After waiting for decades for justice, relatives of the woman murdered by the Gilgo Beach, New York, serial killer beat him up Wednesday before he was sentenced to life in prison. “I take responsibility for these crimes,” he told them.
“I have no words,” said Rex Heuermann, a Long Island architect who lived a secret life of violence for years before confessing to killing eight women. “What I said doesn’t make any sense.”
The verdict concludes an extraordinary investigation that addressed one of the new york The most puzzling mystery. The seemingly unrelated and largely ignored disappearance of a young woman became the focus of true-crime documentaries, books and podcasts after police began finding victims’ skeletal remains in sandy brush along a coastal parkway.
Scheuermann, 62, has no possibility of parole.
“A million years is not enough,” said Violet Swagger, cousin of victim Jessica Taylor. “Nothing can make this right.”
Judge calls Scheuermann “despicable”
As a series of victims’ relatives spoke, Heuylmann put his hands on the defense table, looked forward and tapped his fingers.
Amanda Vanderberg, sister of victim Melissa Barthelemy, then ordered Hoylman to look at her. He glanced in her direction, but his eyes were slightly lowered.
“I hope you suffer,” Funderberg said, recalling a taunting phone call Barthelemy received days after he disappeared. Vanderbilt was 15 years old.
JoAnn Mack, the mother of victim Valerie Mack, told the killer that her daughter “had dreams and you took them away from her.”
“Justice has been served, but it cannot replace the punishment that was meted out,” Mack said.
Scheuermann admitted in April to the murders of seven women: Barthelemy, Mike, Taylor, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes and Sandra Costilla.
Scheuermann also admitted in court to killing an eighth victim, Karen Vergata, although he was never charged in her death. He said he strangled his victims, many of them sex workers, and dismembered some of their bodies.
“Do you have at least a little bit of regret about this?” Judge Timothy Mazer asked angrily Wednesday.
Hoylman nodded and said, “Yes, I am.”
“If you were a man, you were disgusting – a despicable human being,” the judge said, his voice rising. “And you’re a coward.”
The audience in the packed courtroom jeered as Hoylmann was led away in handcuffs.
Victims’ families recount bewildering loss
Liliana Waterman, who was just three years old when her mother disappeared, says she has been waiting her whole life to confront her killer.
“She can finally rest in peace,” Wortman said outside the courthouse. “He can’t hurt anyone.”
Most of the women disappeared between 2000 and 2010 and their remains were found on Long Island. Most are along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach. Costilla’s remains were found in Hampton in 1993, while Vegata’s were found in 1996 on Fire Island.
When Brainard-Barnes disappeared in 2007, her two children were 7 and 1 years old. On Wednesday, they highlighted how her disappearance affected their lives and how she never got to know them as they grew up.
Her sister, Melissa Cann, sobbed deeply as she described how for decades she wondered if she could have done more to protect Brainard-Barnes. But, she said, the guilt “is not something I can bear. This is Rex and Rex alone.”
Scheuermann’s ex-wife and two adult children said they did not attend the sentencing out of respect for the victim’s family.
How the Gilgo Beach serial killer was caught
The case came to light in 2010, when investigators began searching for remains along Ocean Drive while investigating the disappearance of another sex worker, Shannan Gilbert, whose death was eventually ruled an accidental drowning.
The case remained unsolved until 2022, when detectives linked Heuermann to a pickup truck that a witness said was seen in 2010 when one of the victims disappeared.
Ultimately, they compared DNA from a Scheuermann pizza crust discarded in a Manhattan trash can to genetic material extracted from highly degraded hair fragments found in the woman’s remains.
Investigators collected other evidence, including cellphone and tracking data, showing Scheuermann arranged to meet with some of his victims shortly before they disappeared.
After Heuermann was arrested in 2023, prosecutors found what they called a “blueprint” for the killing from his computer files. The document contains a series of checklists reminding people to limit noise, clean up bodies and destroy evidence.
life behind bars
Hoylman spent three years alone in a segregation cell at the Suffolk County Jail, reading crime novels and establishing a brief correspondence with the notorious “Smiley Face Killer,” before soon being transferred to a state prison.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney called him a “monster” and declared that Scheuermann had nothing to say to mitigate his actions.
“There is no question that this defendant is sorry,” Tierney said. “He regrets he got caught.”
Defense attorney Michael Brown said Hoylman shed tears and “there may be some sincerity in his expressions of remorse.” Brown said his client behaved “as usual” during interactions, which was in stark contrast to his offending.
“When you talk to him, he’s a charismatic character,” Brown said.
As part of his plea, Scheuermann agreed to cooperate with police FBI Behavioral analysis units have helped catch other serial killers.
