Latest Update: Detailed Information on Fourth Murder Charge Against Suspect in Gilgo Beach Serial Killings

Rex Heuermann, the suspect implicated in the Gilgo Beach serial murders, currently incarcerated, faces a new formal charge for the murder of a fourth woman in addition to the three previously charged killings on Long Island.

In the recent court proceedings on Tuesday, January 16, Rex Heuermann, aged 60, was arraigned on a second-degree murder charge in Suffolk County Court. This charge is specifically related to the killing of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who was 25 years old at the time, went missing in July 2007 while engaged in sex work. Tragically, her remains were found in 2010 in a grassy area on the South Shore, close to the discovered remains of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello.

The investigations revealed that the four victims, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello, were all killed between July 2007 and September 2010. This series of homicides is commonly referred to as the Gilgo Beach murders.

In July 2023, Heuermann faced charges, including three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of Barthelemy, Waterman, and Costello. Despite the charges, he pleaded not guilty. Court documents revealed that Maureen Brainard-Barnes had been restrained with three leather belts, one of which was utilized to tie her ankles together. During the investigation, the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory discovered a human hair on the buckle of one of the belts.

Subsequent DNA testing established that the hair found on the belt buckle was a match for Rex Heuermann's now-estranged wife, Asa Ellerup.

Investigators noted that during the time of all four murders, Asa Ellerup and Heuermann's children were out of state. This absence allegedly provided Heuermann with unrestricted time to carry out his plans for each victim without concern that his family would discover or learn about his involvement in these crimes.

Law enforcement has connected Heuermann to the murders through cell phone records and DNA obtained from a partially eaten pizza crust discarded in a Manhattan trash can in January 2023.

The Suffolk County Crime Laboratory analyzed the pizza crust and identified a match between the DNA on it and the DNA from a man's hair. This hair had previously been discovered on the camouflage burlap used to restrain Megan Waterman.

Investigators established a connection between Heuermann's email account and various Google searches related to the Gilgo Beach murders. These searches included inquiries such as "How cell phone tracking is increasingly being used to solve crimes," "How does cell site analysis work," and "Melissa Barthelemy sister."

During the court proceedings on Tuesday, Heuermann maintained his plea of not guilty to the new murder charge and was once more ordered to be held without bail at the Suffolk County jail. Investigators have discovered a total of 11 bodies on Gilgo Beach, with five of them successfully identified.

The timeline for the Gilgo Beach murders spans from April 20, 1996, to December 13, 2011, encompassing a significant period of criminal activity.

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