Long Island Serial Killer

The Long Island Serial Killer: A Timeline of Crimes and Victims

By Ximena Rodríguez-López

Long Island, NY - The Long Island Serial Killer (LISK) is believed to be responsible for the murders of at least ten women whose remains were discovered along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach, Long Island, New York, between 2010 and 2011. The case remained unsolved for over a decade until the arrest of Rex Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect from Massapequa Park, in July 2023.

The first discovery of remains occurred on December 11, 2010, when police, in search of missing escort Shannan Gilbert, stumbled upon the body of Melissa Barthelemy. Two days later, on December 13, 2010, the remains of three other women—Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes—were found in the same area. These four women, all petite sex workers who advertised on Craigslist, became known as the "Gilgo Four."

Shannan Gilbert herself was reported missing on May 1, 2010, after making a frantic 911 call from Oak Beach, a gated community east of Gilgo Beach. She disappeared after visiting a client, Joseph Brewer, and running into the night screaming that someone was trying to kill her. Her remains were finally found on December 13, 2011, in a marsh near Oak Beach. Though authorities initially ruled her death an accident, independent experts and her family have long argued that she was another victim of LISK.

Additional remains were discovered in March and April of 2011. On March 29, 2011, police uncovered partial remains of Jessica Taylor, whose other body parts had been found in Manorville, New York, in 2003. On April 4, 2011, authorities found three more sets of remains: Valerie Mack (previously unidentified and known as "Jane Doe No. 6"), an unidentified toddler, and an unidentified Asian male dressed in women’s clothing. The following day, April 5, 2011, the skull of an unidentified woman, later named "Peaches" due to a tattoo on her body, was located in Nassau County. Peaches’ torso had previously been found in 1997 in Hempstead Lake State Park.

The women targeted by the Long Island Serial Killer were sex workers, most of whom used Craigslist or other online services to find clients. Heuermann allegedly used burner phones to contact his victims, luring them with high-paying offers before killing them. His access to these women was facilitated by their profession’s inherent dangers, as sex workers often operate in isolated locations with little protection. Many of the victims were strangled, and their remains were carefully wrapped and disposed of along the desolate coastal highway.

Rex Heuermann was identified as a suspect through a combination of forensic evidence, phone records, and surveillance. DNA found on the burlap used to wrap some victims, as well as on a pizza box Heuermann discarded, helped link him to the murders. Additionally, cell phone data placed him near the locations where the victims disappeared and where their bodies were eventually discovered. His arrest on July 13, 2023, marked a significant breakthrough in one of the most notorious serial killer cases in recent U.S. history.

The case continues to develop as investigators search for additional victims and determine whether Heuermann was involved in other unsolved murders. Families of the victims and advocates for sex workers are pushing for better protections and systemic changes to prevent such crimes in the future.