Alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has been charged for the murder of a seventh female victim, Valerie Mack, whose remains were found both near Gilgo Beach and in Manorville.
Ms. Mack’s murder had previously been linked to Mr. Heuermann, but the latest twist in the long-running Gilgo Beach Homicide Task Force investigation was officially revealed in a Riverhead courtroom on Tuesday.
The lengthy bail application document outlines several evidentiary developments, including notes specific to Ms. Mack made in a Microsoft Word file Mr. Heuermann created to “plan out” his alleged “kills,” internet searches made from devices controlled by the defendant around the time Ms. Mack was first identified and mitochondrial DNA results of a female’s hair found on Ms. Mack’s body consistent to the DNA profiles of Mr. Heuermann’s family members.
The task force also found that Mr. Heuermann possessed numerous media publications relating to the “Gilgo Four”, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor and Ms. Mack — which they believe the defendant kept as “mementos” of his crimes.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said all the current information listed in the document are still allegations, but he noted that the task force is eager to present its discoveries at trial.
“Valerie is very similar to the other victims in this case, an extraordinary person, the family are extraordinary people,” Mr. Tierney said in press conference following the court proceeding. “[The Mack family] are very grateful for the small bit of closure that the task force has been able to provide.”
Mr. Heuermann, 60, of Massapequa Park is now indicted on multiple felony charges, including three counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of second-degree murder. He is accused of the July 2003 killing of Ms. Taylor, whose partial remains were found in Manorville, and the death of Ms. Costilla, whose body was found in Southampton more than 30 years ago.
The timeline of the alleged killings spans nearly 17 years and the charges include the deaths of the so-called “Gilgo Four”: Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, Megan Waterman and Maureen Brainard-Barnes. The remains of those victims were recovered along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach between the fall of 2010 and the spring of 2011. The times of their deaths range from July 2007 to September 2010.
When asked how he pleads to the latest charge by Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei, Mr. Heuermann denied all allegations against him.
“Your Honor, I am not guilty of any of these charges,” Mr. Heuermann said.
Ms. Mack is believed to have been working as a sex worker between 1996 and 2000 primarily in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, according to the bail document. A recent independent review conducted by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Ms. Mack’s death may have occurred between September and November 2000, when she was 24-years old.
Ms. Mack’s body was discovered by a group of hunters on November 19, 2000 in a wooded area off Mill Road in Manorville. Three years later, on July 26, 2003, Ms. Taylor’s partial remains were found just west of Halsey Manor Road — approximately a half mile from Ms. Mack’s discovery site, the court documents stated. For 20 years, Ms. Mack was known as the “Manorville Jane Doe” or “Jane Doe #6,” before law enforcement publicly identified her in 2020.
One significant piece of evidence presented in Mr. Heuermann’s most recent bail application was the mitochondrial DNA of a female hair found on Ms. Mack’s partial remains. This hair underwent forensic analysis which revealed it to be consistent with the mitochondrial DNA profiles of Asa Ellerup, Mr. Heuermann’s now estranged wife, and his daughter, Victoria Heuermann, who would have been three or four-years-old at the time of Ms. Mack’s disappearance and murder. Neither Ms. Ellerup or Ms. Heuermann have been considered suspects or accused of any criminal involvement.
The taskforce claimed that the forensic evidence of six of the seven victims potentially linked to Mr. Heuermann, his immediate family members and others who resided with him support the accusation that he murdered then transported the remains of each victim.
A word document labeled “HK2002-04,” which the Gilgo Beach Task Force considers Mr. Heuermann’s blueprint to plan his “kills,” was mentioned in the indictment. The DA noted the description of the phrase “DS-1, Mill Rd.” in the HK document, which prosecutors say alludes to the first “dump site” as being Mill Road.
In 2011, Ms. Mack’s “skeletonized skull, hands and right foot” were found near Ocean Parkway, which is believed to be the “DS-2” or second dump site, in Mr. Heuermann’s document. Additionally, the original HK Planning Document may have been created in 2000, which coincides with the year Ms. Mack was murdered, evidence showed.
Aside from the location, similarities between the dismemberment of the women and the use of garbage bags to store the remains were drawn between Ms. Taylor and Ms. Mack. Most notably, a forensic analysis of the cut bones of both victims led to the conclusion from the taskforce that a “hand-powered saw, with similar blade widths” was used on both women.
The HK Planning Document outlined “Body Prep” instructions, which included the sentence “Remove ID Marks [Tattoos, Marks…].” Ms. Mack’s right leg, where she had a tattoo of her son’s name, was dismembered, which the taskforce believe was intended to prevent any identification. The mutilation of Ms. Taylor’s tattoo was done “in a similar fashion,” the court document stated.
If Mr. Heuermann is convicted on the current charges, he faces multiple life sentences without parole.
Families of the other victims showed their support and shared condolences for Ms. Mack’s adoptive parents, Edwin and JoAnn Mack, by giving them roses in honor of their daughter during a press conference.
Attorney Gloria Allred spoke on behalf of the victims’ families, who she represents, describing them as “some of the most courageous people” who have been through “horrific experiences,” but continue to support each other and show their strength during this time.
“There can be no healing without justice and no justice unless whoever committed these most serious crimes against the victims is held accountable in a court of law,” Ms. Allred said.
A fyre hearing — a court proceeding where scientific evidence is considered for admissibility — is expected to take place in late February or early March.
Michael Brown, defense attorney for Mr. Heuermann, said he had not received discovery documents on the new charges prior to the court proceeding, but will look to make a motion for the fyre hearing and a second motion to separate some of the felony counts.
“What prosecutors like to do often is kind of bootstrap — use one case and bootstrap it to another — take some evidence from one case and [hope] the jury thinks and looks at that evidence to help convict somebody of another charge,” Mr. Brown said. “That is not how a trial should be and that’s not how it should go in this case — each case should rise and fall on its own.”