Rex Heuermann, the New York architect accused of being the Gilgo Beach serial killer, has been indicted on a new murder charge in connection with a fourth woman whose body was found on the Long Island coast, authorities said Tuesday.
Heuermann, 60, has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the 2009 and 2010 murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, and Amber Costello.
On Tuesday, he was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who was last seen alive in July 2007. The remains of Brainard-Barnes, who was found restrained by three leather belts, were among the first authorities discovered along an isolated waterfront property in 2010 amid an investigation into another missing woman. Newsday first reported the superseding indictment.
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“I was only seven years old when my mother was murdered,” Nicolette Brainard-Barnes, 24, said at the Tuesday news conference after the hearing. “For years, it looked like there might not be charges filed against any suspect for the murder of my mother. While the loss of my mom has been extremely painful for me, the indictment by the Grand Jury has brought hope for justice for my mom and my family.”
In a superseding bail application, prosecutors say Heuermann called and texted Brainard-Barnes just before her disappearance. Cellphone data and credit card transactions show that Heuermann’s now-estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, and children were out of the state during the disappearances and murders of all four women, the bond application states.
At the time Brainard-Barnes went missing, Heuermann’s family was in Atlantic City and he met them a few days later. Prosecutors say a piece of female hair found on one of the belts has been linked to Ellerup.
The travel, prosecutors say, allowed “Heuermann unfettered time to execute his plans for each victim without any fear that his family would uncover or learn of his involvement in these crimes.”
Brainard- Barnes’ sister, Melissa Cann, said in a Tuesday statement that the charges against Heuermann mark “another important chapter in the long pursuit of justice for Maureen.”
“Throughout these 13 years, my family has painstakingly endured Maureen being judged and marginalized. Maureen was more than how she has been portrayed,” Cann said. “These victims had families, and they were human beings with aspirations and hope for a better future for themselves. They have families who love and miss them. Maureen, Melissa, Megan, and Amber are no longer here to speak for themselves.”
The updated indictment was unsealed just before Heuermann appeared in court Tuesday before Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazze. Ellerup and her daughter attended the court hearing. NewsNation reported that Brainard-Barnes’ sister was also in the gallery. Heuermann’s lawyer pleaded not guilty on his behalf to the latest charge.
Prosecutors say Waterman, Barthelemy, Costello, and Brainard-Barnes were discovered along the Gilgo Beach shore between 2010 and 2011, along with at least seven other bodies. The women were bound with tape and belts, and wrapped in burlap. Since the grisly discoveries, the press has dubbed the four women, all of whom worked as escorts, the “Gilgo Four.”
Heuermann was arrested in July for the cold-case murders after DNA discovered on a pizza crust linked him to evidence found at the crime scene. He is being held without bail and has previously denied any wrongdoing through his defense attorney.
Since his arrest, the investigation into Heuermann has expanded to involve officials in several other states. This summer, the New York State Police seized a wrapped Chevy Avalanche in Chester County, South Carolina. Court documents state that Heuermann’s dark-green Chevrolet Avalanche, which sat outside his New York home, is a key piece of evidence tying him to the slayings.
During extensive searches of the architect’s home in Massapequa Park and a nearby storage unit, authorities said they found a walled-off metal vault with 279 firearms.“He had an arsenal in a vault that he had downstairs,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison told Fox News in July of the vault. “Anytime somebody has that type of arsenal, we have some concerns.”
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney also previously said Heuermann “compulsively” searched for images of his alleged victims’ families. The bail application also revealed that Heuermann had two burner phones that were used to contact sex workers between 2020 and 2023. A search warrant for an email account allegedly linked to Heuermann also showed countless searches for torture, rape, and updates on the Gilgo Beach investigation. He also allegedly searched “how cell phone tracking is increasingly being used to solve crimes” and “fbi cellular analysis survey team.”
