Rex Heuermann Set to Follow a Long Line of Serial Killers

Rex Heuermann's Mug Shot

The news that Rex Heuermann, the accused Long Island Serial Killer, is set to plead guilty to multiple murders on April 8th is surprising, but not shocking.

sandra costilla

melissa barthelemy

        The seven women Rex Heuermann is charged with killing (left to right) Sandra Costilla, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello.

His decision to finally take responsibility for torturing and killing at least seven women, in cases dating back more than thirty years, was made after months of wrangling about changing his plea to guilty.

He is not the first, accused serial killer to do so.

On June 29, 2020, the Golden State Killer, former cop Joseph DeAngelo, pleaded guilty to 13 murders and kidnappings.  But he also admitted to 40 rapes and other crimes he wasn't charged with, part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty in California.  Now 80, DeAngelo is held in high-security housing at California State Prison.

Joseph DeAngelo's Mug Shot

Here in New York, Rex Heuermann does not face the prospect of the death penalty, since the statute was thrown off the books decades ago.  Yet there's no denying the evidence assembled against him was overwhelming, including horrifying web searches on his computer that revealed a fascination with child porn, female torture and dismemberment, and hints of his possible bisexuality. Those who have followed the cases are keen to know if Heuermann will take responsibility for any other crimes.

One of the last, big serial killer cases in New York involved Joel Rifkin. His Mazda pick-up was flagged by state police on June 28, 1993 for driving on the Southern State Parkway on Long Island without a license plate.  After trying to flee troopers, Rifkin crashed into a light pole, and the police found the body of Tiffany Bresciani wrapped in tarp inside his truck. 

 Joel Rifkin's Mug Shot

Joel Rifkin went to trial and was convicted in 1994 of Bresciani's murder.  In the two years that followed, he pleaded guilty to multiple other crimes, eventually confessing to 17 murders.  One of his victims, never identified, was found in a 55-gallon steel drum that was floating in Newtown Creek on the Brooklyn/Queens border.

District Attorney Raymond Tierney of Suffolk County is holding his cards close to the vest and won't answer questions about Rex Heuermann's potential guilty plea.  But another source close to the case said Heuermann has been talking about doing this for months.  It's always possible the accused serial killer could change his mind, but he's expected in court April 8th to change his plea from not guilty to guilty.