In May 2010, a 23-year-old escort called 911 reporting people trying to kill her before vanishing. While searching for Shannan Gilbert near Gilgo Beach on Long Island, police discovered four women’s bodies, launching what would become known as the Long Island Serial Killer case, now featured in Netflix’s documentary “Gone Girls.”
The documentary explores how investigators found remains of young women along Ocean Parkway in Suffolk County for over a year, with some bodies having been there for more than a decade. It also covers the arrest of suspect Rex Heuermann. Here’s a timeline of key events.
In December 2010, seven months after Shannan’s disappearance, the first remains were discovered – none belonging to her. They were identified as Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Costello, Megan Waterman, and Melissa Barthelemy, collectively known as the “Gilgo Four.” All were petite women in their 20s who had worked as online escorts before their deaths.
Maureen, a single mother-of-two, disappeared in July 2007 after her phone had multiple interactions with a burner phone. Melissa vanished in July 2009, with her killer later calling her 15-year-old sister from Melissa’s phone. Megan went missing in June 2010 after being contacted by a burner phone, and Amber disappeared in September 2010 under similar circumstances.
By May 2011, police discovered six more sets of remains in the area. These included Valerie Mack (missing since 2000), Jessica Taylor (missing since 2003), a female toddler (later linked through DNA to another victim nicknamed “Peaches”), an Asian male dressed in women’s clothing, and Karen Vergata (an escort who disappeared in 1996).
In December 2011, Shannan Gilbert’s remains were finally found, though police don’t believe she was a victim of the serial killer, suggesting she “ran into the marsh and unfortunately drowned.”
The case went cold for years until February 2022, when a new task force formed by Suffolk County officials identified Rex Heuermann as a suspect within just six weeks. Investigators connected him through several clues: a Chevrolet Avalanche described by a witness, burner phones traced to areas near his home and workplace, and DNA evidence from a discarded pizza crust that matched hair found on a victim.
Heuermann was initially charged with multiple counts of murder in the deaths of three of the “Gilgo Four.” Six months later, he was indicted in Maureen Brainard-Barnes’ death after investigators found hair with an eight-trillion-to-one match to his wife or daughter. In 2024, he was charged with killing Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla, and Valerie Mack.
When police searched Heuermann’s property, they found a Chevrolet Avalanche registered to him at the time of the murders. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all charges and remains in jail without bail as he awaits trial, for which no date has been set.