New details: Suspected Gilgo beach serial killer Rex Heuermann charged in 7th murder
Valerie Mack, 24, had been working as an escort in Philadelphia and was last seen by her family that year in New Jersey.
RIVERHEAD, New York -- Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has been charged with a seventh murder: the death of Valerie Mack, whose remains were first found 24 years ago, according to a superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday.
The latest charges include one count of second-degree murder, according to a superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Mack, 24, had been working as an escort in Philadelphia and was last seen by her family that year in New Jersey.
A hunter's dog discovered some of Mack's remains in a wooded area of Manorville on November 19, 2000. The remains were in a black plastic bag wrapped with duct tape. The bag contained additional plastic bags that contained Mack's decapitated body.
"Moreover, both of her hands had been severed from her body, above the wrists, and the victim's right leg had also been cut off from her body at the mid calf," according to a bail application that accompanied the new indictment. "Ms. Mack's torso, legs and arms were also bound with rope."
The rest of her remains were found more than a decade later, in April 2011, along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach.
The New Jersey woman was identified through DNA. Like the other victims, prosecutors have said she was also involved in sex work.
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Prosecutors named Heuermann, 61, a suspect in Mack's death in June based on evidence allegedly found on an electronic device seized from Heuermann's home in Massapequa Park on Long Island.
"Your honor, I am not guilty of any of these charges," Heuermann said in court on Tuesday, while shackled in a suit and only before the judge for a few moments.
Prosecutors said they linked Heuermann to Mack's death in part through a mitochondrial DNA analysis of a female hair found on Mack's body. It matched the profiles of Heuermann's wife and daughter, the bail application said. At the time of Mack's murder, Heuermann's daughter would have been between 3 and 4 years old.
Prosecutors said they also linked Heuermann to Mack's death through evidence recovered on some of the 350 electronic devices they seized from him that include his "significant collection of violent, bondage and torture pornography" dating back to at least 1994.
This online collection included images of breast mutilation and tying up women with rope, two things prosecutors said are consistent with injuries inflicted on Mack's breast and how she was bound.
Investigators said they found one document that they believe Heumerann used to "plan out" his kills. The document was created in 2000, the year Mack was killed. Under a section entitled "supplies" Heuermann allegedly listed "rope/cord," "saw/cutting tools," "foam drain cleaner." Under a section labeled "DS," believed to stand for "dump site," Heuermann allegedly listed one of the locations were Mack's remains were found.
The document also included a "body prep" section with a note to "remove head and hands," according to the bail application. That relates to the condition of Mack's remains, prosecutors said.
Heuermann kept newspaper and magazine clippings about the Gilgo Beach serial killings, prosecutors also said Tuesday. They include a People coverage "Bodies on the Beach: Hunt for the Long Island Serial Killer" found in a cardboard box shortly after Heuermann's arrest in 2023.
In a more recent search, May 2024, prosecutors said they found a 2003 New York Post edition with an article entitled "Serial Killer Eyed in LI Slay" and a 1993 copy of Newsday with an article headlined "Body Discovered in Woods."
"Rex A. Heuermann sought, purchased and kept these publications as souvenirs or mementos of his crimes," prosecutors said.
Heuermann, who lived with his wife and two children in Massapequa Park on Long Island and commuted to a Manhattan architecture office, was arrested on July 13, 2023, and charged with murdering Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy. He was charged in the deaths of three other women - Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla and Jessica Taylor - earlier this year. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The judge gave the defense until next month to file motions related to evidence. The defense has questioned the DNA methods prosecutors used and may try to limit admissibility at trial.
They are also considering whether to ask the judge to sever any of the murder charges from others, according to ABC News.
Heuermann continues to be held without bail.
