Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann admitted Wednesday during a Suffolk County Court appearance to killing eight women, according to reports.
Heuermann pleaded guilty to seven counts of murder over a 17-year period, according to NBC News. In addition, Heuermann admitted to intentionally causing the death of an eighth woman, Karen Vergata, and leaving her remains. Heuermann will not be charged in Vergata’s death as part of the plea deal. He has also agreed to cooperate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as part of the same deal.
Heuermann admitted to meeting the eight women, strangling them and dumping their bodies in Long Island’s Gilgo Beach, according to NBC News. While his sentencing is set for June 17, he will likely receive life in prison without parole, three consecutive life sentences and four sentences of 25 years to life, the outlet reported.
His defense attorney, Michael Brown, told reporters Heuermann’s decision was a “sense of relief.”
“I think that was a huge sense of relief for him. When you have that type of — in your head, and on your body — I think by admitting it, it’s cathartic to some extent,” Brown said. “He certainly wanted to save the families of the victims the ordeal of going to trial, coupled with saving his family from that,” he continued.
The New York Times identified the eight women as Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla, and Vergata. Six of the eight women worked as escorts and advertised their services on Craigslist and Backpage. Investigators began finding the women’s remains in 2010, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Police Say Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Suspect Kept ‘Arsenal’ Of Guns Inside Home)
Heuermann was arrested in 2023 after DNA analysis on a slice of pizza crust found in a pizza box he discarded matched the DNA profile of male hair discovered on burlap used in Waterman’s murder, according to an NBC News report.
Heuermann previously maintained his innocence following his 2023 arrest, according to NBC News.