Gilgo Beach serial killer shares horrific details of how he killed victims in front of their relatives

Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has shared the horrific details of the eight women he murdered after admitting to their killings in court.

Heuermann, an architect from Long Island, was accused of seven murders dating back to 1993, dubbed the Gilgo Beach killings, with an eighth added to his terrifying tally on Wednesday (8 April).

He appeared at Suffolk County court in Riverhead, New York, where he changed his plea to guilty in the murders of the eight women.

The court heard how Heuermann strangled and dismembered the women and dumped their remains along stretches of Long Island, with their remains found years after their initial disappearances.

When asked how he killed each women, he repeatedly replied with the word 'strangulation' as the victims' relatives gasped in the court.

Heuermann pled guilty to the murders in court (James Carbone - Pool/Getty Images)

Reports said the serial killer appeared calm as he reeled off the details of the killings of Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla.

Karen Vergata, whose 1996 murder had not previously been linked to him, was named as his eighth victim.

He confessed to dismembering the women and tying them up in burlap, as well as contacting his victims via burner phones and luring them with money.

Their remains were mainly found in marshland along Long Island’s south coast, most notably Gilgo Beach.

Following his guilty plea, prosecutors said: “He will serve three consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole."

Heuermann will be sentenced on 17 June.

Michael Brown, Heuermann’s attorney, said the notorious killer that 'gave peace and hope to the families' after changing his plea and accepting responsibility for his crimes.

“He certainly wanted to save the families of the victims the ordeal of going to trial, and coupled with saving his family that ordeal — it was definitely a factor,” Brown told reporters.

Before changing his plea, the killer was scheduled to face trial later this year.

He detailed the killings of the women and where he hid their remains (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Heuermann's guilty plea may also help his wife, Asa Ellerup, and daughter Victoria from liability in pending and expected civil lawsuits filed by the families of his victims.

The killer has also agreed to work with the FBI on other serial killer cases, according to Brown.

Heuermann committed the first murder in 1993 and struck for the last time in 2010. It wasn't until 2022 that Suffolk Country police managed to work out he was behind the string of murders.

Heuermann was first arrested in 2023 and has been held in custody ever since.