Long Island architect sentenced to life without parole for eight murders

A Long Island architect received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole on June 17 for the murders of eight women. Rex Heuermann, 62, of Massapequa Park, pleaded guilty in April to three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of second-degree murder. He also admitted during his allocution to killing an eighth victim, Karen Vergata, whom he was never charged with murdering.

The court imposed three consecutive life terms for the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. It added four consecutive terms of 25 years to life for the killings of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla and Valerie Mack.

The combined sentence matched the agreement Heuermann accepted in April. Roughly 10 to 15 relatives of the victims addressed the court before the sentence was handed down. The room filled with applause once the proceeding concluded.

Prosecutors presented a document they said Heuermann wrote mapping how he chose, killed and disposed of victims, with body locations logged as dump sites. "Eight young women were needlessly and brutally murdered at the hand of this defendant," District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in court.

The judge stated he assumed the defendant was "a little bit sorry for the eight women you strangled" and called him a coward.

The killings stretched back to a 1993 strangulation and continued through 2010. Police arrested Heuermann in July 2023 after a long investigation. Investigators connected him to the victims through DNA and burner phone records. He maintained his innocence after the arrest before reversing course this spring. Officials suspect he may be tied to additional deaths.