Who is Rex Heuermann? Architect turned Gilgo Beach serial killer who confessed to 8 murders

Rex Heuermann confessed to strangling the victims between 1993 and 2010 and dumping their remains along Long Island beaches and roads.

Rex Heuermann, a 62-year-old former architect from Massapequa Park, Long Island, pleaded guilty on April 8 to seven murders and admitted to an eighth in the infamous Gilgo Beach serial killings. He confessed to strangling the victims between 1993 and 2010 and dumping their remains along Long Island beaches and roads. He was arrested in July 2023 in Manhattan. Key evidence included DNA from a discarded pizza crust, burner phones, a green pickup truck, and a large weapons cache in his basement. He will receive multiple life sentences without parole at his June 2026 sentencing.

Rex Heuermann charged with murder of 7th woman (James Carbone/Newsday via AP, Pool) (AP)

Who is Rex Heuermann?

The accused grew up in Nassau County after his birth in 1963. He stated in a past interview that he had worked in the city since 1987. The killings started in 1993 when Sandra Costilla died in the Hamptons during that year. His first marriage ended in divorce just one year after the wedding in 1991. He lived in Massapequa Park with his second wife and two adult children later.

How investigators used DNA and pizza to catch the killer

Police discovered the first remains in 2010 while searching for a missing woman. A new task force linked the architect to a green pickup truck in 2022. Detectives used a discarded pizza crust to match his DNA to the victims finally. Investigators found a vault with nearly 300 weapons inside his basement floor recently. The suspect used burner phones to lure his victims before their sudden disappearances occurred. They arrested the suspect on a Manhattan street in July of 2023 for murder.

The architect confesses to his crimes in a New York court

By Prabhat Dwivedi