Suspect in Gilgo Beach Serial Murders Arrested: Who Is He?

Police have arrested a New York architect in connection to the horrifying serial murders that happened in Long Island, New York more than a decade ago, known as the Gilgo Beach Killings. The suspect has been identified as 59-year-old architect Rex Heuermann.

So far, he has been charged with the killing of three women and is the "prime suspect" in the death of a fourth one. In total, the Gilgo Beach serial murders has eleven victims –nine women, a man and a toddler– all of whom were discovered in a remote part of Gilgo Beach.

The cases of the eleven bodies found buried on the beach remained unsolved for over a decade, terrifying residents of Long Island's South Shore. The New York Times reported that during that time, investigators were trying to determine if they were all killed by multiple individuals or just one person.

In the decade of trying to find the suspect in those killings, investigators tried all sorts of methods, from a monogrammed belt wrapped around one of the victims to looking through the electronic signals of disposable mobile phones.

Heuermann was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder. These were for the killings of Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman, and Melissa Barthelemy. All women had similarities, such as being in their 20s, petite, and working as escorts at the time of their disappearances between 2009 and 2010.

The fourth woman is Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who was 25 when she went missing in 2007. The four women were found wrapped in hunting camouflage burlap within a quarter mile of each other at Gilgo Beach.

Mother of Gilgo Beach Serial Murder Victim Reacts to Suspect's Arrest

Following the alleged serial killer's arrest, Lynn Barthelemy, mother of victim Melissa Barthelemy, spoke with NBC News and did not offer any kind words to her daughter's killer.

It was Melissa Barthelemy's burner phone that led to a breakthrough in the case. as suspect Rex Heuermann used it to call her family members in the days after her disappearance in 2009.

The suspect allegedly taunted family members in that call, admitting to killing and sexually assaulting Barthelemy. Using its signal, investigators traced the call to an office in midtown Manhattan. That office used to belong to Heuermann.

Her mother stated that she hopes that he will suffer at the hands of the other inmates and that "Death is too good for him" because "It's too easy."

Gilgo Beach Murders Suspect's Brother Once Killed a Police Chief in 1988

Gilgo Beach Murder suspect Rex Heuermann is not the only person in their family who has killed someone, as his brother previously killed a police captain during a car crash in 1988.

The suspected serial killer's younger brother was "coked up" while driving through the Southern State Parkway, which was close to where they lived. However, according to The New York Post, he slammed head-on into a car driven by city Housing Authority police Capt. Winnion Buskey, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

The younger Heuermann pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and driving while intoxicated. He was also hospitalized after receiving a cut to the face from the crash.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Arrest of alleged Gilgo Beach Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann announced - 11Alive