Gilgo Beach Killer’s Sentence Announced As He Speaks In Court: ‘I’m Responsible’

Rex Heuermann, the confessed Gilgo Beach killer who admitted to murdering eight women over a span of 17 years, was sentenced Wednesday to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Suffolk County Judge Timothy Mazzei handed down three consecutive life sentences without parole, followed by four consecutive terms of 25 years to life — the maximum punishment allowed under New York law.

Before receiving his sentence, the 62-year-old addressed the court.

“I’m responsible,” he said. “The words I would say have no meaning.”

One victim’s relative pressed him to say more, prompting Mazzei to step in.

“I know that you’re sorry you got caught. I assume you’re sorry for what you did to your wife and children…Are you at least a little bit sorry for what you did to these eight women?”

Heuermann nodded and said he was.

“You’re a disgusting and despicable small man, if you’re a man at all,” Mazzei told him. “And you’re a coward.”

After imposing the maximum sentence, the judge instructed court officers to “get him out of here.”

Judge unloads on Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann … calling him a “disgusting and small man” … moments before he sentenced him to multiple life terms https://t.co/iO9ECFRtgT pic.twitter.com/6563G6ZkIO

— Steven Bognar (@Bogs4NY) June 17, 2026

Heuermann pleaded guilty on April 8 to the murders of seven women and admitted responsibility for an eighth victim who was not included in the charges.

The victims were found in multiple locations across Long Island, from the Hamptons to Gilgo Beach. Some had been dismembered, and all were strangled.

They were identified as Sandra Costilla, 28, whose body was found in North Sea; Karen Vergata, 34, whose remains were discovered on Fire Island and near Tobay Beach; Valerie Mack, 24, found in Manorville and along Ocean Parkway; and Jessica Taylor, 20, whose remains were also recovered in Manorville and near Gilgo Beach.

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Investigators also tied Heuermann to the so-called Gilgo Four — Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25; Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Megan Waterman, 22; and Amber Lynn Costello, 27. Their remains were found in dense brush along Ocean Parkway east of Gilgo Beach.

The case first captured national attention in 2010 after 23-year-old Shannan Gilbert vanished following a series of frantic 911 calls from the Oak Beach community.

While searching for Gilbert, authorities uncovered the remains of 10 other victims before finding Gilbert’s body in December 2011.

Officials ultimately ruled Gilbert’s death accidental, but evidence collected during the wider investigation eventually led detectives to Heuermann more than a decade later.

Authorities arrested the Manhattan architect in 2023 and initially charged him with the murders of three of the Gilgo Four. Additional evidence later expanded the case, and by the time Heuermann entered his guilty plea this spring, he had been charged with seven killings.

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Prosecutors said investigators uncovered extensive forensic and digital evidence, including hairs linked to Heuermann’s ex-wife and daughter that were allegedly transferred to some of the victims. Detectives also recovered a computer file containing notes on avoiding capture, lists of supplies for kill kits, traffic camera locations and instructions to use push-pins instead of tape when hanging a drop cloth.

Court records showed Heuermann’s family members were out of town during each killing, and authorities have not accused them of taking part in any of the crimes.

Three other victims discovered in the Gilgo Beach area have not been linked to Heuermann.

Andrew Dykes, 66, of Florida, has been charged in the 1997 murders of Tanya Denise Jackson, 27, and her 2-year-old daughter, Tatiana Marie Dykes.

Investigators are also still working to identify the victim known as “Asian Doe,” whose skeletal remains were discovered near Gilgo Beach during the search for Gilbert in 2011.

Authorities believe the victim was of southern Chinese ancestry and between 17 and 23 years old at the time of death, which investigators estimate occurred in or before April 2006.

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