Notorious serial killer who murdered eight women jailed for life

Notorious serial killer who murdered eight women jailed for life Rex Heuermann, 62, has been jailed for life after admitting the murders of eight women in what became known as the Gilgo Beach killings An architect who murdered eight women in a string of long-unsolved crimes known as the Gilgo Beach killings has been jailed for life without parole. Rex Heuermann, 62, murdered his victims between 1993 and 2010. Their remains were mostly found in marshland along the south coast of Long Island, New York - notably at Gilgo Beach. On Wednesday, Heuermann appeared before a judge in Riverhead, New York, after pleading guilty in April to the murders of seven women: Megan Waterman, 22, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Amber Lynn Costello, 27, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Valerie Mack, 24, Jessica Taylor, 20, and Sandra Costilla, 28. He also admitted in court to killing an eighth victim, Karen Vergata, who was not named in the indictment. Ms Vergata is believed to have been 34 when she disappeared. Heuermann had not been charged with her murder. The investigation into the Gilgo Beach killings began in 2010 after police discovered four sets of human remains along the beach. Investigators used DNA analysis and other evidence to identify victims, most of whom were sex workers. The remains of Ms Barthelemy, Ms Brainard-Barnes, Ms Costello, and Ms Waterman - known as the Gilgo Four - were found at the beach. The remains of Ms Taylor and Ms Mack were found along Ocean Parkway, several miles west of Gilgo Beach, while those of a seventh victim, Ms Costilla, were discovered more than 60 miles away in the Hamptons. The eighth woman, Ms Vergata, was identified in 2023. Her remains were found on Fire Island, more than 20 miles west, in 1996, and near Gilgo Beach in 2011. 'A million years isn't enough' Speaking before his sentencing, Jasmine Robinson, a cousin of victim Ms Taylor told the killer: "You fill me with so much repugnance, I can't stand it." "A million years isn't enough," Ms Robinson said. "Nothing will ever make this right." Amanda Funderburg, Ms Barthelemy’s sister, urged Heuermann to look at her as she spoke. He glanced in her direction, but his eyes were slightly downcast. "I hope you suffer," said Funderburg, who recounted getting a taunting phone call from him days after her sister disappeared, when Funderburg was 15 years old. JoAnn Mack, the mother of victim Valerie Mack, said: "Justice has been done, but it can’t replace what has been taken." She told Heuermann that her daughter "had dreams, and you took them all away from her".