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like what? My insurance bill. With trembling [music] hands, I grabbed my phone and switched to Geico, saving
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about $900 in the process, and never [music] to be betrayed again. Now, that was bloody riveting. It feels
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good when the story ends with savings. It feels good to Geico. >> [music] [music]
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[music] >> Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, thanks
00:01:13
for [music] listening. I'm your host Nick, and with me as always is a man who was drafted Mr. Irrelevant. Here is the
00:01:21
captain. >> And I'm still irrelevant. It's good to be seen and good to see you. Thanks
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[music] for listening. Thanks for telling a friend. This week we are excited to be drinking
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Hazy and Blazed by the Fire Maker Brewing Company. I got to experience something that I am lucky enough to
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Brandy Knoll from Buckingham, Virginia. And a big we like to give goes out to Christie [music] Chess from Fresno,
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California. And here's a cheers to Mary Ann Sunderman in Lapeer, Michigan. >> And a big tall cans in the air to
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Chelsea White in [music] New York City. And last, but certainly not least, I would like to give a big Ron Swanson,
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please and thank you to Holly in Corvallis, [music] Oregon. Everyone we just mentioned went to
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we thank you. Yeah, b w e r u n beer run. Check out [music] the new merch in the merch store at truecrimegarage.com,
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and Colonel, that's [music] enough of the business. >> All right, everybody gather around, grab
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a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk some true crime. A chilling turn in court today involving
00:03:19
serial killer Rex Heuermann, the husband and father who worked in New York City,
00:03:24
now [music] pleading guilty, admitting he killed eight women. The moment he spoke in court today, and you will hear
00:03:29
from the woman who was married to him for 27 years. Here's our chief investigative correspondent Aaron
00:03:35
Katersky. Coming out, Judge. Tonight, with the families of his victims in the courtroom
00:03:40
and his ex-wife of 27 years and daughter watching, Rex Heuermann leaving no doubt
00:03:45
he is the Gilgo Beach serial killer who terrorized neighborhoods outside New York City. Do you feel it's in your best
00:03:50
interest to plead guilty rather than go to trial? Yes, your honor. The suburban dad who worked as an architect on 5th
00:03:56
Avenue in Manhattan >> I'm an architectural consultant. admitting he lived a double life,
00:04:01
pleading guilty to murdering eight women and burying their bodies on Long Island.
00:04:04
Some found dismembered and wrapped in burlap near the beach. Heuermann strangled his victims, who he hired as
00:04:09
escorts in a nearly two-decade killing spree starting in 1993. This defendant walked among us, play-acting as a normal
00:04:18
suburban dad, when in reality, all along he was obsessively targeting innocent women for death. Heuermann was finally
00:04:26
tracked down and arrested in 2023 after his DNA was retrieved from pizza crust in the trash outside his office and
00:04:33
linked to hair samples found on the victims. Detectives scouring Heuermann's home and
00:04:38
a storage unit, amassing a mountain of evidence, [music] including a chilling collection of news articles about the
00:04:43
murders and what prosecutors called his blueprint with locations [music] of dump
00:04:47
sites and reminders to dispose of tools and devices and burn gloves. Today, outside court, the woman married
00:04:54
to him for nearly three decades, she says she never wanted to believe it was true. My thoughts and prayers are with
00:05:00
the victims and their families. Their loss [music] is immeasurable. And the focus should be on them at this
00:05:10
time and moment. The families of victims never gave up hope the killer would be caught. Missy Cann, whose sister Maureen
00:05:18
was killed in 2007, with this message to her today. I would never stop searching
00:05:23
for justice for you. Through every year, every setback, every >> [snorts] >> Okay. Every unanswered question,
00:05:32
I carried you with me, and I kept that promise. And today, it has been done. I was in the hushed courtroom today,
00:05:39
David, as Heuermann repeatedly [music] uttered guilty with what appeared to be a slight smirk on his face. The DA told
00:05:45
me here a moment ago, David, he thinks Heuermann [music] just got tired of fighting. He's never going to leave
00:05:50
prison, and he must cooperate with the [music] FBI to give investigators a window into the mind of a monstrous
00:05:57
serial killer. David. >> Yeah, what a [music] horrific case that affected this community for decades.
00:06:01
Aaron, thank you. >> [music] >> The updates started in December of last year when Andrew Dykes, a 20-year-old
00:06:23
Army veteran, was arrested at his home in Florida on December 3rd, linking him to the killing of the victim that
00:06:32
everyone has been calling Peaches. In a stunning turn of events for a case marked by decades of mystery, Andrew
00:06:40
Dykes was arrested in Florida, charged with the 1997 murder of Tanya Jackson, also known as
00:06:48
Peaches. This development set shock waves through the ongoing investigation into the Long Island serial killer, a
00:06:57
case that has been in the public eye for 28 years since Jackson's torso was first
00:07:04
discovered in Hempstead Lake State Park. For years, the case was largely centered
00:07:12
on Rex Heuermann, who was taken into custody two and a half years ago as the main suspect for the murders of at least
00:07:21
six of the possibly 10 victims whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway between late 2010 and early
00:07:31
2011. We say possible 10 victims. There were absolutely 10 victims, but possibly 10 victims all connected to
00:07:39
the Long Island serial killer case. The connection between Tanya Jackson and the Gilgo Beach case was strong, yet
00:07:49
Rex Heuermann was never charged with Jackson's murder. In 2011, the body of her 2-year-old daughter,
00:07:58
Tatiana, was found near the other Gilgo Beach victims. Four years later, in 2015,
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DNA evidence confirmed that limbs found along Ocean Parkway belonged to the toddler's mother,
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linking them back to the 1997 torso, which was found in a Rubbermaid container. Due to a distinctive tattoo,
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the victim was dubbed Peaches. She was unknown, her true identity unknown, for many years. The common assumption was
00:08:32
that Rex Heuermann was responsible for all 10 victims, a theory bolstered by a planning document allegedly found on his
00:08:42
computer. The arrest of Dykes shattered this assumption. On December 3rd, Andrew Dykes was
00:08:49
apprehended in Hillsborough County, Florida on a fugitive warrant from Nassau County, New York for murder in
00:08:57
the second degree. At his extradition hearing, he voluntarily agreed to return to New York State, and quote, "I'd like
00:09:06
to go into New York and defend myself." End quote. The news was described as a bombshell that turned everything upside
00:09:16
down, leaving experts and reporters stunned and a little bit confused, too, as it revived the long-debated theory of
00:09:24
multiple killers in the 10-victim case. And also at this time, Rex Heuermann is saying that he's innocent of all crimes.
00:09:34
That's exactly right. Andrew Dykes, identified by police as the father of Tanya Jackson's daughter,
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Tatiana, present a complex profile. He's a 21-year veteran of the US Army. So, he was
00:09:50
working with a career in the US Army from 1980 to 2021, and he achieved the rank of medical
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sergeant, this giving him knowledge of human anatomy. He and Jackson served together at the same military base. This
00:10:08
is Fort Sam Houston in Texas, where they had an affair. Jackson entered the military in 1993 and
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left 2 years later and gave birth to Tatiana 1 month after her discharge. Now, at that time Captain Dykes, Andrew
00:10:27
Dykes was married to a woman named Joyce, with whom he had two sons and was living on base at Fort Hamilton
00:10:36
in Brooklyn working as a recruiter. So, they have this affair in Texas and now once she leaves the military, he's up at
00:10:48
Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn putting him near her. We know that she made her way to New York at some point. Investigators
00:10:55
initially floated a motive out there for the murder connecting him to it obviously saying that Andrew Dykes
00:11:02
allegedly killed Tanya Jackson to prevent her from revealing their affair and the child, which would
00:11:10
have thrown his life and military career into chaos. Now, there's a bit of a problem here with the theory and there's
00:11:18
a little bit of an issue too with the evidence because this narrative is strongly contested by Dykes' son, Andre,
00:11:27
who goes by Dre. Right. So, according to Dre, he says, "Our family, including his
00:11:34
mother Joyce, were fully aware of both Tanya and Tatiana." Right, but they don't have to
00:11:41
prove motive, but So, he says that he he remembers times where his mother would point out Tatiana saying, "That's your
00:11:49
sister." Right. Furthermore, he claims that the US Army was also aware of Tatiana and
00:11:55
she was listed on insurance and medical paperwork. The counter narrative, this counter
00:12:01
narrative significantly weakens the primary motive proposed by law enforcement. But like
00:12:08
you said, Captain, they don't have to prove motive. Right. They don't have to prove motive, but they stated a motive.
00:12:16
And so, if you can say, "Well, their motive is completely wrong, what else are they wrong about?"
00:12:21
>> Well, and the thing is I'm with you. You don't have to prove motive, but at a
00:12:26
jury trial, if your evidence is flimsy, you better have a good motive that you can sell to that jury that they're
00:12:33
willing to buy. The path to identifying Andrew Dykes as a suspect is also a point of discussion. While his son
00:12:42
believes authorities used his DNA that he submitted to ancestry.com to you know, he just wanted to learn about
00:12:50
their background, there's a source close to the FBI, the FBI says otherwise. They say that genealogical research in
00:12:59
Alabama was what first identified Tanya Jackson and it was Tatiana's birth certificate
00:13:07
that ultimately led them to Andrew Dykes. Now, regardless, what is suspicious and police are saying this
00:13:17
and I agree, Andrew Dykes never reported Tanya missing. Right. And we know that she Kind of a
00:13:25
red flag. decades ago. The strength of the evidence against Andrew Dykes is we have to have some skepticism here,
00:13:33
right? We have to have some skepticism. We know that there they have physical evidence linking him to the murder.
00:13:41
That's what they're saying the arrest was based off of. However, they're not they've not been
00:13:47
open about what that physical evidence was. It sounds like it's something DNA related, but here becomes the problem
00:13:55
for the case. Yeah. And I couldn't find a court date, which is which is good for the
00:14:01
prosecution if he is the guy. Remember, Peaches was found in a Rubbermaid container. This is Look, for the killer,
00:14:09
that that's bad business because it preserves This would preserve physical evidence.
00:14:16
But what exactly was the evidence, right? Because there could be innocent explanations for his DNA being at the
00:14:25
scene where her torso was found. Right. Given their relationship, if the relationship is as
00:14:33
the son says, that he didn't need to cover it up, it's reasonable to think that there may have been ongoing
00:14:40
interaction between the two. So, could this be some just a simple DNA transfer from something like a blanket, clothing,
00:14:49
or other items? Maybe that container was his at one time and he stored things in
00:14:54
there. So, I'm not pointing and saying that the guy's innocent. I'm just saying this one,
00:15:01
while we have an arrest and thank goodness that we do. I mean, it took so long to identify
00:15:07
this woman who served our country and her daughter and so long to wait for an arrest. And if you review stuff that
00:15:16
I've put out there in the past regarding the Peaches murder, I absolutely did think that it was
00:15:24
Rex Heuermann. Well, because we have so many victims in the same relative dump site. Because of this
00:15:31
tub, right? That's different than the other victims. >> The tub is, but remember when we did our
00:15:37
blueprint for murder episode and when we and we covered Peaches as a completely separate episode as well. We've We've
00:15:44
talked Long Island serial killer since 2016. In multiple episodes, we've had guests
00:15:52
on for the shows. We've We talked about the time when the police chief was was coming under fire, rightfully so, cuz he
00:15:58
was up to no good at the time. I mean, this case is complex and it's it's been long. It's lengthy and it's it's taken
00:16:05
years and decades to get to where it sits today. Normally, in a case, Captain, you've heard me say it so many
00:16:13
times you're probably sick in the head about it. I I said it >> a lot of things? I've said it dozens of
00:16:19
times that dismemberment >> Right. would be typically would be an attempt to hide
00:16:26
one's identity, hide the identity of the victim. Absolutely. And we know in the Peaches case,
00:16:33
identifying marks like distinctive tattoos, like a Peaches tattoo and jewelry that
00:16:39
was left behind on on the remains, those are identifiers. This is you're right. It it is in it contrast with some
00:16:48
of the other victims that are linked to Rex Heuermann, but but here's the problem. Dismemberment would point that
00:16:55
the to an offender who had a close relationship that would be easily connected to your victim, so you want
00:17:02
your victim to remain unidentified. That makes sense if you look at Andrew Dykes. However, the flip of that coin is
00:17:11
Rex Heuermann typically dismembered his victims. Yeah. The Peaches tattoo also contrasts with the idea that it's
00:17:19
Andrew Dykes because wouldn't he want to remove that? If he took the time and effort to
00:17:25
dismember the body, he would have spent some time to remove the Peaches tattoo, one would think. Yes, and I think you
00:17:32
can go further with that because let's just say hypothetically it was Rex, Rex might not know about the tattoo,
00:17:41
maybe would discover it during the dismemberment, so you'd think he would get rid of that item, but who would
00:17:48
definitely know about that? Her ex. Well, but then what we see in the blueprint of murder is he talks about
00:17:57
tattoos, Rex Heuermann does. Exactly. And what we talked about it in blueprint for murder, we also talked about it on
00:18:03
the Peaches episode where maybe this was part of the learning process for Heuermann,
00:18:09
right? That he >> Right. he dumps the body, the remains are discovered, and then she's identified as
00:18:16
Peaches for so long because of the tattoo. And it was The tattoo, remember we had said it it was in the newspaper.
00:18:23
They put a picture of it in the newspaper and circulated it asking for people to
00:18:29
come forward to identify the woman. And he read this. The theory I had at the time
00:18:36
was he read this and said, "Oh, going forward, this is a mistake that I can't make again." And we do know that in
00:18:45
other cases, he did make deliberate efforts to obliterate tattoos. >> Yes. Yeah. So, here we have this arrest that
00:18:55
we're thankful to have, but we have a combination of questionable motive and potentially circumstantial forensic
00:19:03
evidence. So, we have to kind of wait and see where this goes because this arrest with this evidence that's been
00:19:12
presented to the public anyway, we don't know what else they they may have, is significantly weaker than the extensive
00:19:19
evidence that we have, which includes things like burner phones, credit card receipts, and DNA that was compiled
00:19:28
against a one Rex Heuermann in these other murders. The Ogre from Long Island. This arrest, however, again,
00:19:36
circling back before we move on, does resurrect the multiple killers theory. Something
00:19:44
that's it's an idea that's not new. It's been publicly debated for a long time. Since the beginning. That debate was
00:19:51
hushed and quieted to a great degree once they arrested the ogre from Long Island.
00:20:01
Real piece of [ __ ] And as said, we strongly suspected Rex Heuermann in this case, this specific case, the murder of
00:20:08
Tanya and her daughter Tatiana. So that was December and we will wait for updates on that case, on the case
00:20:16
against Andrew Dykes. Now Captain Yes, sir. we go to something with much more certainty. A conclusion finally came
00:20:25
this month in the Gilgo Beach Long Island serial killer case. I actually thought this was going to happen, but I
00:20:33
didn't think it was going to take this long. It'd be interesting to know what happened behind closed doors and why it
00:20:40
took so long. Yeah, it will be and I I think there's a chance we might learn some more about this. Oh, I think we're
00:20:48
going to learn a ton more. It was a packed house at the Arthur Cromarty Criminal Court Complex in Long Island,
00:20:55
New York, but once the proceedings got started, the courtroom went silent, my friends. The folks there sitting on pins
00:21:03
and needles waiting to see the monster, some for the first time and some hoping maybe
00:21:08
for the last time. The ogre, as we have been calling him since the early days after his arrest, Rex Heuermann, now 62
00:21:18
years old, was dressed in a dark suit with a white shirt and a blue tie. He was all dressed up with nowhere to go
00:21:28
there, Captain. Yeah, but you're not going to state the obvious. Mhm. Did you see his haircut? Change it.
00:21:37
Doesn't help you. You Doesn't help you. You dumb [clears throat] fat >> His hair's getting a little longer. It's
00:21:43
but the haircut's getting worse. No good barbers in prison. [laughter and clears throat]
00:21:48
That's right. He, Rex Heuermann, the abomination, the abomination stood before State Supreme Court Justice
00:21:56
Timothy Maisie and did what he had refused to do since his arrest. He admitted to killing eight.
00:22:05
Yes. >> Remember he was only charged with seven. He admitted to killing eight young
00:22:09
women. For years the case had loomed over Long Island and the greater New York area
00:22:15
like an open wound. Names, missing posters, partial remains, unanswered questions.
00:22:25
And as you said earlier, Captain, Rex Heuermann had insisted that he was not responsible. And the
00:22:32
reason why I thought this would happen sooner is I think he's very similar to BTK and BTK has
00:22:40
made statements about the ogre saying that he's a basically a copy of him. Mhm. And so I thought there's probably a
00:22:49
a sense of cubism going on with Rex Heuermann. So I I thought he would confess earlier
00:22:57
because look, he's a he's a giant pile of [ __ ] but with the cubism I think he has shown that he, you know,
00:23:06
cares about his wife and cares about his children. So I thought maybe he would confess earlier to spare them some pain,
00:23:14
but he he didn't. They have got, in my opinion, a very raw deal. The judge when he pled guilty was asking him a
00:23:25
series of questions of, you know, does he understand what he's admitting to? Does he understand
00:23:32
that it's a guilty plea is the same as having a trial and and getting convicted that in that manner.
00:23:40
Right. >> And to which all of these questions Rex followed up with a sequence of yes
00:23:46
answers and yes, your honor, I understand. His admission carried a clear consequence, life in prison
00:23:53
without the possibility of parole is what we are thinking is going to happen here. There's no death penalty in
00:23:59
this case. The court set sentencing for June 17th. Seems like a bit of a formality, but necessary
00:24:10
because we'll hear victim impact statements, I hope. Victims' families will have the opportunity to speak and
00:24:16
address the court and address the state of New York and address the monster, the
00:24:21
abomination himself. Hopefully Rex will have something to say as well. >> Well, isn't he agreeing also to talk
00:24:28
with FBI as far as like the mind hunter experience? Yes, and how forthcoming he will be will is yet to be seen. I think
00:24:41
you and I share the same suspicion that we think that once he gets to talking, it will be hard to shut him up. Well, we
00:24:48
have evidence that he already admitted to a crime that he wasn't being charged with. So my question to you is do you
00:24:55
believe that there's other victims? Because yes, we have these victims in Long Island, but he spent time in other
00:25:04
locations. Is it possible that there's victims there? Well, there could be. The what will be the difference is if those
00:25:12
locations are a state that has the death penalty, I don't think he's going to admit to anything like that.
00:25:17
>> Yes, but if he's working with FBI he might be able to make a deal before he starts disclosing this information.
00:25:25
True. I still don't think that he'll admit to it. A bird in the hand is you right? I
00:25:30
mean, why why would you do that? I hate that saying cuz I don't I don't know what it means. It It means if your
00:25:38
situation's >> in the bush. If your situation's not terrible, um don't don't try to don't try to push
00:25:46
your luck. Yeah, but here's the thing. The The two birds in the bush can't [ __ ]
00:25:51
in my hand. So I don't want a bird in the hand. >> Or gas you to death or inject you to
00:25:57
your to your death. I don't think he'll admit to anything outside of the state of New
00:26:02
York. And I also don't If he's responsible for killing the Asian Doe, I don't think he'll admit
00:26:10
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00:27:32
air. Thanks for telling your mother. Thanks for telling your brother. What's the beer called again? It is
00:27:37
Hazed and Blazed. Hell yeah. Hazed and Blazed. Well, I it sounded like a, you know,
00:27:46
this is a case that we've covered for a very, very long time. We've looked at it
00:27:50
many different ways over the years and when we first started looking at it, but nobody had any idea about Rex Heuermann
00:27:56
or who he was, the architect of murder. It really feels like today is a bit of a
00:28:02
cause for celebration. It's a bittersweet moment, right? But it's it is cause for celebration and Hazed and
00:28:09
Blazed sound like a a great beer name to have for the celebration. Man, when I cracked this baby open, even so, I
00:28:18
didn't know it was going to be that I had found my new favorite beer. >> Yeah, five out of five.
00:28:23
>> So cheers to everybody out there. Power to the people. Now, under questioning
00:28:28
from Suffolk County District Attorney, Heuermann admitted the pattern and the mechanics of his crimes. He said he
00:28:34
strangled all eight victims. He acknowledged using burner phones to contact them.
00:28:41
He described how he wrapped bodies in burlap and disposed of the bodies. Yeah. >> He admitted to dismembering some of the
00:28:48
victims. I thought his words sounded clinical. No, and I thought his words sounded clinical. I mean, that's how
00:28:55
these that's how these guys are when they do finally talk. They it sounds like they're reading from a textbook.
00:29:02
There's very little emotion. If there's often times no emotion. Well, he was writing a textbook on murder.
00:29:10
>> Of course, these details landed hard in the courtroom. We did see some of the
00:29:16
family members were there present sitting crying, in tears because each detail look,
00:29:24
as much as we want to learn and hear some of the details, we got to these are these were done to a person with a
00:29:32
family, with a history. A person with a life that ended violently. And then, of course, we know that he these victims,
00:29:40
he discarded them like garbage. Well, these are tougher cases because if you have a crime of passion or
00:29:47
something somebody pulls out a gun, the killing's instant or almost instant. And
00:29:53
then even if somebody again a crime of passion somebody grabs a knife and you can sit there and and [clears throat]
00:29:59
and if you're reading the autopsy you can go well this individual stabbed 40 sometimes. And that's horrific but
00:30:06
all in a lot of those cases and I'm I'm not trying to be funny about this but in a lot of those cases the
00:30:13
the person passed away so the suffering's less. Part of these serial killers the these are torturous deaths.
00:30:24
The pain, the suffering, the watching the victim be scared watching the victim be tortured. That's
00:30:32
part of their sick fantasies. Well, they're sadist. Not all of them but most of them are sadist. Right. And that's
00:30:39
absolutely true and I don't know to what degree I know that's a weird statement but
00:30:47
some of these guys that that strangle and suffocate their victims they will resuscitate them and do it
00:30:57
again. A true crime docu-drama that people don't talk a lot about woman of the hour it shows the dating game serial
00:31:06
killer and they show in in the film that same scenario where he would choke his victim and then resuscitate her
00:31:15
essentially and then do it again and often times they would do this over and over as many times as
00:31:24
they could. After the hearing Rex Heuermann's attorney Michael Brown told reporters that the decision
00:31:32
to plead guilty was Rex Heuermann's alone. Brown said there came a point when Heuermann told the defense team I
00:31:40
want to plead guilty. Brown added that one of Heuermann's concerns was sparing both emphasis on the word both here for
00:31:48
a second. Sparing both his own family and the victims families from the ordeal of a
00:31:54
trial. I say [ __ ] Uh this guy's a monster. He only cares about himself. He only wanted to spare his family. He's
00:32:02
doesn't care about the victims families. If he cared about them at all he would never have murdered
00:32:09
their loved one to begin with. When asked if Heuermann felt remorse, his attorney Brown did not offer a
00:32:16
direct confirmation. He said only that he would hope so and he expected Rex Heuermann would have something to say at
00:32:23
sentencing. Now as you were talking about here Captain part of this plea deal as part of the plea deal Rex
00:32:30
Heuermann also agreed to cooperate fully with the FBI's behavioral analysis unit
00:32:35
a commitment that suggested investigators believe the story might still have edges to trace,
00:32:42
patterns to map or maybe even questions to close out. Rex's family was in the courtroom. His ex-wife Asa and their
00:32:52
daughter Victoria were present. After the plea Asa issued a brief statement centered on
00:33:01
the victims and their families. Where he has no remorse his wife certainly seems
00:33:06
to his ex-wife. She said that her thoughts and prayers were with the victims and their families and called
00:33:13
the families loss immeasurable and asked for privacy for her own family as they navigated what she described as a very
00:33:23
difficult time. Her attorney spoke as well with reporters speaking about a wider trauma
00:33:32
the murders had inflicted pain that in his words nothing said in court could lessen. He also said that Asa never
00:33:40
wanted to believe that the man that she had been married to for 27 years the father of her child was capable of such
00:33:48
horrific acts. So let's get into this uh confession or confessions a bit here because among the eight killings Rex
00:33:56
Heuermann admitted to was a murder that expanded really what the public understood about
00:34:03
the case. Rex Heuermann acknowledged killing Karen Vergata a 34-year-old mother of two and
00:34:11
her story stretched across decades. Her remains were initially found on Fire Island in April 1996. Additional remains
00:34:19
were found near Gilgo Beach in April of 2011. She was believed to have been working as
00:34:25
an escort in Manhattan when she disappeared on February 14th, 1996. For years investigators knew her only as
00:34:34
Fire Island Jane Doe. It wasn't until 2022 through genetic through genetic genealogy
00:34:43
that authorities could finally attach a name to the remains. After that identification her
00:34:51
step-sister Brenda described the long uncertainty that surrounded Vergata's disappearance. She
00:34:58
said you never know when it's going to be the last time you see someone. She explained that the family had wondered
00:35:05
what happened but added that Vergata sometimes went long periods of time without contacting the family. She says
00:35:13
over time what started as fear hardened into resignation. They just assumed she was dead because
00:35:22
no one had heard from her in 20 years. No and we see that in the Brian Shaffer case. Detectives that
00:35:29
thought maybe he started a new life somewhere else or maybe just hopeful of that. 20 years has
00:35:35
passed now you see their viewpoints on the case change and so that that'd be a devastating thing where you go well
00:35:43
maybe he'll turn back up or maybe somebody said something that made them want to not have contact for a while but
00:35:50
maybe they'll turn up. And every year that passes you lose hope. Following the court appearance
00:35:57
District Attorney Ray Tierney spoke publicly and he chose to name and address the families directly. He
00:36:05
thanked the victims relatives one by one for their help and said he was sorry an
00:36:10
apology delivered not as a formality in my opinion but as recognition of what years of uncertainty and incomplete
00:36:18
answers had cost them. Ray Tierney described how at the beginning the victims had been nothing but names on
00:36:25
investigative reports. Then investigators met the families met with the families. The families turned
00:36:33
paperwork into people. >> Well we've experienced that too. I mean we somebody suggests a case and you look
00:36:39
into it and you don't know what's there or maybe there's not much there on the internet.
00:36:45
You discuss the case with somebody close maybe a a friend and then they contact you with a a family member and then all
00:36:53
of a sudden the amount of details that are just not shared online and it like like you said it it turns a
00:37:03
case into a a person. >> Exactly and you know getting to to know the victims and in this case
00:37:11
it's it's more complex because some of the victims went without their their birth names
00:37:18
for very long and big parts of this investigation. And so learning about the victims, knowing
00:37:26
who the victims were, some of them mothers, some sisters, friends, all of them daughters
00:37:32
knowing who the victims were this is going to push the good investigators to work harder to close out this case. This
00:37:40
is three decades. This is a three decades case. Yeah but I think it goes even further like the
00:37:47
you're turning the case into people but once you turn the case into people then a lot of these detectives then it
00:37:55
becomes personable, right? It becomes a life mission to solve these crimes. I want to talk about the police
00:38:03
commissioner here for a bit Captain because I enjoyed this part because it is good to call balls and strikes,
00:38:12
right? Call it as you see it and stand up there and say it. Uh it needs to be done because that is
00:38:20
that is one of the things that these guys these serial killers hate the most. This is when
00:38:26
they get to and they they have to feel the shame. The shame for not just what they have done but truly it is the shame
00:38:33
for who they are. Expose them in front of their families. In front of the cameras expose them.
00:38:41
It's good to point your finger at the ogre and say there there he is the abomination. So South
00:38:48
uh Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina cheers to you Kevin. He spoke
00:38:54
to reporters with visible anger at the image of Rex Heuermann and the image that Rex Heuermann had projected
00:39:02
since the arrest. You know acting calm, serene, almost grandfatherly in his demeanor.
00:39:09
Catalina called that image a lie and an insult to law enforcement but more importantly to the families who had to
00:39:16
endure it at each court appearance for the last two and a half years. He said that in court Rex Heuermann was finally
00:39:24
exposed for what he was using words meant to strip away any remaining pretense. He called Heuermann sadistic,
00:39:31
soulless and murderous. Yeah I call that a Dawson's Creek douche canoe. It's it's
00:39:37
still a douche canoe still piece of [ __ ] but you're trying to be a more wholesome
00:39:42
version of that. And again, I thought eventually he would admit to the crimes, but that was based on the idea that
00:39:50
they're stacking piles of evidence. And at some point, he then has to wrestle in his mind and as much as I
00:39:59
want the FBI to study this individual and and learn as much as they can to possibly prevent or
00:40:06
capture other serial killers, there's a there is a a little bit of a problem I have with this because
00:40:14
this piece of [ __ ] wants to control the narrative. And by having this investigation or this studying of him,
00:40:23
he's going to try to do that. I don't know if he's going to be successful in that. I mean, this this guy should feel
00:40:29
the shame. I just don't know if he's capable of feeling the shame. Well, Rex Heuermann we know lived in Massapequa
00:40:35
Park, Long Island, maintaining what appeared from the outside to be an ordinary life. He commuted to Manhattan
00:40:43
and worked as an architect. But, on July 13th, 2023, he was arrested in Midtown Manhattan in connection with the deaths
00:40:52
of Melissa Bartholomew, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. These three women were connected to the grim landmark that
00:41:01
we all know about in this investigation, the discovery of bodies along Ocean Parkway. So, it was
00:41:08
you know, the Gilgo the Gilgo four that started it all, kicking off this mega-sized investigation back in
00:41:15
December of 2010 when investigators found four bodies wrapped in burlap within a quarter mile of one another
00:41:21
along Ocean Parkway. Those four victims became known as the Gilgo four and their discovery is
00:41:28
prompted by prompted investigators to publicly acknowledge that a serial killer might be responsible. And the
00:41:35
search that led that discovery was initially focused on another missing young woman, Shannan Gilbert, who that
00:41:43
one we still have no answers in and of course as long-time listeners of this show know that her death remains
00:41:50
contested and cause of much debate over the years. The only thing I'm hopeful in
00:41:56
these conversations that the FBI will have with him is is like you said, maybe once he starts talking,
00:42:03
he won't stop. And then maybe other families will get answers to what happened to their loved ones. Well,
00:42:09
don't hold your breath. I go back to the whole statement of I Look, I don't know
00:42:14
what he told his attorney. I know what the attorney told the reporters that Rex Heuermann said, "I
00:42:20
want to plead guilty. I want to change my my plea to guilty because I want to spare my family and the victim's family
00:42:27
the trauma of a trial." Again, [ __ ] Remember this guy, he killed these women, dismembered them, placed their
00:42:35
remains alongside the road. Yeah. And then in some cases called used the victim's cell phone and I'm glad that he
00:42:44
did. I'm glad that he did because that's part of the thing that got him caught. Right.
00:42:49
>> But, he would he called the victims using the victim's cell phone called the victim's family and taunted them with
00:42:56
cruel explicit language that not only upset them and saddened them, but also caused them fear as well. Could this guy
00:43:05
come after me? Could this guy come after us? Yeah, the the call was calls were twofold, right? There
00:43:13
[clears throat] it was taunting, but threatening at the same time. I mean, it shows you how how giant I mean, as big
00:43:20
as he is, he is as equally as big of a piece of [ __ ] What I do love though is that in the end, it was a
00:43:29
vehicle description and pizza crust DNA, Captain, that was the big break needed to finally get an arrest. Investigators
00:43:37
said that DNA One by everybody knows the rules. Investigators said that DNA evidence helped steer them toward Rex
00:43:45
Heuermann. They cited a DNA link involving a pizza crust recovered from a Manhattan trash can near Rex Heuermann's
00:43:53
work office and hair evidence connected to one of the victims. Police also referenced a vehicle description
00:44:00
provided by someone that knew one of the victims. This was a green Chevrolet Avalanche
00:44:07
described during a meeting with investigators in the spring of 2022. And so, that that also was a big part of
00:44:17
this case. This led them to Not many people had that type of vehicle at that time
00:44:24
when that meeting took place. And when they started working that angle in 2022, that was something that really helped
00:44:34
build the breadcrumb trail to get them to Rex Heuermann. Yeah, that was a game changer. And I
00:44:41
think there's some positive things uh about this plea deal. One, they don't have to spend more time and
00:44:50
resources to convict him. And yes, they had this mountain of evidence, but how long would this
00:45:00
case because there was so many cases. And I know that they were trying to lump them all together,
00:45:08
but again, this was going to take a lot of time and effort and he continued to lie to his family, put
00:45:14
them through Again, I thought there was more maybe cubism here and maybe that's I think maybe a weird thing to
00:45:22
say that. I think some of these serial killers care more about their families than other ones and I think him delaying
00:45:30
admitting to these crimes and putting his family through what they went through and I guess you can make an
00:45:36
argument because these documentaries now pay. So, how how much did the family make off
00:45:42
his crimes and and and is that something that we should allow? Because they're victims as well,
00:45:49
but then you then there's the whole debate of how much did they know or uh or how much did they suspect. But,
00:45:56
Peacock put out that great series last year called House of Secrets and they just
00:46:02
put out a final episode April 23rd. So, if you haven't seen that or if you saw the original episodes,
00:46:08
they did do a a final episode and and it it's fascinating to see the to see his wife
00:46:16
or ex-wife at this point, but to see her explain how he confessed to the crimes and I can't imagine what she's going
00:46:24
through or the family's going through. Yeah. Well, yeah. And now the abomination's ex-wife is
00:46:31
sleeping in the ogre's kill room. Which is bizarre. Oh, is it? You don't sleep in your uh ex-spouse's
00:46:37
kill room, Asa? Rex Heuermann's ex-wife now ex-wife says that she now sleeps in the basement of their Massapequa Park,
00:46:46
Long Island home, an area she describes as the room where he killed and dismembered victims. This from what you
00:46:54
referenced there, Captain, the fourth episode of Peacock's documentary The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets,
00:47:00
she says the space has been gutted, but she still feels haunted by dreams every night and believes the trauma will
00:47:08
follow her for life. Asa, who finalized her divorce from Rex in March of 2025, says she visited Rex Heuermann in jail
00:47:18
last summer and asked [clears throat] him how many women he killed. She recalls him
00:47:24
confessing to eight murders, one more than the seven that he had been charged with, and telling her all but one were
00:47:32
killed in that basement. So, according to her, she's known that he's guilty of eight murders since last
00:47:40
summer. My favorite part of her talking about the confessions is how she's called him
00:47:46
Mr. Heuermann. She wasn't going to call him Rex anymore. And I think that was a symbolic of I don't really know who you
00:47:55
are. I didn't think you were capable of these crimes. And now I know that you committed these crimes. Yeah, it's crazy
00:48:04
to think how far back this case goes. It's For decades, the Gilgo Beach investigation was a tangle of partial
00:48:12
remains, silence, and families forced to live with unanswered questions. But, we can sit here today, Captain, and be
00:48:21
thankful that law enforcement kept working, that technology kept changing, and then names that once had been
00:48:29
placeholders became people again. And what we saw this month in that Riverhead courtroom,
00:48:37
Rex Heuermann confirmed what investigators had built the case to prove, that he had targeted these women,
00:48:45
killed them, and tried to make them disappear. But, he did not succeed. The victims did not remain only names
00:48:55
on blotter. Their families brought them back into full view, into memory, into testimony, into the narrative of what
00:49:03
happened, and at last into a measure of legal finality that had been withheld for far too long.
00:49:14
>> [music] >> Want to thank everybody for joining us here in the garage each and every week.
00:49:28
Thanks for telling your mother. Thanks for telling your brother. Thanks for telling your sister. Thanks for telling
00:49:32
your nieces and nephews. Colonel, do we have any recommended reading for the beautiful listeners? Let's do some
00:49:38
recommended listening here today, Captain. We're going to recommend True Crime Garage, of course, for your ear
00:49:43
balls. >> No duh. Go back if you if you want to continue into this case, we we have no
00:49:49
shortage of episodes. We've covered it, as the Captain has said, for 10 years, but the the two the ones that I would
00:49:55
really point to that go well with today's episode are one from December 31st, 2024,
00:50:04
and then the following day, so New Year's Eve and then New Year's Day, we had a two-parter, Blueprint for Murder.
00:50:10
Those are episodes 810 and 811. And then from October of 2025, our Peaches episode, that is episode 877 on your
00:50:22
True Crime Garage Radio dial. And until next week, be good, [music] be kind, and
00:50:28
don't litter. >> [music] [music] [music] [music]