“The Long Island Serial Killer,” Netflix’s latest true crime docuseries, tells the story of a spate of suspicious deaths and the man who has been linked to them, Rex Heuermann.
The three-part show, which was released on Netflix in March, details how 11 dead bodies, mainly women, were found in the Gilgo Beach area of Long Island, New York, in 2010 and 2011.
The show features interviews with the families of some of the women found dead, as well as police officers and news reporters who worked on the case at the time.
The authorities eventually connected architect Rex Heuermann to some of the deaths, and the case is ongoing.
As the series shows, a woman named Shannan Gilbert, an escort, went missing in May 2010 after visiting a client’s home in Oak Beach, Long Island.
The police didn’t find anything in their initial search for Gilbert in the Gilgo Beach area of Long Island. When they returned in December to look again, they found the bodies of four women who also worked as escorts.
In 2011, the police found Gilbert’s body in Oak Beach, and her death was ruled as “undetermined” by the coroner’s office, as the authorities believed she drowned in marshland.
Police identified Heuermann as a suspect in March 2022, after they connected him to a witness statement. It said that in 2010, they saw a green Chevrolet Avalanche, which matched the description of his car, near where Amber Costello, one of the victims, went missing.
From there, the authorities retested hairs they found on burlap that some of the bodies were wrapped in. They were a match for Heuermann’s wife, who was away with their children during the time each of the women died.
Here’s where Heuermann is now.
Rex Heuermann is in prison awaiting trial.
Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images
Heuermann was arrested in July 2023 and was charged with first-degree murder over the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello.
He was later charged with murder over the deaths of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla, and Valerie Mack.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Heuermann is awaiting trial in prison, but a date has not been set. He is being held at the Riverhead Correctional Facility in Suffolk County, New York.
Sheriff Dr. Errol D. Toulon Jr. told People in March that Heuermann has become used to prison life.
“For the most part, it just seems like this is a new way of life for him. In the beginning he was a little bit more starry-eyed as to his surroundings. Life has transformed over the last several months. He receives visits, he makes phone calls, and he doesn’t congregate with the rest of the population because of the crimes he’s accused of,” he said.
The authorities want to “ensure that justice is served in the courts and not in our jails,” Toulon said.
Toulon added: “I think his hobbies right now are reading books, reading his discovery, sleeping and watching TV inside of his cell. And he’s been very compliant. There haven’t been any issues.”
