Rex Heuermann sentenced to life in prison for New York's Gilgo Beach serial killings

By — Philip Marcelo, Associated Press Philip Marcelo, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/rex-heuermann-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-new-yorks-gilgo-beach-serial-killings Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Rex Heuermann sentenced to life in prison for New York's Gilgo Beach serial killings Nation Jun 17, 2026 12:18 PM EDT RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — After decades waiting for justice, relatives of women murdered by New York's Gilgo Beach serial killer laid into him Wednesday before he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for his admitted crimes. "A million years isn't enough," Jasmine Robinson, a cousin of victim Jessica Taylor, said. "Nothing will ever make this right." Rex Heuermann clasped his hands on the defense table in an eastern Long Island courtroom, looking straight ahead and lightly tapping his fingers. The Long Island architect, who lived a secret life of violence for years before admitting he killed eight women, was arrested in 2023. "You fill me with so much repugnance, I can't stand it," Robinson said. READ MORE: 3 things to know about the Gilgo Beach killings case after Rex Heuermann pleads guilty Amanda Funderburg, victim Melissa Barthelemy's sister, urged Heuermann to look at her as she spoke. He glanced in her direction, but his eyes were slightly downcast. "I hope you suffer," said Funderburg, who recounted getting a taunting phone call from him days after Barthelemy disappeared, when Funderburg was 15 years old. The sentencing caps an extraordinary investigation that solved one of New York's most perplexing mysteries — one that began as a series of seemingly unconnected and largely unmarked disappearances of young women, but became the focus of true-crime documentaries, books and podcasts after police began discovering the victims' skeletal remains in the sandy scrub along a coastal parkway. "Justice has been done, but it can't replace what has been taken," said JoAnn Mack, the mother of victim Valerie Mack. "She had dreams, and you took them all away from her." Heuermann, who has remained largely silent through multiple court appearances since his arrest, also had a chance to speak Wednesday. His ex-wife and two grown children weren't at the sentencing, having said through their lawyers that they'd stay away out of respect for the victim's families. Heuermann, 62, pleaded guilty in April to charges that he murdered seven women: Barthelemy, Mack, Taylor, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, and Sandra Costilla. Heuermann also admitted in court to killing an eighth victim, Karen Vergata, though he was never charged in her death. He said he strangled his victims, many of them sex workers, and dismembered some of their bodies. READ MORE: Rex Heuermann pleads guilty to murdering 7 women and admits he killed another Brainard-Barnes' two children, who were 7 and 1 when she disappeared, underscored Wed