A former Manhattan architect, once living a double life as the Gilgo Beach serial killer, will receive his sentence on Wednesday. This decision comes after Rex Heuermann admitted to killing eight women, closing a haunting case on Long Island that lasted nearly twenty years.

Heuermann is expected to receive several life sentences in the Riverhead, New York court at approximately 9:30 a.m. Both he and the victims’ families will have a chance to make statements.

In early April, Heuermann pleaded guilty to charges related to seven murders. He also admitted to causing Karen Vergata’s death but was not charged for her murder due to a plea agreement.

The victims include, from top left to bottom: Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Costello, Sandra Costilla, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, Karen Vergata, and Megan Waterman. They were recognized through efforts by the Suffolk County Police Department.

Heuermann, who resided in Massapequa Park, was arrested in 2023. Key evidence included DNA from a discarded pizza crust found in a midtown Manhattan trash can. This arrest revived a cold case that had confounded investigators and caused great distress to the victims’ families.

Charges were filed for the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Costello, 27. These women disappeared in 2009 and 2010. They were sex workers, and their bodies were discovered in Gilgo Beach in 2010, bound at the head, midsection, and legs using burlap material.

In 2024, Heuermann was also charged with murdering a fourth victim, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25. Further charges included the deaths of Jessica Taylor, 20, missing since 2003, Sandra Costilla, 28, with remains found in Southampton in 1993, and Valerie Mack, 24, who vanished in 2000.

The serial murders caused fear among Long Island residents, a large and densely urban area with middle-class and affluent families. Many professionals in this community travel daily to New York City.