Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann to plead guilty, judge says

Heuermann will admit guilt in the killing of Karen Vergata, the judge said. 

The DA has recommended three consecutive sentences of life without parole, followed by four consecutive 25-life sentences. 

In exchange for the guilty pleas, there will be no further prosecution for the eight victims, the judge said. 

There has been a change in the case, the judge announced. Heuermann will plead guilty to seven counts in the indictment, the judge said. 

Rex Heuermann was brought into the court wearing a dark suit.   

A Long Island woman from Seaford said she's been following this case since the beginning.

She was outside Heuermann's Massapequa Park house Wednesday morning. 

"It's amazing this person lived here for so many years, and for so many years it fell by the wayside," she said.   

The woman said she thinks Heuermann is changing his plea because he doesn't want the public to see "his crazy" if the case went to trial.

"I think if he went to trial, everyone would've thought he was guilty," she said. 

Rich Smith, who lives about a mile away, echoed the sentiment. He said Heuermann probably didn't want to prolong the case by going to trial.

"I feel sorry for the family because they weren't even around when he was doing this," Smith said. 

Court proceedings began promptly at 11 a.m., CBS News New York's Carolyn Gusoff reported. 

Some two dozen family members of the victims have taken seats in the courtroom, which is now standing room only, CBS News New York's Carolyn Gusoff reported. 

Robert Macedonio, the attorney for Asa Ellerup, spoke just before court proceedings got started. 

"She has said consistently since day one, she wants to hear this and see this play out in the courtroom, and that's what's going to happen today. She wants the hear the words out of her husband's mouth, or ex-husband's mouth. If he's guilty, she wants to hear it come out of his mouth, not have it reported in the media or podcasts or print. So that's who we're here for today," Macedonio said.  She has never claimed he's not guilty. She just consistently stated, doesn't believe he was capable of this, the man she knows."

Macedonio said Ellerup and her daughter Victoria are "prepared" for whatever happens in court. 

"We've spent the past 33 months preparing for whatever outcome could be," Macedonio said. 

Macedonio again took aim against a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the son of victim Valerie Mack against Heuermann that names Ellerup and Victoria, as well. He pointed out Victoria was 3 years old at the time Mack was murdered. 

"How could any attorney and or plaintiff assume any liability on the part of a 3-year-old?" Macedonio said. "It's just so reckless." 

In 2022, Rodney Harrison, the newly-appointed Suffolk County Police Commissioner and former NYPD chief, promised the families of victims that he would "bring those accountable to justice." 

"Lot of great work was done. I like to bring a fresh set of eyes from my experience being an investigator with the NYPD to make sure all the investigative leads are being done appropriately," Harrison said at the time. "There's a commitment a relentless pursuit to identify the individuals and bring them to justice." 

What followed was a series of steps in the case: the reward was doubled, and previously unseen video was released. Then authorities released Shannan Gilbert's 911 calls. 

The ultimate break in the case when a car registered to Heuermann matched the description a witness gave of the one that picked up victim Amber Costello before she disappeared. Once police made that connection, they started checking cell phone records. Cell phone tower pings connected Heuermann to the victims, prosecutors said. 

"For example, on July 10, 2009, the last day Melissa Barthelemy was seen alive, both the burner phone and Defendant Heuermann's phone were in the area of Massapequa and traveled together toward New York City. Thereafter, both Ms. Barthelemy's phone and Heuermann's phone traveled eastbound toward Massapequa," prosecutors wrote in court documents. 

Finally, investigators collected pizza crust Heuermann allegedly tossed in a Manhattan trash can, resulting in what they said was a DNA match. 

The courtroom was packed once it opened up with members of the media and law enforcement. 

About a dozen members of the public were sent to an overflow courtroom to observe the proceedings. 

Heuermann's ex-wife Asa Ellerup and their daughter Victoria were present at court. 

They were expected to release a statement after the proceedings. 

"First and foremost, it can be an acceptance of responsibility. But also it can be things like not wanting to go through the trial. There can be things that he may not want to put his own family through. It's hard to know exactly why, but there's many reasons why defendants decide to plead guilty," New York Law School professor Anna Cominsky told CBS News New York's Mary Calvi. 

Watch her full interview here. 

Reporters and press personnel started lining up to enter the court as early as 5 a.m., CBS News New York's Carolyn Gusoff reported. 

Court opens at 9 a.m. and the courtroom proceedings weren't expected to begin until 11 a.m. The court process is expected to take about an hour, if not more, once it gets started. 

Then this afternoon we're expecting to hear from Heuermann's defense attorney, as well as from Suffolk County DA Ray Tierney and family members of the victims. 

Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Heuermann used burner phones to contact dozens of sex workers hundreds of times in the months leading up to his arrest. 

Heuermann also allegedly conducted thousands of internet searches for "hardcore violent pornography," prosecutors said. 

They added his search history also includes more than 100 searches about serial killers, and about the Gilgo Beach investigation. 

Former prosecutor Vinoo Varghese previously said all of that would be evidence that shows "an absence of mistake, that he was using and making these calls, and learning about how to torture people in order to perform these acts upon his victims."

Heuermann is charged in the murders of seven women, dating to 1993. The remains of 11 people were discovered around Gilgo Beach in 2010 and 2011, and investigators believe he may be linked to more killings. 

Rex Heuermann was arrested in July 2023. Prosecutors said hairs connected to Heuermann, his former wife and daughter were found on belts, tape and burlap found on his alleged victims. 

So how did they connect those hairs they found on the bodies to Heuermann?

Shortly after he was arrested, prosecutors revealed they used DNA recovered from a discarded pizza crust investigators recovered from a Manhattan garbage can to make the connection to the hair found on the victims. 

Investigators had been looking into Heuermann after a witness recalled seeing a vehicle that matched the description of one he owned when victim Shannan Gilbert was last seen alive. 

In court documents, prosecutors released an image of what they called a "blueprint" Heuermann allegedly used "to plan out his kills with excruciating detail."

The document has four columns. They are labeled "Problems," "Supplies," "DS" and "TRG." 

Among the problems listed: DNA, tire marks, blood stains, finger prints and more. The supplies include rope/cord, saw/cutting tools, police scanner, hair nets, medical gloves and more. 

Additional things listed in the planning document, according to prosecutors, are three sections devoted to "pre-prep," "prep," and "post event." Among the pre-prep things listed are vehicle inspection, weather report, and "recon vid. cams." The "prep" list includes "set-up stage." The "post-event" list includes "change tires," "burn gloves" and "have story set."

The document goes on to list "things to remember," such as "sound travels." 

Rex Heuermann, 62, grew up on Long Island. He attended Berner High School and lived in Massapequa Park.

Neighbors there were stunned when police swooped in to make their arrest at the house where, neighbors said, Heuermann grew up with his parents and brother. 

Heuermann was married at the time of his arrest and has a daughter. 

A neighbor described Heuermann as "very quiet, dark, kept to himself and extremely intelligent, very smart."  

Heuermann worked in Midtown Manhattan as an architect and ran a company called RH Consultants and Associates. His office was located at 36th Street and Fifth Avenue. 

Police said a pizza box he left in the garbage near there was a key piece of evidence in the case.   

At the time of his arrest, he owed more than $425,000 in taxes, Nassau County records revealed. He also had filed several lawsuits accusing drivers of hurting him in car accidents. Three of those cases were either settled or discontinued. 

Since his arrest, he has been in near solitary confinement for 23 hours per day, in protective custody. 

The Gilgo Beach case began on May 1, 2010 as a search for Shannan Gilbert, a 23-year-old woman who was working as an escort. She made a frantic call to 911, saying she believed someone was after her. She vanished. 

An exhaustive search followed, but her body was not immediately recovered. 

In December, 2010, police found the bodies of four women near Gilgo Beach. They became know as the Gilgo Four. Three of them were wrapped in burlap. They were identified as Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy. All four worked as online escorts, police said. 

Brainard-Barnes went missing in 2007. Barthelemy went missing in 2009. Waterman disappeared in June of 2010, and Costello disappeared in September of 2010. 

In May, 2011, six more sets of remains were found. 

Click here for a complete timeline of the investigation. 

Doors to the courthouse in Riverhead, N.Y. will open at 9 a.m. 

Doors to the courtroom open at approximately at 9:15 a.m. 

Rex Heuermann is expected to plead guilty when he appears in court at 11 a.m. 

We expect to see footage of Heuermann arriving at court, but the actual proceedings, once they get started, will not be live streamed.