A Long Island architect who hid a string of killings behind a suburban family life will die in prison for murdering eight women.

Rex Heuermann, 62, of Massapequa Park, received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole on June 17 in a Riverhead courtroom, according to CBS New York. He pleaded guilty in April to three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of second-degree murder, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office. He also admitted during his allocution to killing an eighth victim, Karen Vergata, whom he was never charged with murdering.

Judge Timothy Mazzei handed down three consecutive life terms for the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, according to Greater Long Island. He added four consecutive terms of 25 years to life for the killings of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla and Valerie Mack. The combined 100 years to life matched the deal Heuermann accepted in April. (RELATED: Already-Convicted Killer Charged With Shooting, Carjacking Rampage)

Roughly 10 to 15 relatives of the victims addressed the court before the sentence came down, that outlet reported. The room filled with applause once the judge finished, CBS New York reported. Mazzei did not hide his contempt. “I assume you are a little bit sorry for the eight women you strangled. Eight that we know of,” he said, according to CBS New York. He went on to call the defendant a coward.

BREAKING: Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann sentenced to life term in prison with no chance for parole

— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 17, 2026

Prosecutors had pressed for the maximum, pointing to a document they said Heuermann wrote to map out how he chose, killed and disposed of his victims, with the locations of the bodies logged as dump sites, according to CBS New York. “Eight young women were needlessly and brutally murdered at the hand of this defendant,” District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in court, according to Greater Long Island.

The killings stretched back to a 1993 strangulation and ran through 2010, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office. Police arrested Heuermann in July 2023 after a long investigation, that office said.

Heuermann maintained his innocence following his arrest before reversing course this spring, according to the Associated Press. Investigators connected him to the victims through DNA and burner phone records, and they suspect he may be tied to additional deaths, CBS New York reported.