'Get Him Out of Here' - Judge Orders Gilgo Beach Killer Removed After Families Speak

‘A Million Years Isn’t Enough’

Rex Heuermann, the Long Island architect who admitted to killing eight women over a span of nearly two decades, was sentenced to life in prison without parole on June 17, 2026, in a Suffolk County courtroom in Riverhead, New York. Before the sentence was handed down, thirteen family members of his victims stood three feet from him and said what they had waited years to say.

‘I can’t even put into words the eviscerating hatred I have for you,’ said Violet Swager, a cousin of victim Jessica Taylor, who would have turned 43 that same day. ‘You fill me with so much repugnance, I can’t stand it.’ Jasmine Robinson, another cousin of Taylor, told the court, ‘A million years isn’t enough.’

Heuermann, 62, clasped his hands on the defense table and looked straight ahead through most of the hearing, lightly tapping his fingers.

Eight Women. Three Decades.

Heuermann was arrested in July 2023 after investigators matched DNA from a pizza crust he discarded in a Manhattan trash can to genetic material found on the remains of women who had been murdered over a span of years and left along Ocean Parkway on Long Island’s South Shore. The case became known as the Gilgo Beach serial killings.

In April 2026, Heuermann pleaded guilty to the murders of seven women: Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, and Sandra Costilla. He also admitted in court to killing an eighth victim, Karen Vergata, for whose death he was never separately charged. He said he strangled his victims and dismembered some of their bodies. Investigators have said they believe he may be connected to additional killings.

Brainard-Barnes’ two children, who were 7 and 1 years old when she disappeared, spoke about how her absence shaped the people they became and how she never got to know the adults they grew up to be.

‘Get Him Out of Here’

After the family statements concluded, Judge Timothy Mazzei addressed Heuermann before pronouncing the sentence. ‘I assume you are a little bit sorry for the eight women you strangled - eight that we know of,’ the judge said. ‘You’ve been described as a big man, but you are a disgusting and small man, if you’re a man at all. And you’re a coward.’

Heuermann was given the opportunity to speak. He stood and said, ‘There are no words I can say. The words I would say have no meaning and I’m going to leave it there.’

The judge asked him directly whether he was even a little sorry for what he had done to eight innocent women. Then Mazzei pronounced the consecutive life sentences and told court officers to get Heuermann out of the courtroom. The families broke into applause. They chanted ‘ogre, ogre’ as he was handcuffed and led away.

What Happens Next

Heuermann has been held in isolation at the Riverhead county jail since his arrest, reportedly reading crime novels and with limited contact beyond legal visits. He will now be transferred to a state prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. He will also cooperate with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit to assist in identifying other serial killers, as part of his plea agreement, according to CBS New York.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney addressed the victims’ families after the sentencing. ‘They stood by their loved ones and did a wonderful job,’ he said. ‘Now it’s time for them to heal and go on.’

Amanda Funderberg, sister of victim Melissa Barthelemy, had turned to stare directly at Heuermann while delivering her statement. She told him it had been about 17 years since they had spoken, a reference to a phone call she once received from the man prosecutors say had already taken her sister. ‘You can look at me while I’m talking,’ she said.

References: Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Rex Heuermann Sentenced After Guilty Plea | Rex Heuermann Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Sentencing Long Island | Rex Heuermann Sentenced to Life in Prison for New York’s Gilgo Beach Serial Killings