Gilgo Beach murders: what led to the arrest

LONG ISLAND, New York  — An arrest has been made in the Gilgo Beach murders. Rex Heuermann, 59, who is an architect has been charged with murder in the deaths of three of the women whose remains were found near Gilgo Beach in Long Island, New York.

Detectives used burner cellphone data and DNA collected from a pizza box that Heuermann used, which matched the DNA found on the victims’ bodies. 

“Authorities have said in the past that there could be multiple killers, who used that area of Gilgo Beach to bury remains,” said Sloan Glass, a national correspondent for NewsNation. 

Glass told Dave & Dujanovic that the police wanted to make an arrest as soon as possible. When they connected Heuermann’s patterns and behaviors with cellphone data, they worried he could strike again. 

During their search for the victims, police uncovered 11 bodies strewn across several miles in a thicket near the highway, according to Associated Press. Most of the bodies were female. 

“I think that this is really just the beginning of what happened in the area,” Glass said. Heuermann has not been tied to the other sets of remains that were found on Gilgo Beach at this time.

“Heuermann is also the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes,” said Glass, regarding a potential fourth victim. Although the charges are pending, she thinks they will come quickly. 

“There’s a lot of compelling DNA evidence that associates Heuermann to the women who he’s been charged in their deaths,” said Glass.

She doesn’t know what will happen with the other victims found on the beach. But she said she believes this is just the beginning of figuring out what happened in the area. 

Related reading: 

• Police investigating the Gilgo Beach killings search Long Island storage facility
• A new look at an old clue helps investigators arrest the man accused of Gilgo Beach murders