Gilgo Beach Victims

In December 2010, a police search for a missing sex worker named Shannan Gilbert led to the discovery of four sets of human remains in burlap sacks along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. The four women—Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello—were all sex workers who had advertised on Craigslist. They became known as the 'Gilgo Four.'

As searches of the area expanded in 2011, six additional sets of remains were found along the barrier island, including a toddler, an Asian male, and several unidentified women. The total count reached at least 10 victims. Shannan Gilbert's remains were later found in a marsh nearby; her death was ruled an accidental drowning, though her family disputed this finding.

The case went unsolved for over a decade, hampered by jurisdictional issues between Suffolk County and state investigators, and controversial leadership decisions by then-Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke, who was later convicted of federal obstruction charges in an unrelated case. The FBI and Suffolk County homicide squad continued the investigation.

In July 2023, Rex A. Heuermann, a 59-year-old Manhattan architect who lived in the South Shore community of Massapequa Park, was arrested and charged with the murders of three of the Gilgo Four, based on DNA evidence, cell phone location data, and digital forensics. Charges related to the fourth victim and potentially other victims followed. Heuermann pleaded not guilty and the case is proceeding through the courts as additional evidence is developed.