Gilgo Beach killings: New details about remains of Gilgo Four revealed, document shows

Suffolk prosecutors revealed that the remains of each of the Gilgo Four were found “completely nude” and restrained by either tape, burlap or belts in a recent filing in the case against alleged serial killer Rex A. Heuermann, a document obtained by Newsday shows.

The new details were shared in a bill of particulars requested by Heuermann’s defense team, which alleged prosecutors have not disclosed to Heuermann how they believe he killed the alleged victims, where the deaths occurred or how they intend to prove the slayings were part of a common scheme.

In the Feb. 14 demand letter, Heuermann defense attorney Danielle Coysh argued the superseding indictment charging the Manhattan architect with multiple murder counts does not provide enough information for him to properly prepare his defense.

“Every count of the indictment merely repetitively parrots statutory language alleging Mr. Heuermann ‘caused the death’ of each victim,” Coysh wrote. “This language is so vague and nonspecific as to be virtually meaningless, leaving Mr. Heuermann in complete ignorance of the substance of accusations against him.”

Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Andrew Lee stated in the March 6 bill of particulars that prosecutors have already provided Coysh and co-counsel Michael J. Brown with the information through the discovery process.

Lee said 12 terabytes of data, including a transcript of the grand jury presentation, 85 grand jury exhibits, autopsy reports, photographs from the crime scene and the medical examiner’s office, search warrants and affidavits were provided in discovery. The prosecutor said the defense was also given paperwork from the Suffolk County Police Department and its crime lab, as well as outside laboratory documentation, “all of which adequately detail the conduct for which defendant is charged.”

“Given the information in the indictment, the factual information provided within this bill of particulars, the written bail applications filed on July 14, 2023 and Jan. 16, 2024, as well as the voluminous discovery provided, the defendant is well-situated to prepare a defense,” Lee wrote.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, through a spokesperson, declined to comment for this story.

Brown, Heuermann's lead attorney, could not be reached for comment.

Heuermann, 60, of Massapequa Park, was arrested in New York City last July 13. The following afternoon he pleaded not guilty to first- and second-degree murder charges in the killings of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Lynn Costello, whose remains were found near Gilgo Beach more than 13 years ago.

He again pleaded not guilty in January to the superseding indictment, which added a fourth count of second-degree murder in the slaying of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, whose remains were found near the other alleged victims. All four of the women — the first of 10 sets of remains found along Ocean Parkway that are believed to be the work of one or more serial killers — were sex workers.

Prosecutors have said Heuermann had hundreds of contacts with sex workers in the years before he was arrested. He was connected to the crime primarily through cell site data, burner phone records and DNA evidence linking him to the women and the location where the bodies were found, prosecutors have said.

The demand served by the defense contained 35 questions for prosecutors relating to all seven counts in the indictment, records show. Several questions related to the specific location where prosecutors believe Heuermann may have killed the women, arguing the indictment “merely alleges that the crime occurred in the State of New York.” The defense also inquired if prosecutors believe Heuermann “acted as a principal, accomplice or both.”

In the bill of particulars, prosecutors wrote that they do believe Heuermann acted alone and that the cause of each woman’s death was “homicidal violence.” Prosecutors further state that the time and place of each death is contained in the grand jury minutes and other discovery materials, though they stopped short of providing more specific details.

As for how prosecutors maintain the four deaths were part of a common scheme, Lee wrote that all the victims were sex workers in their 20s advertising their services online and that they were all contacted by burner phones utilized in locations consistent with Heuermann’s whereabouts.

The prosecutor also argued that the remains were discovered "completely nude" and bounded within proximity to each other, that five hairs connected to Heuermann or a family member were recovered from three of the four sets of remains and that “each victim’s disappearance and murder occurred at times when defendant’s wife and children were traveling out of state.”

“[This] allowed defendant sufficient time to execute his plans for each victim without fear that his family would uncover or learn of his commission of these crimes,” Lee wrote.

In New York Criminal Procedure Law, a bill of particulars is a written statement by the prosecutor specifying items of factual information not recited in the indictment.

Prosecutors may respond in part, in full or object to the request.

“The district attorney can go to the judge and say, ‘That’s too much information,' ” Riverhead attorney and retired State Supreme Court Justice William Condon said of the bill of particulars process. “The defense can also go before the court and say, ‘This is not an overly broad request and we require this information to prepare our defense.’ The court will decide.”

Those conversations would most likely occur in the judge’s chambers on a conference date, Condon said.

Heuermann has been held without bail at the Suffolk County jail since his arrest. He is due back before State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei for a conference April 17.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.