Rex Heuermann, who has been charged with murdering seven women over the course of 17 years, is expected to plead guilty during his upcoming court appearance, according to the Associated Press. The 62-year-old suspected Long Island Serial Killer is scheduled to appear in court on April 8.
AP reports that the families of Heuermann’s alleged victims as well as his own family have been notified of the decision to change his plea. The decision will not be official until it is submitted during the appearance, at which time the presiding judge will still have to accept the plea.
The victims connected to the case include Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello, Sandra Costilla, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, and Megan Waterman. Heuermann was originally arrested in July 2023 and charged with murdering three: Barthelemy, Waterman, and Costello. Charges pertaining to the fourth victim, Brainard-Barnes, were brought in January 2025. In June 2024, authorities charged Heuermann with the murders of two additional victims, Taylor and Costilla.
Heuermann previously pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The Gilgo Beach investigation dates back to 2010, when investigators discovered the bodies of 10 victims along a stretch Long Island’s southern coast. It largely centered around the “Gilgo Four” — Barthelemy, Waterman, Costello, and Brainard-Barnes — all four victims were sex workers at the time of their deaths and found wrapped similarly in burlap. (The other six victims included four women — Taylor among them — a man, and a toddler.) Investigators zeroed in on Heuermann as a suspect in 2022. They discovered that he’d once owned a Chevrolet Avalanche — the same car model a witness had mentioned seeing in connection to the Costello murder.
DNA evidence tied Heuermann to male hair recovered from the bodies of Costilla and Taylor, as well as male hair found in the burlap sack that contained Waterman’s remains. Police alleged that Heuermann targeted escorts and sex workers because he thought they weren’t likely to go to authorities for help.
