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The Long Island Serial Killings refer to a series of murders committed between 1993 to 2011 in the beach town of Giglo, Long Island, Suffolk County. Authorities first found out about the serial killings after a 23-year-old woman named Shannan Gilbert disappeared on May 1, 2010.
After making a thorough search for several months, authorities discovered human remains near the Ocean Parkway, along the Gilgo Beach area. But rather than Shannan, the remains belonged to four dead women, who were later named as The Gilgo Four.
Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer is a Netflix docuseries that documents the complete investigation behind the serial killings. The docuseries was released on March 31, 2025, and is available for streaming on the platform.
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The Long Island Serial Killings: What happened to Shannan Gilbert?
As per CBS News, it was in the morning of May 1, 2010, when Shannan Gilbert called 911, revealing someone was chasing to kill her. Shannan was an online escort who was at one of her client's houses near Gilgo Beach.
However, when the police could reach the scene, Shannan had already disappeared. The investigators conducted a prolonged search, and in December 2010, police dogs stumbled upon human remains in the Gilgo Beach area. However, forensic reports revealed them as four separate women, and Shannan wasn't there.
As reported by CBS, the bodies were identified to be Amber Costello, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, and Melissa Barthelemy. Reportedly, three of the four women were kidnapped.
As per Fox News, in the months following March and April 2011, authorities found six more sets of similar remains in the area surrounding the Nassau and Suffolk counties.
As reported by CBS, it was in December 2011 when the remains of Shannan Gilbert were found. As per authorities, Shannan was not murdered but rather died of accidental drowning while trying to escape.
Authorities investigated the reason behind the disappearance of the Gilgo Four
1) Maureen Brainard-Barnes
As per CBS News, Maureen Brainard-Barnes was the first victim of the Gilgo Four from the Long Island Serial Killings. She was a 25-year-old mother with two kids who lived in Norwich, Connecticut. As per Norwich Bulletin, it was July 9, 2007, when she planned a trip to New York City and was never seen again.
As per CNN, Maureen worked as an escort listed on Craiglist. Her body was found three years later, in December 2010. Reportedly, her body was tied with three leather belts.
2) Melissa Barthelemy
As per The Wall Street Journal, Melissa was from Erie County, New York, and disappeared on July 12, 2009. Melissa was reportedly working as a sex worker and was enlisted on Craigslist.
As per The New York Times, Melissa deposited $900 in her bank and tried to call her ex-boyfriend on the night she went missing. Melissa's sister, Amanda, revealed that after the disappearance, she got a call from an unknown man who used vulgar insults and declared that Melissa was dead. Police found her remains while searching for Shannan Gilbert.
3) Amber Lynn Costello
As reported by Wire Update, Amber Costello was also a sex worker. She lived in West Babylon, which is ten miles away from Gilgo Beach. On the night of September 2, 2010, she went to meet a client but was never seen again. The anonymous client was reportedly driving a Chevrolet Avalanche.
As reported by Newsweek, Amber started using drugs as a teenager and was suffering from cocaine addiction. Her family reported her disappearance after she stopped responding to their calls and text messages.
4) Megan Waterman
As per Wire Update, Megan Waterman was a 22-year-old woman from South Poland who worked as an escort. On the night of June 6, 2010, she disappeared from a motel in Hauppauge, New York. Megan's disappearance was reported by her family members in June 2010, while her body was found in December 2010.
Additional bodies were found from the Long Island Serial Killings
As reported in The New York Times, from the time between March 29 and April 4, 2011, four additional bodies were found. All of these remains were retrieved in the area between Gilgo Beach and Park Beach.
Reportedly, the victims include Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, an unidentified woman named Jane Doe No. 3, and her child. Two more bodies were discovered after that.
Rex Heuermann was found as the prime suspect behind the Long Island Serial Killings
As per CBS News, a task force was formed in February 2022 to find the culprit in the Long Island Serial Killings. The force was led by Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney and Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison.
One of the few pieces of evidence was the first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche from Amber Costello's case. However, another concrete connection that investigators found in the Long Island Serial Killings was that Maureen, Melissa, and Amber, who worked as escorts, had contacted the anonymous client with burner phones.
From all the phones, the location was tracked to an area a couple of blocks away from Massapequa Park, Long Island. After finding the specific area radius, investigators searched for the man driving a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche.
The search led investigators to a 59-year-old named Rex Heuermann. As per ABC 15 News, Heuermann was a resident of Nassau County and worked as an architect. When authorities investigated Heuermann's personal cellphone records, they found his location in the same area where the victims had contacted.
As per CBS News, in 2023, police found Heuermann buying a burner phone from a shop. Investigators managed to retrieve his DNA from a pizza crust thrown in a trash can in midtown Manhattan. As per CBS News, the DNA matched with the male strand of hair, which was found in Megan Waterman's body remains.
As per ABC 15, Rex Heuermann was arrested in July 2023 and charged with three counts of murder, including Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, and Amber Costello. On January 16, 2024, he was convicted for the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes when Heuermann's DNA was found in the belt straps used to bind her body.
As per CBS, on June 9, 2024, Rex Heuermann was also charged with the murder of Sandra Castillo in 1993 and Jessica Taylor in 2003. On December 17, 2024, Heuermann was charged with the murder of Valerie Mack in 2000. Rex Heuermann is currently on trial for the Long Island Serial Killings, and his verdict is impending.
To learn more details about the killings, watch Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer on Netflix.
