Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann to be sentenced Wednesday

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Tuesday, June 16, 2026 7:17PM
ABC7 New York 24/7 Eyewitness News Stream

RIVERHEAD, Long Island (WABC) -- More than 30 years after he began a two-decade killing spree, Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann is set to be sentenced Wednesday for the strangulation deaths of women whose bodies were buried on Long Island.

The sentence is not in doubt.

Heuermann, 62, pleaded guilty to the murders of Jessica Taylor, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Costello, Valerie Mack and Sandra Costilla. He also admitted to the killing of Karen Vergata.

The terms of his plea agreement require him to spend the rest of his life in state prison without the possibility of parole.

Heuermann also agreed to be interviewed by the FBI behavioral unit.

Families of victims are expected to tell Judge Timothy Mazzei how Heuermann's murders impacted their lives. No limitations were placed on the number of family who want to address the court.

Heuermann will also be given the chance to speak to the judge before the pronouncement of the sentence.

Heuermann was first identified as a suspect in 2022 when a state police investigator linked him to a Chevrolet Avalanche seen the night Amber Costello disappeared.

Investigators then used cell phone data, DNA and other evidence to tie Heuermann to the killings of women who worked as sex workers.

It has not yet been established where Heuermann will serve his punishment has not publicly been established.

(ABC News contributed to this report.)

RELATED | 'Eyewitness to Gilgo Beach': The horror by the sea -- and the hunt for justice

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