RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (1010 WINS/AP) — Rex Heuermann, the alleged serial killer in the Gilgo Beach murders, was charged Tuesday with the murder of a seventh woman, Valerie Mack, prompting him to shout out in court for the first time.
Heuermann, 61, was charged by superseding indictment with second-degree murder in the killing of Mack, a 24-year-old New Jersey woman whose partial remains were found in Manorville in 2000 and at Gilgo Beach in 2011.
Heuermann pleaded not guilty and shouted towards the judge while shaking his head, "Your honor, I am not guilty of any of these charges."
According to prosecutors, human hair found with Mack’s remains was sent for testing earlier this year and found to be a likely match with the genetic profile of Heuermann’s daughter. His daughter is not accused of any wrongdoing and would have been 3 or 4 years old when Mack died.
Mack's torso was found in Manorville in November 2000, while her head, hands and right foot were found at Gilgo 11 years later. Prosecutors believe Heuermann removed a tattoo from Mack's ankle that had the name of her young son in an effort to make sure she was never identified. She was ultimately identified through genetic testing in 2020.
Heuermann's defense attorney, Michael Brown, had no comment from court. During the hearing, he was asked to file his motion for a change of venue for the trial, if that's what he wants. The next hearing is set for Jan. 15, 2025.
District Attorney Ray Tierney indicated over the summer that Heuermann was a suspect in the killing of Mack, who had been working as an escort in Philadelphia and was last seen by her family in New Jersey in 2000.
In court papers on Tuesday, prosecutors said the document, which was created the same year as Mack’s murder, includes details that align with her case. For example, it names “Mill Road” — a road near where Mack’s first remains were found — under the heading “DS,” which investigators believe stands for “dump site.”
The document also lists “foam drain cleaner” under “Supplies.” Prosecutors say that on Oct. 3, 2000, Heuermann’s phone records appear to show him making two calls to a Long Island plumbing company, and he paid another company about $265 in November 2000 to check the mainline drain at his house. Prosecutors believe Mack was killed between Sept. 1 and Nov. 19 of that year, according to the indictment.
Asked if calls to the plumbers suggested some of the murders took place at the home, Tierney said evidence, including a planning document and staining on the walls, "is consistent with the commission of those murders occurring at the home."
"If you look at all the victims in the context of all of the evidence in the case, it would certainly appear that the house figured prominently," Tierney said. "And again, with many if not all of the victims we were able to establish that the family was out of the house at the time the victims went missing."
Heuermann was already charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla. He pleaded not guilty and has denied involvement in all of their deaths.
“The lives of these women matter. We, as investigators, understand that. No one understands that more than the families,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said at a news conference with Mack's parents and other victims' relatives.
Mack's parents didn't speak. But four other victims' relatives gave the Macks roses and hugs and, through an attorney, expressed their sadness and solidarity.
“They were, and they are, loved. And they are missed every day by those who knew them and who had a strong bond with them,” said Gloria Allred, who represents the families of Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor and Megan Waterman.
He was initially charged in the deaths of three women and was subsequently charged earlier this year in the deaths of three more women. In a June court filing, prosecutors said they had recovered a file on a hard drive in Heuermann’s basement that he used to “methodically blueprint” his killings — including checklists with tasks to tick off before, during and afterwards, as well as lessons for “next time.”
The investigation into the Gilgo Beach killings dates back to 2010, when police searching for a missing woman found 10 sets of human remains in the scrub along Ocean Parkway, prompting fears of a serial killer.
Heuermann, who lived with his wife and two children in Massapequa Park in Nassau County and commuted to a Midtown Manhattan architecture office, was arrested on July 13, 2023.
In addition to Mack, prosecutors are also looking into the death of Karen Vergata, whose remains were first discovered in 1996 and finally identified in 2022 after a new DNA analysis.
In September, authorities also released new renderings of an unidentified victim who was found in 2011. Officials said the victim, who for years they had identified as male, may have presented outwardly as female and died in 2006.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.