The younger sister of the Jersey City woman whose disappearance prompted the search that uncovered the bodies of the so-called “Gilgo Four” said she was “relieved” about the arrest of a suspect in the infamous killings, adding that the alleged perpetrator “deserves to rot in prison.”
“It’s been a long time coming & I never gave up hope that one day justice would be served,” Sherre Gilbert wrote in an email to NBC News on Friday.
Gilbert’s sister, Shannan Gilbert, disappeared in the Gilgo Beach area on May 1, 2010.
The search for Shannan eventually led investigators to stumble upon the burlap-wrapped bodies of four women along Ocean Parkway in December of that year.
Architect Rex Heuermann, a married dad of two fom Massapequa Park, was arrested Thursday night in Manhattan in connection with the four killings, sources told The Post.
Shannan Gilbert, 23, whose mysterious disappearance in May 2010 eventually led to the discovery of multiple sets of human remains near Gilgo Beach, was found dead in Dec. 2011. Suffolk County Police“I’m just happy it happened sooner rather than later. The suspect (Rex) deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life. He destroyed many lives so while it won’t bring our loved ones back, it does help that one less monster is off the streets and he can’t ever hurt anyone else!” Gilbert said.
The Post confirmed that Heuermann was the suspect arrested in Long Island. Suffolk Police DepartmentGilbert’s remains were found in a marsh on Oak Beach in December 2011.
Who is Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann?
A suspected serial killer has been arrested over the notorious Gilgo Beach murders in Long Island, The Post can confirm.
Rex Heuermann, 59, a married dad of two and architect at a New York City firm, has a home on 1st Avenue in Massapequa Park, sources told The Post.
His arrest is tied to the “Gilgo Four,” four women — Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, Amber Lynn Costello, 27, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25 — found wrapped in burlap within days of each other in 2010.
The body of Barthelemy was first found along Ocean Parkway on Dec. 11, 2010, sparking fears of a serial killer in the area.
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By spring 2011, the number of bodies had climbed to 10, including eight women as well as an unidentified man and toddler.
Heuermann’s arrest comes after Suffolk County’s new police commissioner created a special Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force in February 2022.
It is unclear if Heuermann is also suspected of her killing, or those of the six other bodies found in the area.
A map of where four victims were found alongside the Ocean Parkway and the suspect’s home in Long Island.
