Gilgo Beach killings: Accused serial killer Rex Heuermann expected to appear at court hearing today

Alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann will return to a Riverhead courtroom Wednesday, marking his second appearance since his arraignment on a superseding indictment charging him in six killings dating back to 1993.

Heuermann, 61, of Massapequa Park, is expected to make a brief appearance during a conference on the case, which has not yet been certified ready for trial. The conference is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. before State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei, court officials said.

Following Heuermann’s most recent appearance in July, defense attorney Michael J. Brown, of Central Islip, said the defense intends to file in the coming months a motion to separate the first four killings for which Heuermann was charged from the two most recent charges.

Other defense motions, including a change of venue, might also be filed before a trial, Brown said. No new motions have been filed in the case since that time.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has said Heuermann remains a suspect in other killings and could face additional charges at a later date.

Heuermann, a New York City architect, has been charged in the killings of six women: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla. He has pleaded not guilty to multiple first-degree and second-degree murder charges in connection with their deaths.

The investigations span 30 years, from the 1993 death of Costilla to Heuermann’s arrest in July 2023. Heuermann, who was first indicted in the killings of Barthelemy, Waterman and Costello, was charged in Brainard-Barnes’ death in January and with killing Taylor and Costilla in June.

Barthelemy, Waterman, Costello, Brainard-Barnes and Taylor are among 11 sets of human remains found at Gilgo Beach between 2010 and 2011. Additional remains of Taylor were located in Manorville shortly after her disappearance in 2003. Castilla’s body was found in North Sea around the time of her death in November 1993.

Each of the women has been associated with sex work, prosecutors have said.

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.