Prosecutors to announce 'significant development' in Gilgo Beach killings investigation

[December 17, 2024]  RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — The New York architect charged in a string of deaths known as the Gilgo Beach killings is set to appear in court Tuesday, with prosecutors saying they will announce a “significant development" in the investigation.
 
Rex Heuermann is charged with killing six women whose remains were found on Long Island, and has pleaded not guilty. But investigators are still looking into the deaths of several other people whose remains were discovered in the area. 

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney speaks to reporters during a news conference in Riverhead, N.Y., Thursday, June 6, 2024. Rex Heuermann, the New York architect accused of killing four women and leaving their bodies near Long Island's Gilgo Beach, has been accused in the deaths of two more women. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office scheduled a news conference alongside local and state law enforcement to follow Heuermann's morning court appearance but did not elaborate on what the announcement about the development would entail.

District Attorney Ray Tierney has previously indicated that the 61-year-old is a suspect in the death of Valerie Mack, whose partial skeletal remains were found in 2000. Mack, 24, had been working as an escort in Philadelphia and was last seen by her family that year in New Jersey.

In addition to Mack, prosecutors are also looking into the death of Karen Vergata, whose remains were first discovered in 1996 and finally identified in 2022 after a new DNA analysis.

In September, authorities released new renderings of an unidentified victim who was found in 2011. Officials said the victim, who for years they had identified as male, may have presented outwardly as female and died in 2006.

Heuermann was initially charged in the deaths of three women in 2023, and was subsequently charged in three more earlier this year. In a court filing for the most recent charges, prosecutors said they had recovered a file on a hard drive in Heuermann’s basement that he used to “methodically blueprint” his killings — including checklists with tasks to tick off before, during and afterwards, as well as lessons for “next time.”

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