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Rex Heuermann Sentenced to Life for Gilgo Beach Killings

His guilty plea followed a DNA match from a discarded pizza crust and includes cooperation with FBI behavioral analysts to help probe remaining evidence.

Overview

  • Heuermann, who was sentenced Wednesday, received three consecutive life terms without parole plus 100 years after admitting he killed eight women over nearly two decades.
  • Investigators tied him to the Gilgo Beach victims when DNA from a pizza crust he discarded outside his Manhattan office matched degraded hair found with the remains.
  • A Special Gilgo Beach Task Force created in 2022 reopened old leads including a 2010 tip about a Chevrolet Avalanche and focused surveillance that led to the forensic breakthrough.
  • Prosecutors said Heuermann used disposable phones and online ads to contact mostly sex workers and kept documents on his computer describing how to carry out the crimes and hide bodies.
  • Authorities said the probe remains active to identify other remains found on Long Island, including a 2011 decedent of Asian origin, and families pressed for answers as the court pronounced harsh rebukes of the defendant.