An attorney representing the victims of the accused Long Island Serial Killer said on Wednesday that emerging evidence connects the suspect to two more cold-case slayings.
Lawyer John Ray said the evidence links Rex Heuermann to Shannan Gilbert and Karen Vergata. Gilbert, 24, vanished from Oak Beach, New York, in May 2010 — a year-and-a-half before her remains were discovered in a nearby marsh in late 2011; Vergata, 34, was found dismembered on Fire Island in 1996, and her skull was discovered at Ocean Parkway in 2011.
A press conference has been scheduled for 3:15 p.m. EST Wednesday.
Accused Long Island Serial Killer Rex Heuermann Probed for Several Additional Deaths
Ray announced in the statement that sworn statements from new witnesses will be made available.
“The evidence also expands knowledge and information regarding Heuermann and his wife,” he also said.
Though police believed Gilbert’s death was accidental, her disappearance led to the discovery of 10 sets of human remains. Four sets of remains were found at Gilgo Beach in December 2010, and six more (including Vergata’s) were recovered along Ocean Parkway the following spring.
In July, police arrested Heuermann in Manhattan for the 2009 and 2010 murders of three women at Gilgo Beach on Long Island. Heuermann is charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Megan Waterman, 22; and Amber Lynn Costello, 27. He is the prime suspect in the death of 25-year-old Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
The four women were reportedly wrapped in burlap and buried next to each other on Gilgo Beach.
Ray said that Suffolk County police commissioner Rodney Harrison will attend an upcoming press conference regarding the new evidence in this case.
This story is developing…
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[Featured image: Rex Heuermann/Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office via AP]
*Additional reporting by Leigh Egan*
