New developments in the Gilgo Beach murder investigation. What you need to know
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. -- Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann was charged Thursday with killing two more women 10 years apart on Long Island, as prosecutors released disturbing new details in the investigation.
Heuermann, 60, was indicted on murder charges in the 1993 killing of Sandra Costilla and the 2003 killing of Jessica Taylor. Costilla's death was not previously tied to the Gilgo case.
Her body was discovered in a wooded area of North Sea, a hamlet in Southampton. Prosecutors initially suspected Manorville carpenter, John Bittrolff, in her death, and he was later convicted of killing two other women.
A decade later, Taylor's partial remains were discovered in the Manorville Pine Barrens, where the partial remains of Valerie Mack had been found three years prior. Additional remains of Taylor and Mack, who both worked as escorts, were later found near Gilgo Beach.
The Suffolk County district attorney's office says DNA from hair found near Costilla and Taylor's remains and pick-up truck evidence connect Heuermann to their killings.
"Hair is often found at crime scenes because people lose hair all the time," said forensic and DNA expert Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky.
Kobilinsky says DNA has been crucial to cracking the Gilgo Beach cases.
"DNA is really the gold standard of physical evidence ... that can be used to match a known and an unknown, meaning a body and hair found on that body with the source of that hair," he said.
Investigators also say evidence shows Heuermann had his Massapequa Park house to himself at the time of their deaths, leaving him with "unfettered time" to carry out the crimes.
Prosecutors believe Costilla was killed sometime between Nov. 19 and 20 in 1993, and Taylor, of Poughkeepsie, was killed between July 21 and July 26 in 2003. The Manorville Pine Barrens are roughly 25 miles west of North Sea, which is on the South Fork on Long Island.
Gilgo Beach indictment reveals disturbing "blueprint"
According to the new indictment, an analysis of Heuermann's seized devices revealed a "significant collection of violent, bondage and torture pornography, currently dating back to 1994."
"It is alleged that the pornographic images that were accessed by Heuermann are consistent with the crime scenes of both Sandra Costilla and Jessica Taylor," Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Thursday.
The indictment also includes a photo of a document, which investigators say Heuermann used as a "blueprint" to "plan out his kills with excruciating detail."
"We allege that this document evinces the defendant's intent in committing the charged crimes, that his intent was, specifically, to locate these victims, to hunt them down and to bring them under his control and to kill them," said Tierney.
The document has four columns, labeled "Problems," "Supplies," "DS" and "TRG." The problems include things like "DNA," "tire marks," and "blood stains," while the supplies list things like "booties," "lie [sic]/acid," and a "police [scanner]." Investigators believe "DS" stood for "dump site" and "TRG" were his targets.
The document also includes a section with the headings "pre-prep," "prep," and "post event," which investigators say outline steps from a checking the weather report, to setting up a staging area, then disposing of the evidence. Additional sections include "recon reports" with things like the placement of security cameras around town, as well as "body prep" with steps for dismembering a body, including "pack for transport." There is also a "things to remember" section with references to a "next time."
Additionally, the document contains references to "Mind Hunter," a 1996 book about the criminal profiling of serial killers. Investigators say they found other books by the same author at Heuermann's home.
Investigators first searched the Massapequa Park house in the days after Heuermann's July 2023 arrest. Law enforcement officers were seen digging in the backyard and seized nearly 300 guns, as well as hundreds of electronic devices, which they say Heuermann used to contact and research sex workers. The search continued there as recently as last month.
Heuermann's defense attorneys have asked for more time to review the new evidence and say he maintains his innocence.
"Twenty years prior. You have completely different location. You have dismembered bodies," defense attorney Michael Brown said. "He's obviously horrified by new charges, new murder allegations ... Yeah, he is in a bad place in terms of the new charges."
Rex Heuermann's estranged wife releases statement
Heuermann's estranged wife Asa Ellerup released a statement through her attorney Thursday, saying that she hadn't met Heuermann in 1993 and doesn't believe he's capable of any of the other alleged crimes. She filed for divorce days after he was arrested.
"Today's Indictment further illustrates that Asa Ellerup has no involvement in any of the alleged crimes that her estranged husband, Rex Heuermann, has been charged with.
Ms. Ellerup married Rex Heuermann in 1996. She was not residing with Rex Heuermann in the Massapequa Park domicile in 1993, the year Ms. Costilla was murdered. Moreover, according to the Government, at the time of the death of Ms. Taylor, Ms. Ellerup was, once again, not in the jurisdiction.
As we have previously stated, if Mr. Heuermann committed these homicides, he was living a double life that Ms. Ellerup was unaware of.
After 27 years with Mr. Heuermann, Ms. Ellerup maintains the belief that her estranged husband is not capable of committing these heinous acts."
Heuermann was living with another woman at the Massapequa Park home prior to Costilla's killing in 1993, and his wife and children were at Smugglers Notch in Vermont when Taylor was killed in 2003, according to the indictment.
Families of Gilgo Beach victims face Heuermann in court
Costilla and Taylor's family members were ushered into the packed courtroom Thursday. Heuermann appeared emotionless but, at one point, appeared to almost smirk, CBS New York's Jennifer McLogan reported. His estranged wife and children were not there.
Taylor's mother was in court, but because of her poor health, her attorney read her heartbreaking statement for her.
"I miss how she called me 'Mommy' and 'Mama.' It's a tragedy she never had children. Jessica would have made a great mother," the attorney read.
"Jess was somebody that I looked up to. She was a force, one the strongest women that I know with a heart of gold," said Jasmine Robinson, Taylor's cousin. "This year has been 21 years since she has been taken from us -- longer than the chance that she got to be alive. I can't express what this day means after waiting and hoping for answers."
CBS New York's Carolyn Gusoff also spoke with the estate attorney for Shannan Gilbert's family after the new charges were announced. Gilbert's body was also found near Gilgo Beach, but Heuermann has not been charged in her death.
"This is a stunning, sickening and murderous smoking gun, and I don't see how he could escape by any defense that he has," said attorney John Ray. "The blueprint suggests that he's killed many more people than what you see here."
Now, the victims' families are asking, how many more crimes could Heuermann be linked to?
"We're not going to stop. We can't stop. We owe that to the victims," Tierney said. "This case is about victims and their families, and hopefully providing them with that small measure of closure."
Suspected Long Island serial killer
The remains of 11 people were found near Gilgo Beach between 1996 and 2011. Costilla, who lived in Queens for a time in 1993, is now a 12th victim linked to the investigation.
Heuermann was arrested on July 14, 2023 and charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. New charges were filed in January connected to the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
The four women's remains were found in shallow graves near Gilgo Beach in 2010. All four were sex workers who went missing between 2007 and 2010.
Prosecutors said DNA evidence and burner phones tied Heuermann to the murders. He pleaded not guilty and has been held without bail for nearly a year.
According to the new indictment, investigators believe Heuermann's wife and children were also out of the state at the time of those killings.
Carolyn Gusoff has covered some of the most high profile news stories in the New York City area and is best known as a trusted, tenacious, consistent and caring voice of Long Island's concerns.