Rex Heuermann, Suspected Long Island Serial Killer (LISK) has been charged with murdering a fourth woman. The 59-year-old returned to court Tuesday, where he pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
The charges surrounding Brainard-Barnes mark the last of “The Gilgo Four” murders officially attributed to Heuermann and the closure of the grand jury investigation. While at least 10 bodies were discovered buried on the shore of Long Island's Gilgo Beach in December 2010, police believed the bodies of four women found in close proximity to each other, each wrapped in similar burlap, were killed by the same person. Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, who were all sex workers at the time of their deaths, were dubbed “The Gilgo Four” and remained cold case victims of the Long Island serial killer until the arrest of Heuermann. in July 2023. After his arrest, Heuermann, a resident of Massapequa, Long Island, pleaded not guilty to six counts of first- and second-degree murder, and has maintained his innocence, according to his defense attorney.
Brainard-Barnes was last seen in New York City on July 9, 2007. When authorities discovered her body, she was found bound with three leather belts. According to the public bail application for Heuermann, hair found on Brainard-Barnes' remains was a forensic match to Huermann's wife Asa Ellerup, suggesting the belt came from Heuermann's home.
Prosecutors say the murders of the women occurred while Ellerup and her children were out of state, “allowing defendant Heuermann unlimited time to carry out his plans for each victim without any fear that his family would find out or learn about his participation in these crimes. ”
Police also linked Heuermann's phone accounts to burner phones used to schedule meetings with three of the four victims and a burner phone she used to call and check Brainard-Barnes' voicemail after she was reported missing.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney held a press conference Tuesday where he confirmed the additional charges and said the prosecution looks forward to proving the allegations in court and providing a “small measure of closure for family members.”
“Maureen was an intellectual. He was a writer. He was an artistic person. He cared very deeply about the people he loved,” Tierney said Tuesday. “She was a devoted sister, devoted mother, devoted daughter. She is greatly missed by those who loved her.”
Heuermann is due back in court in February.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/long-island-serial-killer-rex-heuermann-charge-murder-1234947419/
