Gilgo Beach killings: Labor judgment filed against suspect Rex Heuermann, court filings show
Accused Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann appears in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead in August. Credit: James Carbone
The state commissioner of labor filed a $68,560 judgment Tuesday against alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann for wages and penalties owed to a former executive assistant.
The judgment, filed in State Supreme Court in Albany by Commissioner Roberta Reardon, states that Heuermann had agreed in 2021 to pay the former employee of his Manhattan architecture firm nearly $20,000 in underpaid wages and vacation pay from February 2017 to March 2018 plus interest, liquidated damages and civil penalties amounting to nearly $85,000.
To date, Heuermann, owner of RH Consultants and Associates, has paid just $16,385 of what is owed, according to the filing.
“The sum of $68,560.84 remains outstanding and the time for such payments as provided by law has expired,” Reardon wrote in the filing.
The employee, Donna Sturman, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Heuermann has been housed in the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverhead since his arraignment July 14. He has pleaded not guilty to first- and second-degree murder charges in the killings of three women — Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Lynn Costello — whose remains were found near Gilgo Beach 13 years ago.
Authorities also have said Heuermann is the “prime suspect” in the slaying of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, whose remains were found with the other three victims.
Accused Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann appears before Judge Timothy P. Mazzei in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead on Tuesday. Credit: James Carbone
Heuermann is next due to appear before State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei in criminal court in Riverhead Sept. 27.
This is the second civil filing against Heuermann in state court since his arrest. His wife, Asa Ellerup, previously filed for divorce July 19. He also has a pending motor vehicle claim he filed against a Cutchogue couple in June 2022.
Heuermann’s attorney Michael Brown of Central Islip did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.
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