Gilgo Beach murders body count stops at 7 as feds release $13M in frozen funds to prosecutors: DA
The body count stops at seven.Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Wednesday that the investigation into alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has ended — as he revealed the feds released $13 million in frozen funds for the prosecution.“There comes a time when we have to say that, a case has an investigation phase, a grand jury phase, a pretrial phase and then a trial phase,” Tierney told reporters after Heuermann’s latest court appearance.“So, that investigation phase, in regard to this case, is pretty much closed,” he said.
“That is not to say we’re not investigating other unsolved cases in Suffolk County which we will be doing all along.”Heuermann, 61, stands accused of killing seven sex workers since 1993 and dumping them along Ocean Parkway — with the remains found between 2010 and 2011.The murders remained unsolved until Heuermann was arrested in July 2023 and charged with the deaths of three women — Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy.In January 2024 he was also charged with killing Maureen Brainard-Barnes, with the four women collectively known as the “Gilgo Four” among locals.Tierney ultimately charged Heuermann with three other murders — Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla, the first victim, who was killed in 1993.Police have searched Heuermann’s Massapequa Park home twice since his arrest, and have been prepping for what promises to be a high-profile murder trial.On Wednesday, Tierney said the prosecution received a boost with the recent release of millions of dollars in federal funds that were being withheld due to a past corruption probe in the county.
“Unbelievably, seemingly out of nowhere,” he said.“The investigation is over and we’re going to be getting access to that money.
Last time I checked it was about $13 million.”The DA’s office and Heuermann’s lawyer, Michael Brown, have been embroiled in a legal back-and-forth in anticipation of the t...