'Gilgo 4' suspect Rex Heuermann charged in fourth killing

Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Rex Heuermann, a suspect in the Gilgo Beach killings in Long Island, was charged with the killing of a fourth victim on Tuesday.

Heuermann, 60, of Massapequa Park, Long Island, was charged with second-degree murder in connection to the killing, Maureen Brainard-Barnes as defense attorney Michael Brown entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Tuesday's court filing said Brainard-Barnes was a 25-year-old mother of two who was doing sex work through Craigslist in Manhattan when she died on or about July 9, 2007.

"She was an intellectual. She was a writer. She was an artistic person. She cared very deeply about the people that she loved," Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said. "It's been an honor and a privilege to work these cases."

She is the fourth woman Heuermann is suspected to have killed after he was charged in July for the killings of three women: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello, all of whom were also sex workers. He has pleaded not guilty to those killings.

Investigators said cellphone records indicate Heuermann's wife and children were out of state when Barthelemy, Waterman and Costello disappeared. Bank records and credit card statements have been recently acquired from a storage unit he leased. Those records show that his wife and children were also out of town from July 6 through July 20, 2007.

The filing stated that Heuermann's wife and children being gone "allowed Defendant Heuermann unfettered time to execute his plans for each victim without any fear that his family would uncover or learn of his involvement in these crimes."

Online accounts and burner phones were also discovered that were linked to Heuermann. He allegedly held them under "fictitious names and used for illicit activities." Among those activities was communicating with multiple sex workers.

Heuermann's burner phones traced contact between himself and the victims and show that he traveled to at least one of their homes.

The filling goes on to describe graphic and violent details about each of the killings, including genetic evidence that links Heuermann to each victim.

The victims, known as the "Gilgo Four" were identified by DNA. Their remains were discovered within a quarter mile of each other near Gilgo Beach, N.Y., in December 2010.

During the course of the investigation, also referred to as the Long Island serial killer case, six additional victims were discovered near Ocean Parkway.