Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann charged with 7th death

RIVERHEAD, Long Island (WABC) -- Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has been charged in the death of a seventh woman.

Heuermann is charged with one count of second-degree murder in connection with the murder of Valerie Mack, according to a superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Mack, whose remains were first found on Long Island in 2000. Mack, 24, had been working as an escort in Philadelphia and was last seen by her family that year in New Jersey.

A hunter's dog discovered some of Mack's remains in a wooded area of Manorville on November 19, 2000. The remains were in a black plastic bag wrapped with duct tape.

The bag contained additional plastic bags that contained Mack's decapitated body.

"Moreover, both of her hands had been severed from her body, above the wrists, and the victim's right leg had also been cut off from her body at the mid calf," according to a bail application that accompanied the new indictment. "Ms. Mack's torso, legs and arms were also bound with rope."

The rest of her remains were found more than a decade later, in April 2011, along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach.

Heuermann pleaded not guilty to killing Mack.

"Your honor, I am not guilty of any of these charges," Heuermann said.

He appeared shackled in a suit and was only before the judge for a few moments. Judge Timothy Mazzei continued to hold Heuermann without bail.

The defense was given until next month to file motions related to evidence. The defense has questioned the DNA methods prosecutors used and may try to limit admissibility at trial. The defense is also considering whether to ask the judge to sever any of the murder charges from others.

Prosecutors said they linked Heuermann to Mack's death in part through a mitochondrial DNA analysis of a female hair found on Mack's body. It matched the profiles of Heuermann's wife and daughter, the bail application said. At the time of Mack's murder, Heuermann's daughter would have been between 3 and 4 years old.

Prosecutors said they also linked Heuermann to Mack's death through evidence recovered on some of the 350 electronic devices they seized from him that include his "significant collection of violent, bondage and torture pornography" dating back to at least 1994.

This online collection included images of breast mutilation and tying up women with rope, two things prosecutors said are consistent with injuries inflicted on Mack's breast and how she was bound.

Investigators said they found one document that they believe Heumerann used to "plan out" his kills. The document was created in 2000, the year Mack was killed. Under a section entitled "supplies" Heuermann allegedly listed "rope/cord," "saw/cutting tools," "foam drain cleaner." Under a section labeled "DS," believed to stand for "dump site," Heuermann allegedly listed one of the locations were Mack's remains were found.

The document also included a "body prep" section with a note to "remove head and hands," according to the bail application. That relates to the condition of Mack's remains, prosecutors said.

"The lives of these women matter. We, as investigators, understand that. No one understands that more than the families," Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said at a news conference with Mack's parents and other victims' relatives.

Families of other Gilgo victims presented flowers to the parents of Valerie Mack, Joanne and Edwin Mack, after the hearing.

Mack's parents didn't speak. But four other victims' relatives gave the Macks roses and hugs and, through an attorney, expressed their sadness and solidarity.

"They were, and they are, loved. And they are missed every day by those who knew them and who had a strong bond with them," said Gloria Allred, who represents the families of Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor and Megan Waterman.

Outside of court, Heuermann's lawyer Michael Brown disputed the evidence presented in Mack's death, noting that hair samples collected from Mack's body were recovered more than a year ago and saying the DNA technology used to connect her and other victims to his client has never been deemed reliable in a New York case.

He also argued that Tierney's office has yet to produce any proof any victims' DNA was found in Heuermann's home, including the many weapons and tools seized during recent searches of the property.

"There's something a little weird about these allegations," Brown said. "Something that doesn't sit right."

Heuermann is charged with killing six other women whose remains were found on Long Island.

The investigation into the Gilgo Beach killings dates back to 2010, when police searching for a missing woman found 10 sets of human remains in the scrub along a barrier island parkway, prompting fears of a serial killer.

Over the years, investigators used DNA analysis and other clues to identify the victims, many of whom were sex workers. In some cases, they connected them to remains found elsewhere on Long Island years earlier. Police also began reexamining other unsolved killings of women found dead on Long Island.

The case has dragged on through five police commissioners, more than 1,000 tips and doubts about whether there was a serial killer at all.

Heuermann, who lived with his wife and two children in Massapequa Park on Long Island and commuted to a Manhattan architecture office, was arrested on July 13, 2023, and charged with murdering Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy. He was charged in the deaths of three other women - Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla and Jessica Taylor - earlier this year. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

ALSO READ: Gilgo Beach murders: Complete timeline of events leading up to Rex Heuermann's arrest

Prosecutors said Tuesday in a court filing accompanying the superseding indictment that Heuermann kept newspaper and magazine clippings about the Gilgo Beach serial killings.

The articles were found during searches of Heuermann's dilapidated home in Massapequa Park, according to the filing.

They include a People coverage "Bodies on the Beach: Hunt for the Long Island Serial Killer" found in a cardboard box shortly after Heuermann's arrest in 2023.

In a more recent search, May 2024, prosecutors said they found a 2003 New York Post edition with an article entitled "Serial Killer Eyed in LI Slay" and a 1993 copy of Newsday with an article headlined "Body Discovered in Woods."

"Rex A. Heuermann sought, purchased and kept these publications as souvenirs or mementos of his crimes," prosecutors said.

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Some information from ABC News and the Associated Press

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