GILGO BEACH, Long Island, New York – Rex Heuermann, alleged serial killer, was charged with the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, disappeared in 2007, in Suffolk County on Tuesday. Prosecutors linked him to her death through DNA and other evidence. Heuermann, 60, was already charged with murdering three other escorts. The remains of Brainard-Barnes, like Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, and Melissa Barthelemy, were found in a desolate spot along the ocean near Gilgo Beach.
The new charges include MURDER IN THE SECOND DEGREE in connection to the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes on or about July 9, 2007. Heuermann pleaded not guilty to the new second-degree murder charge. Brainard-Barnes is believed to be the first victim of the “Gilgo Four.” Her daughter and sister spoke after the hearing, expressing the pain and loss caused by her murder.
New court documents reveal that Heuermann’s estranged wife and children were out of town when Brainard-Barnes disappeared and was killed, fitting a pattern of Heuermann being home alone when the other three victims were killed. Prosecutors also seized two phones from Heuermann at the time of his arrest that they said were held by him “in fictitious names and used for illicit activities.”
Last summer, a special task force identified Heuermann, an architect, as the person linked to the victims through DNA evidence. He is a father of two from Massapequa Park, a few miles north of the dumping ground where the remains were found. The family of Brainard-Barnes, along with the families of the other victims, hopes for justice to be served for all the victims of the Gilgo Beach murders.