The man suspected of serial killings on New York’s Long Island was charged with two more counts of murder, according to The Associated Press.
Rex Heuermann, 60, was charged in connection to the deaths of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla. The charges come after authorities expanded their search for possible human remains on Long Island, WABC reported in April.
The new charges come almost a year after Heuermann’s bombshell arrest in the case. For years, remains had been found along Long Island’s Gilgo Beach with no suspect, sparking fear in the community. Heuermann was initially charged in the deaths of Megan Waterman, 22, Amber Lynn Costello, 27, and Melissa Barthelemy, 24. He was then charged in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes; the four women had been known as the Gilgo Four.
Heuermann, a longtime Long Island resident, was arrested outside his Manhattan architecture firm’s office in July of last year after detectives obtained DNA evidence from a pizza box he had thrown out in Midtown that linked him to Waterman’s case, according to a bail application obtained by HuffPost.
Detectives also reviewed Heuermann’s cellphone data, which revealed he allegedly used burner phones to arrange meetings with his victims before killing them, according to the bail application. Prosecutors also alleged that Heuermann used Brainard-Barnes’ and Barthelemy’s cellphones after their deaths.
According to the filing, Heuermann allegedly killed the women while his wife and children were traveling out of state or out of the country so they would not “uncover or learn of his involvement in these crimes.”
Heuermann’s now ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, filed for divorce last year shortly after his arrest. She has come out publicly to say her family’s life was “turned upside down by the enormous police presence, in addition to the spectators, and news crews.” The family’s home became the center of a massive search effort as police sought evidence, including potential “trophies” that belonged to the victims.
