
A hunter's dog discovered Mack's decapitated body in a wooded area of Manorville, on Long Island, on Nov. 19, 2000, court documents said. Her remains were bound with rope inside a black plastic bag which was wrapped with duct tape, according to court documents. Both of her hands had been severed from her body and one of her legs was cut off, court documents said.
The rest of Mack's remains were found more than a decade later, in April 2011, along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach, authorities said.
Prosecutors said they linked Heuermann to Mack's death in part through a mitochondrial DNA analysis of a female hair found on Mack's body. It matched the profiles of Heuermann's wife and daughter, court documents said.
Prosecutors said they also linked Heuermann to Mack's death through evidence recovered on some of the electronic devices they seized from Heuermann that include his "significant collection of violent, bondage and torture pornography" dating back to at least 1994. This online collection included images of mutilation and tying up women with ropes, two things prosecutors said are consistent with injuries inflicted on Mack and how she was bound, officials said.
Jessica Taylor
Jessica Taylor, 20, went missing in July 2003, according to Suffolk County police.
Taylor was decapitated and her arms were severed from her torso, possibly in an attempt to hide her identity, according to court documents.
Some of her remains were found in July 2003 in Manorville on Long Island and some were recovered in March 2011 near Gilgo Beach, police said.
Taylor’s mother, Elizabeth Baczkiel, told reporters on Wednesday that she is grateful for the guilty plea.
"I am glad that this over … it took a big chunk of stress off of me and my family," she said.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes
Maureen Brainard-Barnes was 25 when she vanished in 2007, according to Suffolk County police.
"She had bright, blue eyes. She was very outgoing, very outspoken," her friend Sara Karnes told ABC News' "20/20." "Every time I talk about it, it doesn’t get any easier."
Brainard-Barnes' remains were found at Gilgo Beach in December 2010, police said.
Investigators found DNA belonging to Heuermann's then-wife in hair recovered from a belt used to restrain Brainard-Barnes, according to the indictment. Heuermann's family was out of state when Brainard-Barnes was killed, prosecutors said, and his wife was not suspected to be involved in her death.
Brainard-Barnes' daughter, Nicolette Brainard-Barnes, who was 7 years old when her mother was killed, told reporters when Heuermann was charged, "While the loss of my mom has been extremely painful for me, the indictment by the grand jury has brought hope for justice for my mom and my family."
Nicolette Brainard-Barnes and her brother said on Wednesday that they accept the plea deal. Maureen Brainard-Barnes’ sister, Missy Kahn, added that "Maureen was never forgotten" and "the guilty plea brings solace."
To her sister, she said, "I would never stop searching for justice for you. ... Justice has finally found its way to you."
Melissa Barthelemy
Melissa Barthelemy, 24, went missing in July 2009, according to Suffolk County police.
Barthelemy's sister, Amanda Funderburg, had received several taunting phone calls in 2009 that were believed to be from her sister's killer, according to authorities.
Barthelemy's remains were found in Gilgo Beach in December 2010, police said.
Megan Waterman
Megan Waterman, 22, went missing in June 2010, according to Suffolk County police.
Her remains were found in December 2010 in Gilgo Beach, police said.
Waterman’s daughter, Liliana Waterman, told reporters on Wednesday that she accepts the guilty plea and is "very, very thankful."
Amber Lynn Costello
Amber Lynn Costello, 27, went missing in September 2010, according to Suffolk County police.
Her remains were found in Gilgo Beach in December 2010, police said.
