Rex Heuermann, charged with the killing of six women in a now infamous crime case referred to as "the Gilgo Beach killings," appeared in court on Tuesday to respond to a seventh charge linking him to the death of an additional woman, according to an indictment filed in Suffolk County Supreme Court.
Maintaining his innocence, Heuermann told the judge overseeing his appearance, "Your honor, I'm not guilty of any of these charges."
Initially arrested in July 2023 and charged with murder in the killings of four women — Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes — Heuermann was hit with two additional second-degree murder charges the following year for the deaths of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla, pleading not guilty to all of them.
Now linked to the death of Mack, whose partial remains were found in November 2000 on eastern Long Island in New York and traced back to the suspect via human hair found on Mack’s left wrist — which led prosecutors to the DNA profiles of Heuermann’s wife and daughter, Asa Ellerup and Victoria Heuermann, according to CNN — Heuermann’s attorney, Michael Brown, says his client was "surprised" by the latest charge and is “adamant that he did not do these crimes.”
“The Mack family is emblematic of the other families in this case, who have steadfast stood by their loved ones and zealously guarded their memories,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a news conference after the court appearance.
Watch the "Salon Talks" episode with Deborah Norville below to hear the Emmy Award-winning journalist talk more about the case:
