Gilgo Beach Murders: Suspected serial killer Rex Heuermann is expected to appear in court today

Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann will return to a Riverhead courtroom Wednesday. This is his second appearance since his arraignment on a superseding indictment charging him with six murders dating back to 1993.

Heuermann, 61, of Massapequa Park, is expected to make a brief appearance during a conference on the case, which has not yet been confirmed ready for trial. The conference is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. before state Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei, court officials said.

After Heuermann’s most recent appearance in July, defense attorney Michael J. Brown of Central Islip said the defense planned to file a motion in the coming months to separate the first four murders for which Heuermann was charged from the two most recent charges.

Other defense motions, including a change of venue, also could be filed before a trial, Brown said. Since then, no new applications have been filed in this case.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Heuermann remains a suspect in other murders and could face additional charges at a later date.

Heuermann, a New York architect, was charged with the murders of six women: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla. He pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of first- and second-degree murder in connection with their deaths.

The investigation spans 30 years, from Costilla’s death in 1993 to Heuermann’s arrest in July 2023. Heuermann, who was first charged with the murders of Barthelemy, Waterman and Costello, was charged with the death of Brainard-Barnes in January and charged with the murders of Taylor and Costilla in June.

Barthelemy, Waterman, Costello, Brainard-Barnes and Taylor are among 11 human remains found on Gilgo Beach between 2010 and 2011. More of Taylor’s remains were found in Manorville shortly after her disappearance in 2003. Castilla’s body was found in the North Sea at the time of her death in November 1993.

Each of the women was associated with sex work, prosecutors said.