(NEW YORK) — Anguished relatives of the Gilgo Beach, New York, serial killing victims aimed decades of anger at their loved ones’ killer, Rex Heuermann, as they gave victim impact statements at his sentencing on Wednesday.
“I can’t even put into words the eviscerating hatred I have for you,” said Jasmine Robinson, cousin of victim Jessica Taylor, who would have turned 43 on Wednesday. “You fill me with so much repugnance.”
Another cousin, Violet Swager, remembered Taylor as “fierce, kind, compassionate, beautiful and intelligent.”
She said to Heuermann, “You chose small women because you’re nothing more than a weak, disgusting coward.”
Heuermann, 62, who gave his own brief statement in court, was sentenced to consecutive life sentences in prison.
In April, he pleaded guilty to killing seven women: Taylor, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello, Valerie Mack and Sandra Costilla. He also admitted to killing an eighth woman, Karen Vergata, though he was not formally charged in her death.
Brainard-Barnes’ sister Missy Cann broke down in tears as she read a statement prior to the imposition of the sentence.
“You are a coward who preyed on vulnerable, innocent women,” Cann said.
Mack’s parents, Ed and JoAnn Mack, said Heuermann robbed their daughter of the chance to achieve her dreams.
“I would like to say to Mr. Heuermann, what you have done to our family is beyond what words can express,” JoAnn Mack said. “Even though justice is done, it cannot replace what you have taken from us.”
Barthelemy’s sister, Amanda Funderberg, recalled how Heuermann tormented her after the murder by calling her and saying he was letting Barthelemy’s body rot.
Funderberg turned to stare down Heuermann in the courtroom, telling him, “You can look at me while I’m talking — it has been about 17 years since we’ve spoken.”
She called him an “ogre” and a “repulsive monster.”
Waterman’s daughter, Liliana Waterman, who was 9 when her mother was killed, recalled finding out about how her mother died while scrolling on her phone.
“In an instant my world shattered,” Liliana Waterman said. “I have spent 16 Mother’s Days without her.”
Heuermann gave his own brief statement in court, saying, “There are no words I can say.”
“The words I would say have no meaning and I’m going to leave it there,” he said softly.
Someone in the gallery shouted, “Speak up!”
When Heuermann said nothing more, an incredulous Judge Timothy Mazzei asked, “Are you a little bit sorry for what you did [to] these poor, innocent women? Are you at least a little bit sorry for that?”
Heuermann responded quietly, “Yes I am.”
After Mazzei pronounced the consecutive life sentences, the judge told the court officers to “get him outta here!”
The victims’ families broke out into applause, shouting “ogre, ogre,” before Heuermann was cuffed and led out of the courtroom.
In April, Heuermann agreed to serve three consecutive life sentences followed by four consecutive sentences of 25 years-to-life, according to prosecutors. Part of Heuermann’s plea agreement also requires him to be interviewed by the FBI’s behavioral analysis unit.
Prosecutors said the New York City architect targeted sex workers, strangled them and dumped their bodies near Long Island’s Gilgo Beach over the course of 17 years. The Gilgo Beach cases went unsolved for years, until Heuermann’s arrest in 2023.
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