(NewsNation) — Long Island architect Rex Heuermann has been charged with the deaths of four women known as the Gilgo Four, whose bodies were among several found on Gilgo Beach.
Heuermann’s arrest came decades after the women disappeared and their bodies were found. Investigators used familial DNA to help lead them to Heuermann. Searches of his home revealed a number of items taken as potential evidence.
Heuermann is being held in a Suffolk County, New York, jail pending his trial. Here is a timeline of key moments in the case.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes disappears
July 9, 2007: Maureen Brianard-Barnes is last seen in a hotel in Manhattan. The 25-year-old had traveled there from Norwich, Connecticut, to see a client she had met on Craigslist. She was reported missing several days later.
The mother of two was a sex worker who advertised on Craigslist and Backpages and usually went with a female friend to call for safety. The weekend she disappeared, the friend had left early and returned home ahead of Brainard-Barnes.
Melissa Barthelemy disappears
July 12, 2009: Melissa Barthelemy is last seen in the Bronx, outside her apartment. Barthelemy, 24, was headed for a $1,000 date the next night with a client in Long Island, New York. After she disappeared, her sister received calls from a man who used Barthelemy’s phone and said he had killed her.
Barthelemy had moved to New York with dreams of becoming a hairdresser. She eventually began working as an exotic dancer and eventually as an escort, something her family speculated she did to make ends meet.
Shannan Gilbert disappears
May 1, 2010: While Heuermann is not charged with Gilbert’s death, it was her disappearance that would lead to the discovery of all the remains. Gilbert, 23, called 911 saying people were trying to kill her after leaving a client’s house. She was also seen banging on doors yelling for help.
Megan Waterman disappears
June 6, 2010: Megan Waterman, 22, was staying at a hotel in Hauppauge, New York, and was last seen walking toward a nearby convenience store.
Police described Waterman as a victim of sex trafficking and her family said the single mother had been taken to New York by her boyfriend.
Amber Lynn Costello disappears
Sept. 2, 2010: Amberlyn Costello, 27, was last seen by her roommate as she left for a date with a client who offered her $1,500 for a date. The client had called three or four times, asking for a date with her.
Costello had previously struggled with drug use before going to rehab. Her male housemate often went with her on outcalls for safety.
Melissa Barthelemy’s remains found
Dec. 11, 2010: Investigators searching for Shannan Gilbert find the first set of remains along Giglo Beach. The skeletal remains are eventually identified as Melissa Barthelemy.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman’s remains found
Dec. 13, 2010: In the continuing search for Gilbert, three sets of remains are found not far from Waterman. They are eventually identified as Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello and Megan Waterman. Police would continue to search the beach into 2011, finding several additional sets of remains, which have not been officially linked to Heuermann.
Gilgo Four identified
Jan. 24, 2011: Investigators announce the identities of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amberlynn Costello and Melissa Barthelmey, following the release of Megan Waterman’s identity a few days before. The four women, all sex workers, would come to be known as the Gilgo Four.
Giglo Beach Murders Task Force formed
February 2022: Investigators form a task force to investigate the Gilgo Beach victims. The multiagency task force identified Rex Heuermann as a possible suspect in March 2022.
Investigators begin to surveil Heuermann and gather evidence to support their case. One key element is DNA evidence collected from the family’s garbage, including DNA taken from a piece of pizza crust. Other evidence includes cell phone data and credit card information.
Rex Heuermann arrested
July 13, 2023: Rex Heuermann is taken into custody and charged with the deaths of Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy.
Rex Heuermann’s home searched
July 25, 2023: Police conclude a search of the Heurmann home and property, finding what they described as a lot of evidence.
Rex Heuermann charged with fourth death
Jan. 16, 2024: Heuermann is charged with the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
Manorville woods searched
April 2024: Authorities conducted a weeklong search of woods in Manorville, New York, which included K9 units. The remains of two women, Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack, were found there in the early 2000s and additional remains from both were also found near Gilgo Beach. Authorities would not officially confirm the search was related to the Gilgo Beach cases.
Heuermann home searched again
May 20, 2024: Police served another search warrant on the Heuermann home. None of the family were present at the time and there has been no word on why police would return to the residence a second time.
Heuermann faces new charges
June 6, 2024: The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office filed additional second-degree murder charges against Heuermann in connection with the deaths of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla.
Taylor, 20, went missing in 2003 while working as an escort in New York City. Some of her remains were discovered in Manorville that year, and more were found by the side of Ocean Parkway. The body of 28-year-old Costilla was discovered in 1993.
Heuermann’s attorney seeks to separate cases
July 30, 2024: Heuermann appeared in a Suffolk County, New York, courtroom with his hands cuffed behind his back. After a brief procedural discussion about evidence, the judge set Heuermann’s next court date for Oct. 16.
Heuermann’s attorney, Michael Brown, said he plans to file a motion to separate the cases so the charges relating to the first four women are tried separately from the two most recent charges.
Brown also raised concerns about the DNA testing performed on hair strands allegedly tying Heuermann to the bodies. The attorney may additionally request a change of venue to avoid a biased jury, he said.
Prosecutors say separate assets case delaying investigation
Oct. 16, 2024: The government has frozen assets from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office as part of a separate investigation involving the previous administration. The probe into a former district attorney has tied up an estimated $13 million and significantly slowed the movement of Heuermann’s case, court officials said.
“I’d love to have that money and be able to use it to bring this case to a resolution,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said. “So, I’m going to the Department of Justice again, hat in hand, and I’ll beg them: Please give me this money so I can litigate this very significant serial killer case.”
The district attorney’s office declined to elaborate on details of that investigation and deferred all questions to the Justice Department.