Rex Heuermann was already charged in connection with the deaths of four women whose bodies were found on Long Island.
At a hearing on Long Island, New York, on Thursday, suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann was indicted on fresh counts of second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of two women, Sandra Costilla in 1993 and Jessica Taylor in 2003. DNA from male and female hairs found on Costilla and Taylor’s remains connected the married father of two, who was first detained last year in connection with the killings of the four young women known as the “Gilgo Four,” according to prosecutors in a court filing.
Heuermann had already been charged with murders of other four women, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes after burner phones and DNA evidence discovered on the victims was linked to him. The remains of the four women were discovered in December 2010 in an area near Gilgo Beach in Long island, New York. It was also confirmed that all for women worked as escorts before their disappearance between 2007 and 2010.
In addition to murder charges of Jessica Taylor, the suspected killer is also being charges for dismemberment. Taylor remains were discovered on 26th July,2003 by a witness walking their dog. As per the amended charge, she was discovered “lying on her back with her legs bent underneath her.”
According to the same indictment released on Thursday, her arms had also been cut off and a tattoo on her torso had been “severely obliterated by a sharp object”. In March 2011, her forearm, hands, and skull were discovered 40 miles from the Gilgo Beach victims’ locations. A tattoo bearing her pimp’s name helped identify her remains.
Sandra costilla was found “lying on her back with her arms outstretched over her head with her uncovered legs spread apart,” as per the indictment, when her remains were located on Nov. 20, 1993, by two hunters in a rural area. Costilla also suffered many “sharp force injuries” across her body.
In the past, Costilla’s murder was connected to the deaths of Rita Tangredi and Colleen McNamee. For those killings, authorities detained John Bittroloff in 2014. After being found guilty, he is currently serving a 50-year term in upstate New York’s Dannemore Prison.
However, because Bittroloff denied the crime and the DNA from the deaths of McNamee and Tangredi was missing, he was never charged with Costilla’s murder.
Heuermann was ordered to be detained without bail after entering a not guilty plea to the murders of Taylor and Costilla during the hearing.
In a search conducted in Rex Heuerman’s home, Gilgo Beach taskforce found incriminating evidence which included a ‘planning document’ of his crimes. Along with practical lessons for “next time,” the all-caps document includes a series of checklists with tasks to accomplish before, during, and after the killings. Numerous notes are written, including reminders to “have story set,” “get sleep before hunt,” and “clean the bodies and destroy evidence.” The taskforce also found Heuermann’s “significant collection” of torture porn, including images of breast mutilation and vaginal torture. He apparently looked up his supposed victims’ family on the internet as well.
