Armchair Genealogy

 

 

 

 By Melinda Cohenour

 

 

 

This column concerns the incredible value the sciences utilizing DNA have provided. Not only can long lost ancestral heritage be discovered. Medical science is connecting more and more genetic knowledge to mysterious illnesses and in many cases the research has produced a variety of benefits: the ability to predict potential future health impacts, including a probability of breast or other cancer; medical or direct genetic remedial efforts or even cures; and more miraculous advances are in the offing.

One field of scientific study involves the identification of the dead where all other avenues have been exhausted without results. Along that line, many of these Jane and John Does were victims of foul play. In more and more cold cases not only have the remains been identified and mourning relatives provided surcease from the agony of not knowing, but DNA clues have also led to the identification and prosecution of the responsible assailant.

Perhaps the most infamous of these cold cases involved the unmasking of the Golden State Killer whose crimes ranged from peeping tom to burglar to rapist to violent sadistic serial murderer. Joseph James DeAngelo served as a police officer for many of those years and even investigated his own crimes! A 50 plus year span of time and almost the full stretch of California geology were involved. This column was devoted several times to coverage of this landmark case in the annals of crime.

Update on Rex Heuermann's case
This column, however, concerns the latest update on a mystery that first intrigued and baffled your author with the televised news of four bodies located within mere yards of one another along a lonely, briar-ridden stretch of beach on a key off the coast of Long Island, New York, in an area known as Gilgo Beach. The investigation into this grisly discovery occupied the news internationally for weeks, months, years until the case suddenly disappeared from front page headlines to little squares or nods from television anchors. One had to search to find out the latest. And, folks, the "latest" just kept the mystery deepening as more and more remains were found and traced back from that December 2010 sickening find to tie into unsolved deaths tracing back ultimately to 1993! 

Your author has devoted numerous columns to the ever baffling investigation to the ultimate monumental break in the case that resulted in the arrest of a well-to-do architect with offices in the heart of New York City and lengthy ties to Massapequa Park, New York. Rex Allen Heuermann, married, father and stepfather to adult children, family home in a nice neighborhood where the homes were stately, yards immaculately manicured, folks friendly. Well. That is, except for Rex Heuermann's. He housed his second wife, her handicapped son, and their Goth inspired daughter in an eyesore of a home right smack in the heart of a "Stepford Wives" neighborhood. Red. Squat. Ugly. Falling down porch. Shuttered windows. The stuff of nightmares. Neighbors cautioned their children to avoid that home. Cross the street. Do NOT Trick-or-Treat at that old red house. One neighbor reported an interaction a few years before when he had to warn Mr. Heuermann to keep his spying eyes and leering gaze off his sunbathing wife. Rex made waves. And some of his shenanigans were the subject of this news article following his arrest:

"LONG ISLAND, N.Y. -- The architect accused in a string of Long Island killings has been years late in paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes, repeatedly filed lawsuits accusing drivers of injuring him in car accidents, and still lives in his childhood home, according to a review of public records and court documents, CNN reported."
SOURCE: Suspect in Gilgo Beach murders, Long Island man Rex Heuermann, had history of tax issues and lawsuits | abc7.com https://share.google/lllW8UZKJh1avFlsM



And here is a recap of significant dates in the story of Rex Heuermann's evil ... NOTE THE WAIVER HERE: To Date.

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FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES, THE FOLLOWING ARE KEY DATES IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERIAL MURDER CASE OF REX ALLEN HEUERMANN:

* Rex Heuermann's first known victim death is that of Sandra Costilla, who disappeared in November 1993. Her remains were discovered by hunters later that same month in Southampton, New York. Heuermann confessed to and was charged with her murder, marking the earliest known killing in his decades-long series of crimes.
SOURCE: CBS NEWS

* The "Gilgo Four" victims were found over a two-day period in December 2010. Melissa Barthelemy was discovered on December 11, 2010. Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello, and Megan Waterman were discovered on December 13, 2010. The remains were located in the brush along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach on Long Island, New York. You can learn more about the investigation timelines and details on Wikipedia or CBS News. Finding Long Island serial killer suspect took years of investigations

Jul 17, 2023 — The remains of the Gilgo Four were found in bushes along a quarter-mile stretch of Ocean Parkway in Oak Beach over a two-day period in 2010. The skeletal remains...KCRA
SOURCES: Wikipedia, CBS News and KCRA

* Rex Heuermann was arrested on July 13, 2023 outside his Manhattan architecture office.

* Key Case Developments:

Initial Charges (July 2023): He was first taken into custody and charged with the murders of three women: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello. Subsequent Indictments (2024): Throughout 2024, Heuermann was indicted for the murders of four additional women: Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla, and Valerie Mack.

Guilty Plea (April 2026): He pleaded guilty to all seven murders on April 8, 2026, and admitted to intentionally causing the death of an eighth woman (Karen Vergata).

Gilgo Beach murders: Timeline of events leading up to the arrest ...Oct 30, 2023 — SUFFOLK COUNTY, New York (WABC) -- 

Shannan Gilbert's disappearance in 2010 sparked the discovery of 11 bodies on and near Gilgo Beach on Long Island. After more...ABC7 Eyewitness News
SOURCES: Wikipedia, WABC NY, ABC7 Eyewitness News

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In accordance with the terms of his guilty plea, Rex Heuermann is scheduled to face the judge one more time for the official penalty adjudication. For these EIGHT MURDERS, and only these eight murders. Should his DNA surface in additional unsolved cases following the inclusion of his full DNA to CODIS*, he could be tried and additional punishment, including Death, be found as the appropriate punishment. 

Your author will update this column following the June 17th penalty adjudication. And should notable events occur in the future, expect the information to be updated at such time. 

(*CODIS stands for the Combined DNA Index System. It is a national computer software program and database system created and maintained by the FBI. It is primarily used in law enforcement to operate local, state, and national databases of DNA. 
SOURCE: FBI. gov.)

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Grisly news, but what an incredible use of DNA to end such sadistic slaughter and bring to justice the cruel monster responsible for the kidnapping, torture and murders of these women. Mothers. Daughters. Friends. Women who made poor choices when faced with difficult needs. 

Looking forward to a column focused on much more pleasant research. See you next month readers! 

 

 

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This issue appears in the ezine in the blog www.pencilstubs.net at Google Blogger with the capability of adding comments at the latter.

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