Rex Heuermann, a Long Island architect accused of being the Gilgo Beach serial killer, is expected to plead guilty in court next month, as reported by Newsday.
On March 26, relatives of some of Heuermann’s alleged victims shared this development with the paper.
If confirmed, this could potentially conclude a decades-long ordeal for residents of Long Island.
Newsday has indicated that Heuermann will change his plea at a hearing set for April 8.
Both Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney and Heuermann’s defense attorney, Michael J. Brown, have refrained from commenting on the anticipated guilty plea when approached by Newsday.
Since his arrest on July 13, 2023, Heuermann, aged 62, has consistently denied involvement in the killings.
If Heuermann changes his plea and confesses to the murders, sentencing will occur at a later date.
Heuermann, who has two adult children, was taken into custody outside his Manhattan office in July 2023, accused of three of the Gilgo Beach murders. His wife, Asa Ellerup, filed for divorce shortly after his arrest.
Heuermann faces charges for the murders of Valerie Mack, 24; Jessica Taylor, 20; Megan Waterman, 22; Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25; Sandra Costilla, 28; and Amber Lynn Costello, 27.
He has maintained not guilty pleas to all seven charges. Investigators are working to link him to two additional bodies discovered at Gilgo Beach.
Authorities spent several weeks at Heuermann’s residence, gathering evidence, including a cache of firearms.
Heuermann is detained at the Riverhead Correctional Facility. A New York State Supreme Court judge aims to have him stand trial for all seven homicide charges in September.
Brown recently informed reporters that his client has been using crutches for over a month, though he did not disclose the specific health issues Heuermann is facing.
Earlier this year, Peacock released a documentary titled The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets, executive produced by rapper 50 Cent, about Heuermann and his family.
The series featured interviews with Heuermann’s wife and their children. In it, Asa Ellerup expressed her struggle to accept the possibility that her husband could be Long Island’s most notorious serial killer.
“Nobody deserves what they got. But Rex was not seeing [sex workers]. He’s a family man. He didn’t do this,” Ellerup stated. “I would need to hear it from Rex face to face that he killed these girls for me to believe it. My husband never kept me out of anything.”
