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 an unsealed indictment Tuesday.
A hunting dog discovered Mack’s decapitated body in a wooded area of Manorville on Long Island on November 19, 2000. His remains were tied with rope inside a black plastic bag wrapped in duct tape, according to a application for bail which accompanied the new charge.
Both of his hands had been severed from his body and one of his legs had been severed, the document states.
The rest of Mack’s remains were found more than a decade later, in April 2011, along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach, authorities said.
Mack’s parents “are very grateful for this little closure,” Suffolk County Prosecutor Ray Tierney said at a news conference Tuesday.
This undated photo provided by the Suffolk County Police Department, New York, on Thursday, May 28, 2020, shows Valerie Mack who disappeared in 2000. Suffolk County Police said the woman previously known as “Jane Doe No. 6” was identified through genetic data. genealogy technology.
Suffolk County Police Department via AP
Prosecutors said they linked Heuermann to Mack’s death in part through an analysis of mitochondrial DNA from a female hair found on Mack’s body. This matched the profiles of Heuermann’s wife and daughter, the bail application states. 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 found on some of the 350 electronic devices they seized from him, including his “extensive collection of violent, bondage and torture pornography.” dating back to at least 1994. This online collection included images of mutilation and tying women with ropes, two things prosecutors said were consistent with the injuries inflicted on Mack and the way she been attached, officials said.
FILE – Rex Heuermann, center, charged with the Gilgo Beach serial killings on Long Island, appears for a hearing Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, N.Y.
James Carbone/AP
Investigators said they found a document they believe was used by Heuermann to “plan” his murders. The document was created in 2000, the year Mack was killed. In a section titled “supplies,” Heuermann allegedly listed “rope/cord,” “saw/cutting tools,” and “foam pipe cleaner.” Under a section titled “DS,” which reportedly stands for “dump,” Heuermann allegedly pointed to one of the locations where Mack’s remains were found, officials said.
The document also included a “body preparation” section with a note to “remove the head and hands,” according to the bail application.
Suspected Gilgo serial killer Rex Heuermann (right) appears with his attorney Michael J. Brown for a conference at Suffolk County Court on October 16, 2024 in Riverhead, New York.
James Carbone-Pool/Getty Images, FILE
Heuermann allegedly kept newspaper and magazine clippings about the Gilgo Beach serial killings in his Massapequa Park home, prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday.
Prosecutors said they found a 2003 edition of the New York Post with an article titled “Serial Killer Eyed in LI Slay” and a copy of Newsday from 1993 with an article titled “Body Found in Woods.”
“Rex A. Heuermann sought out, purchased and kept these publications as souvenirs of his crimes,” prosecutors said.
Heuermann, 61, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with Mack’s death.
He appeared in court Tuesday shackled in a trial and told the judge, “Your honor, I am not guilty of any of these charges.” »
Judge Timothy Mazzei continued to hold Heuermann without bail.
Families of the other Gilgo Beach victims presented flowers to Mack’s parents after court Tuesday.
The defense had until next month to file motions related to the evidence. The defense has questioned the DNA methods used by prosecutors and may attempt to limit admissibility at trial. The defense also plans to ask the judge to separate the murder charges from the others.
The New York architect was initially arrested in July 2023.
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the murders of six other women: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Costello, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla. The first victim was found in 1993 and the last victims in 2010.
