member of one of these girls that were found. >> kim overstreet's sister was one of the gilgo4, amber costellobelieves amber was more vulnerable because of her struggles with addiction. >> by the time she was 16 years old to the day she went she was fighting it. so, she, she, you know, she had a, she had a hard life. she really did. >> cnn took kim to amber's home where she was last seen by friends. >> are you okay? >> yeah, it is . >> tell me what is going on. [crying] >> this was the last place she was, you know. i have been here so many times with her. i can't believe the one time i am not with her this happens. >> amber's residence was just under 40 miles from the home of melisa barthelemy in the bronx. her body was the first of the four found. she was 24 when she went missing in 2009 after she finally graduated from high school. >> she had dropped out of school because she was having a few problems and she got herself back in school. she didn't want a ged, she wanted a dipomia, a diploma. she went back and got straight a's and graduated. >> she moved from buffalo to new york city >> she t

girls that were found. >> kim overstreet's sister was also one of the gilgo four. 27-year-old amber lynn costello sister, you know. it eats at me every day. it consumed me. >> like her sister, kim worked as an escort, but she believes amber was more vulnerable because of her struggles with addiction. >> from the time she was probably 16 years old up until the day she went, she was still fighting it. so she -- you know, she had -- she had a hard life. she really did. >> cnn took kim to amber's home in west babylon where she was last seen by friends. >> are you okay? >> yeah. >> tell me what's going on? >> this is the last place she was, you know. and i've been here so many times with her. i just can't believe the one time i'm not with her, it happens. >> amber's residence was just under 40 miles from the home of melissa barthelemy in the bronx. her body was the first of the gilgo four to be found. melissa was only 24 when she went missing in 2009 after she finally graduated from high school. >> she had dropped out of school because she was having a few problems, and she got herself back in school.

. >> the victims are maureen brainard-barnes of connecticut, amber lynn costello of north avalon, new york. megan waterman of maine. melissa bartolome of the bronx. >> we actually were watching the news and saw that there were four bodies found in long island. they actually showed the remains of one, a skeleton. we just started hollering, something called us. >> we knew it was her. just the size of the remains. >> reporter: melissa bartolome was petite and in her 20s, like all the other victims. >> he was very selective about people under five feet. he wanted young women who appeared younger by their size. >> reporter: it was not the only similarity. >> all of them were self- employed in the escort business. they were soliciting their services on craigslist and other websites on the internet. >> no matter what she did, she was our daughter and a friend of people. >> i would just like to put it out there that she was the light of my life. [ crying ] i would like to set the record straight that she was not a mean person, she was not a bad person. >> i bought into all the horrible stereo

the hair found on amber costello. that profile matched his wife. >> bill: you have phone evidence, correct? how could you have cell phone or telephone evidence that goes back 13 years? this is a new style of law enforcement that has been used in courts and we've seen it in high-profile cases in the last year. how do you get that from 2010? >> so back in 2012, when a lot of this material was still available, there was an f.b.i. phone expert who went into and drove through the massapequa park area and established a map of the phone -- cell phone coverage in that area, and he indicated that he showed a small area in this massapequa park neighborhood which indicated that not only was the killer using a phone in that area but one of the victims had used her phone in the area as well. similarly, they went to mid town manhattan and they mapped out the same area in mid town, manhattan. what's significant about that, of course, is the defendant lives in the small area in massapequa park and works in the area located in mid tor

for the murders of melissa barthelemy, amber costello and megan waterman. he went missing between july 2007 and september 2010. there were found in december of 2010, by the suffolk county police department, and then there was nothing. absolutely nothing. for the next 13 years, their cases went unsolved. until today. when i took office in january of 2022, i made gilgo a party. i made gilgo a priority before he took office. i met with the victims families, some of whom i am proud to have standing with us today. and i told them that we were going to handle this case differently. we were going to do it differently. and when i showed up, you were not going to show me calling the meeting and being on neil cavuto beach with a giant magnifying lens, looking for clues, 12 years after the case. what i was going to do, i was going to work with my task force, we are going to form a task force, work with the suffolk county police department, work with suffolk county sheriff's office, work with the new york state police, we will work with our fbi, and form this task forc

amber costello also had a hair, a significant hair that was recovered during the time, during the time of the recovery. but again, the crime scene because it was out there for so long and because it was exposed to the elements, those hairs were degraded. so you couldn't use traditional dna analysis on it. you would -- you would have to wait and use mitochondrial dna. and back in 2010 the technology wasn't there for mitochondrial dna. so the investigation proceeded, but also technology proceeded, as well. and then in january -- in february of 2022 we formed the task force. we began working collectively, and then a mere six weeks later, on march 14th, 2022, rex huberman was identified for the first time. and the manner in which that was done was the new york state investigator looked at a database. amber costello, the day before her disappearance on september 1st, 2010, she met with an individual for the purposes of having him pay her money for her services. but she -- she involved herself in a ruse where -- other individuals came into the house, pretended to be a significant other, conf

dna found on that piece of crossed with the bodies of melissa barthelemy, megan waterman, and amber costello. >> it is interesting when the four bodies were removed from the burlap bag, examination of the contents of the bag showed five hairs. five individual hairs and most of them attached to duct tape he used he tied the bags up. and so to duct tape is a terrific forensic tool because it captures fingerprints, dna in this case it captured individual hairs. nothing much was done until the new team came in just a year ago they still had those hairs and examinations of the hair not for dna did not turn up any genetic dna nuclear dna that comes from both parents. but it did turn up mitochondrial dna at different dna that comes only from the mom. four of the hairs had female d dna. they went to the trash of the house and got some bottles out that matched the dna from his wife. they thought was to transfer dna from what he had in the car or on his hands when he got to the duct tape. one strand not a strand a single hair had a mail dna from one of the decedent's, waterman. that's when they went a

amber costello one of the victims was seen getting into one of those early versions of that kind of vehicleme about that witness and how they put the pieces together to identify rex heuermann as a suspect. listen. >> once we realized that rex heuermann owned a chevrolet avalanche, the truck being driven by the last individual to see the last victim amber costello alive, that was sort of a key piece of evidence because not only did he have that chevy avalanche he also matched the unique physical description of the individual. >> so they picked up that vehicle down in south carolina. at a property we're told that belongs to a family member of his. he also had another later version of that car at his home in long island that was seized by police. >> the details are fascinating. authorities said they had him on their radar for more than a year. >> you know, they had the dna, right from the crime scene, they identified him as a suspect, they're able then to try to find him and actually match dna, we saw that pizza box, right, they had to get that pizza box, they had to figure out all the cell ph

amber costello, melissa y megan... [ habla en inglÉs] blanca: el arresto es un un gran paso en la investigaciÓnprogramas sobre delitos reales. las mujeres perdidas fue el tema de una pelÍcula de netfli en el 2020. >> yo he visto la pelÍcula que sacaron en netflix, fue sorprendente que lo encontraran. blanca: 11 personas asesinadas entre el 2010 y 2011, casi todas mujeres prostitutas, los restos de las cuatro primeras vÍctimas fueron encontrados en las remotas playas de long island. >> me alegro de que ya lo encontraron, y que la familia puede estar en paz. leÓn: la cÁmara de representantes aprobÓ un proyecto de la repÚblica no quedarÍa $886,000,000,000 al departamento de defensa, incluye algunos requisitos del ala conservadora que dividieron a los representantes, restringir y el acceso al aborto de las soldados de estados unidos, tambiÉn los programas que promueve la diversidad, los 119 congresistas votaron a favor, 210 en contra con fuerte oposiciÓn demÓcrata, la legislaciÓn tiene pocas posibilidades en el senado. blanca: otro estudio sobre la seguridad de populares productos de consumo divide

charged with first and second-degree murder of three women, melissa barthelemy, megan waterman, and amber costello their remains discovered within a quarter-mile stretch near gilgo beach back in 2010. in all 11 bodies were recovered in that area during sweeping search efforts sending a wave of fear over long island residents. >> i know there's a community out there that as the facts unfold will be sleeping a lot easier tonight. >> reporter: after following him through the city last night, captured on this surveillance video, today investigators searching heuermann's manhattan architecture firm and home in massapequa park, new york key evidence accumulating this year including the recent discovery of his chevrolet avalanche towed from his property today a witness to one of the victim's disappearance had described that vehicle according to court documents. police say heuermann was also tied to burner phones seen here loading more minutes onto the device, and authorities pulled his dna from pizza crust tossed in a manhattan trash can. neighbors on long island stunned to learn of the suspected serial

held without bail after pleading not guilty to murdering megan waterman, melissa barthelemy, and amber costello all young women in their 20s who worked for escort services. police recovered key dna back in 2010, but all they had was hair. >> the only dna you can get is mitochondrial dna rather than the traditional dna that you get from traditional dna testing. >> reporter: and that science today is a lot better than it was over ten years ago >> certainly in 2010, absolutely >> reporter: police also needed a suspect. witnesses described a large man over six feet tall. one said he drove a chevrolet avalanche. >> it's a collaboration -- >> reporter: the d.a. says they identified heuermann and a dna match was made with some help from this discarded pizza box. >> we have a lot of pieces that when put together i think they tell a story, and that certainly is a key piece. >> reporter: among the allegations in court documents, melissa barthelemy's family received multiple taunting phone calls a male caller admitted killing and sexually assaulting her police say heuermann spent time online searching chi

city architect and father of two killed three women, melissa barthelemy, megan waterman, and amber costellot in the death of a fourth, maureen brainerd-barnes. the women in their 20s, petite, sex workers. >> she didn't deserve this, just like nobody else's mother or sister or daughter deserves this. she really was a fabulous person. just lost in life. >> reporter: heuermann was taken into custody at 8:30 p.m. thursday outside his fifth avenue architecture firm in manhattan. detectives spent the weekend pulling evidence from his home, including trash bags and a filing cabinet. prosecutors say heuermann had 92 gun permits and more than 200 guns. some of the weapons seen in this dailymail.com photo. how concerning is that, that he had that kind of an arsenal. >> well, i think it was concerning and concerning enough where we didn't want to have the arrest at the house. we wanted to take him into custody somewhere outside of the house because of access to those weapons. >> reporter: prosecutors also say heuermann was living a double life. the public saw a father and architect who commuted into n

they were megan waterman, amber costello, and melissa barthelemy.itions, wrapped in material. they were all found in roughly the same area on long island — which is to the east of new york city. the bodies of several other people were also found there around that time, as this graphic released by local police illustrates. while heuermann is only suspected of involvement in one other murder, investigations will be made to see if there are any other links. the case against heuermann was based on dna evidence from a discarded pizza box, cellphone data, and a sighting of his vehicle at the home of one of the murdered women. there were also extreme images found on his home computer. here's what the relatives of some of his alleged victims had to say about the arrest. i just want to say that i'm grateful for the hard work that's been done. i'm grateful that today is happening and i hope for the future. can you say anything about jessica? who she was and how you hope she is remembered in all of this and not forgotten somehow? i hope that she is remembered

new york city and father of two, killed three women -- melissa barthelemy, megan waterman and amber costellois now the prime suspect in the death of a fourth, maureen brainard-barnes. their bodies each wrapped in burlap, discovered in a wooded area along the beach within a quarter mile of one another in december 2010. >> for the next 13 years, their cases went unsolved. until today. >> reporter: in court today, heuermann pleading not guilty. heuermann was taken into custody at 8:30 p.m. thursday at his fifth avenue firm in manhattan. this morning, investigators in white forensic suits converging on heuermann's home in massapequa park, not far from where the bodies were found. the investigation going cold until last year, when detectives linked heuermann to a chevrolet avalanche a witness reported seeing when one of the women vanished. they also connected him to burner cellphones used to arrange meetings with three of the four victims. whenever the target phones would bounce off a cell tower, if the heuermann personal phone bounced off a tower, it was always consistent and in close proximity

amber costello, megan waterman and melissa barthelemy were discovered in december 2010, investigators locating their skeletal remains alongside ocean parkway. the women in their 20s, petite, and sex workers, all found within a quarter mile of each other. the d.a. told us they're pulling a mountain of evidence out of this home here, david. it's all being swabbed for dna to see if there is a link to other gilgo beach victims and, david, police all over the state are now looking through their cold case files to see if there might be a connection to this very same suspect. david. >> david: you'll follow it for us, aaron again tonight, thanks. >>> now to the passenger in a small plane forced to take the controls after the pilot suffered a medical 347b8g during a flight from westchester county, new york, to martha's vineyard, the passenger, a 68-year-old woman crash landing the plane near the runway and surviving with that pilot. here's janai norman tonight. >> reporter: tonight, a frightening and dangerous emergency landing after a passenger was forced to take control of a small single eng

you know, the fact that they knew that when it comes -- it seemed to me that it came from the amber costello investigation and what amber would do is amber would roll some of her johns meaning that she would invite a john over, she was a sex worker, invite a client over and then a guy would jump in one of her friends and say this is my girlfriend and empty the pockets of the john. the john would just give money and go away. they had done this to a man a couple of days apparently before he went missing and they described him as six four to six six. drove a chevy avalanche which is not a typical car on long island. a dark color. and he was just a very big guy. the fact that they had that information and knew this killer was probably from the area it seems like they could have narrowed him down but we know that the police department had so much corruption and we know that they kicked out the fbi a year into it that's one of the reasons why they were not able to get it but he should have been caught way earlier. >> yeah at this time mean -- yeah, this all points to be planned out and calculated.

authorities arrested him outside of his office in midtown manhattan, charging him with the murder of amber costello> it is not that into, it is the beginning now -- end, it is the beginning now. we have to get justice. reporter: he is also the suspect in the murder of maureen barnes. all women in their 20's and sex workers. their bodies found in camouflaged burlap in a wooded area in 2010. detectives looking at technology to crack the code case, collecting dna from a pizza crust in a trashcan outside of the suspect's office that matches dna on one of the victims. >> we i to the point that in extremely small amount of dna can come up with a profile. reporter: investigators are looking at his alleged activity on burner phones. and tracking his car. rosemarie lives around the corner, and she says that their daughters went to school together. >> i would take the kids trick-or-treating. and by the time we got to this block, it was a bad vibe. it was always that vi something is not right. reporter: investigators are pulling potential evidence from his home to see if there is a connection to six other mur

melissa bar thiol muse, amber costello, emma waterman and -- barnes.haunted police, but a couple years ago there were new leadership, and the commissioner who used to be former knapp knapp, started a task force. they collected a slew of evidence against heuermann, including burner phones they say in this court paperwork he used to contact sex workers -- these women were believed to be sex workers, advertising on craigslist. it's also believed he contacted the family members of the victims to taunt them and ask them questions. it's believed that these murders happened while his wife was out of the country. some of the other information that we have uncovered in these documents is that they had e-mail addresses, where he was researching the crimes, you know, about serial killers, victims' names, looking up pornography sites, sadistic sites. how they eventually nabbed him, according to sources is not only the burner phones, but also a f physical description of a witness, and also a pickup truck related to heuermann's brother, but they nabbed him by dna. t

and 27-year-old amber costello for the women worked as escorts by the prime suspect in the fourth murderrding to prosecutors and police could link him to more killings once they gather more evidence. in total at least 11 sets of remains were found between 2010 and 2011 along gilgo beach road back in general this year heuermann's dna was collected on pizza crust that linked him to a hair fount with a set of the remains. prosecutors also say heuermann was linked to the keyrings killings through his car and burner phones allegedly used to arrange meetings with some of the victims. some people tell us they were not sure this day would never come. >> i always wondered how the case would really like go if anyone would really be found for it too. >> kind of look at the house and be like wow, i passed by it so many times not realizing somebody like that has been living among us in that kind of thing. heuermann had permits for at 92 guns but they are not all accounted for at this time. all he may have appeared to have a professional put together life as an architect, there may have been some chao

. >> we have a description of the last individual who saw the final victim, amber costello alive, thather unique physical appearance. we have phone evidence and we also have that dna evidence, the defendant's dna was recovered off of one of the bodies whereas his wife's dna was recovered off of two bodies. >> i want to show folks at home, this is a picture of a belt that was found at the scene here in january of 2020, police released these images, one of the gilgo beach crime scenes, the initials that looked like to be "hm" or w wh." >> i believe he has relatives with the name of william. >> so wh. what can you tell us as our reporter was just telling us, the family is now being interviewed as part of this investigation, what kind of cooperation are you getting for heue heuermann's wife and his two children? >> we don't disclose sources but i can tell you this has been since from the very beginning a very comprehensive investigation and we're going to look at every source of evidence whether that's a human source or molecular. >> has anyone come forward with information about heuermann

shortly thereafter, amber costello was found dead.ged victims of rex heuermann. the key to this was that dave shella went to the authorities and told the authorities what he had observed. he gave them the physical makeup of heuermann. he also told him about the truck that he was driving. guess what, neil? it looks as though the police department there dropped the ball and didn't follow up on that phase of the investigation, which was significant and could very well have bought this man to justice a lot sooner. >> neil: there's a lot we won't know about that to your point, ted. i did want to ask you about this fear of other victims and much like the story and ted bundy where there were other cities, other women, other corps, be that that could be the case here and that evidence to that might have been found in the home. what do you think? >> well, they may very well have found evidence in the home, neil. what we found when you're talking about these serial killers like you just said, ted bundy, john wayne gasey, what we found about the

gilbert and police discovered three other bodies, maureen brainard-barnes, and melissa barthelemy, amber costelloy threw away pizza box and found dna to link to the murders. and used burner phones related to sex and prostitution and quote violent children pornography. pleaded not guilty to all charges. and bail hearing on august 1, if convicted could face multiple life sentences. >> martha: bring in special agent jack, what is your reaction to the findings in this case and seeing this individual perp walked today? >> it's quite an incredible case and my credit to the investigators. the agents, detectives that worked on this case. worked doggedly on this matter, well over a decade. that we heard. and kept in the fight and investigation going. and hopefully now lead to nice conclusion to bring justice to the families and the victims themselves. >> martha: one of the things that we keep hearing from the folks related to the families. they believe that more than one person involved in this. and hope that the police stay on this case, they believe they will uncover that. what do you make of that, jack

in amber costello's case, she is coming from west babylon, and picked bap ded up by a dark tru matching tall, thick hair and bushy hair and glasses. and never seen from again. and looking at melissa barthelemy and the n megan waterman, and they are never seen again or the cell phones and so it is seems that there is a pattern. >> what does this say in the serial killer category? >> it is organize and risk getting caught, and disorganized killer. jack the pit ripper was disorganized. the planning of using aliases, and he is using aliases, and fake email accounts and burner cell phones. you know, the way to that he took to plan to hide his identity so well over a period of time, but by bringing them to the home, he is exerting a level of control, and if he had met them at hotels, you are passing by security officers, front desk people, and other desks, and if you are committing a murder, that is going to be loud in a hotel room, and at hom he had control and they didn't. >> great to see you john. so great to see you, and much more cing on this, and including a programming note, suay night

reporter: 59-year-old rex heuermann is accused of murdering megan waterman, melissa barthelemy, and amber costello quarter mile stretch on long island's gilgo beach in 2010. a witness helped crack the case according to court documents. >> a witness described a description of the vehicle, details, and indicated the person is somewhat unique. >> reporter: describing a large white male with dark bushy hair, driving a chevy avalanche. as well as using dna samples from bottles and this pizza crush pulled from the trash. those who live there had afraid a serial killer was on the loose. heuermann, an architect and a married father of two was allegedly hiding in plain sight and living a double life all along. even using burner phones say investigators who tracked heuermann's phone activity near his fifth avenue in manhattan and his suburban home. he also believe he used melissa barthelemy's cell phone to make taunting calls to her family after she disappeared, court documents detailing escort services and fake dating profiles, a stark contrast to the every day businessman, seen in this video taken last ye

heuermann is accused of killing three women, amber costello, megan waterman, melissa barthelemy, and suspected in the murder of a fourth, maureen brainard-barnes, all four found in a wooded stretch of beach, in december 2010, their bodies wrapped in hunt g burlap, each in their 20s, petite and working as escorts. prosecutors said heuermann sent this selfie he sent using burner phones to solicit the women for sex. >> they compared the victims' phones with the burner phones and immediately honed in on some similarities. >> reporter: investigators say they linked heuermann to the killings through the phones, his car, a chevrolet avalanche, and dna lifted from this pizza box in a trash can outside his manhattan office. rex heuermann seen in an old you tube video boasting about his career running his architecture firm. >> i'm an architectural consultant, a troubleshooter, born and raised on long island. >> reporter: heuermann appeared in court handcuffed and dishevelled, his attorney entering a not guilty plea on his behalf, and saying heuermann denies being the killer. but prosecutors ha

. >> amber costello, one of the victims. had a pimp. they booked him with the accused.s up and run a ruse on him as old as the hills and try to rip him off. he leaves but doesn't run out. the pimp's description of heuermann and his car, which is unique. it was a new chevy avalanche, gets to the task force. they have two data points to look for. not only the six foot 4, 240 white male and this car. later when they do the phones and they did clever work with the phones, i think that was the eureka moment. let's see what he looks like and drives. he fits the description the pimp gave us and the car matches. he is our guy. >> harris: a client of rex heuermann reveals a creepy conversation she had with him when she gave him a ride home from brooklyn to long island. at one point on the drive we talked about the gilgo beach murders. we even discussed the burlap and why someone would use that. thinking about that conversation is bone chilling. the quote from the former client. >> serial killers talk to the world through their killing. that's what they do. one of the things they

the dna has been linked to melissa barthelemy, amber costello, and megan waterman, all sex traffic workersin all there were 11 bodies found in and around gilgo beach. three and possibly a fourth linked to one alleged killer so far. investigators say they made the arrest now because they fear heuermann could strike again. >> he was using these alternate identities and alternate incidents to patron nice sex workers. >> reporter: he has pled not guilty and insists through his lawyer he is not innocent. he is an unlikely suspect. a husband, father of two, architect working on building. >> i'm an architect, troubleshooter, born and raised on long island. >> reporter: as for the other victims found, many of their family members hope this will lead to answers about their loved ones. were they victims as well. >> i'm hopeful for the future and i'm hopeful that a connection is made. >> miguel marquez, thank you. >>> well, an escaped inmate who's been on the run for more than a decade has been found walking down a residential street. police just released this video. he was heading toward the woods.

he's charged with murder in the killings of melissa barthelemy, amber waterman and amber costello.he prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman. >> that investigation is continuing with regard to maurian brainard barns. and we feel confident that we're going to eventually be able to charge that murder. >> reporter: but those four women are among 11 sets of human remains scattered across the south shore of long island between 2010 and 2011. >> can they link him to the other seven? i think that, short of a confession maybe through let's make a deal, it's very unlikely that they would be able to link those to him for endsically. it's too much time. >> rex heuermann, an architect, i'm an architectural consultant, i'm a troubleshooter, born and raised on long island. >> reporter: in addition to owning and running an architecture firm, the 59-year-old is married and has two children. >> the only way they can keep this trajectory of successful killing going is to have a double life or otherwise just move around constantly. >> reporter: authorities say heuermann's wife and two children w

alleged serial killer may have committed the murders of melissa barthelemy, megan waterman, and amber costellos own home. investigators are combing through heuermann's home searching for clues including personal effects linked to the victims. >> every piece of evidence that could be gathered, whether from the storage containers or from his home, could be valuable not only to the murders that he's currently being charged with, but more importantly if we can connect him to other murders. >> reporter: it is the forensic evidence from possible victims that will establish the home as the primary crime scene. documents show authorities believe they already have circumstantial evidence that points to the long island home where victims may have been murdered. in 2022, a comprehensive investigation revealed for the first time heuermann used burner phones to arrange dates with the victims. documents states before each victim went missing, triangulation of cell phone data showed the burner victims and the victims' homes traveled to massapequa, long island, the same time as heuermann where his family home

determine if the l edged serial killer may have committed the murders of melissa barthelemy, and amber costello right in his own home. investigators are combing through heuermann's home, searching for clues, including personal effects linked to the victims. >> every piece of evidence that can be gathered, whether it's in storage containers or from his home, could be valuable not only to the murders that he's currently being charged with, but more importantly if we can connect him to other murders. >> reporter: but it is the forensic evidence from possible victims that will establish the home as the primary crime scene. documents show authorities believe they already have circumstantial evidence that points to the long island home where victims may have been murdered. in 2022, a comprehensive investigation revealed for the first time heuermann used burner phones to arrange dates with the victims. documents state before each victim went missing, triangulation of cell phone tower data showed the burner phones and the victims' phones traveled to massapequa, long island, at about the same time as he

remain even after even years later because in the three cases that they've charged, in the case of amber costello of the unique model chevy truck that he used seems to pick her up on the street, away from her residence. and her phone is left behind, but the assumption is, he takes her to her residence. and measurement meghan waterman case, herself phone starts in a hotel way out in -- miles east of his house. they can track it right to his neighborhood. at 1:46 in the morning. and then melissa barthelemy case, her phone is tracked to the area of his residence at 3:11 am. so, there is a theory that he was making late night appointments at his house, in an environment where he would have access to what they called the murder, kit things he was getting used to tie them up. and kill them. that he would have privacy because, in each instance of those three cases, his family was out of town, and that he would have control . >> is one reason he was arrested in new york city where he had an office because of that long drive back that they mentioned, it would give him an opportunity if he was inclined to

heuermann has been charged with the murders of melissa torme, amber lynn costello, and megan waterman. all sex workers in their 20s. the investigation is continuing. he has been also been named as a suspect in the murder of marine brain or barns. there were 11 bodies found in and around go-go beach. only three and possibly a fourth now linked to one alleged killer so far. investigators say they made the arrest now because they feared heuermann could strike again. >> one of the reasons we had to take this case down was we learned that the defendant was using these ultimate identities and these alternate instruments to continue to patronize sex workers. >> reporter: rex herman insists he is innocent. he is an unlikely suspect, a husband, father of two, architect in manhattan dealing with arcane building codes. in february, 2022, he was even interviewed about his job for a youtube show. >> i'm an architectural consultant. i am a troubleshooter born and raised on long island. >> reporter: as for the several other victims, many of their family members hope this will lead to answers about t

and father of two seen on surveillance video being arrested thursday, charged in the murders of amber costellolissa barthelemy and megan waterman. abc's learning that detectives are currently pulling potential evidence to see if anything they find might link heuermann to the six other unsolved gilgo beach killings. >> there are other individuals involved here in this case that we do not have justice for yet. >> reporter: authorities say there are differences in those cases, but they're exploring all options for now. prosecutors allege that heur ermanb >> they compared this with the burner phones and they immediately honed in on some similarities. >> reporter: local police joining forces with the fbi, first learning of heuermann last year. authorities saying they used phone analytics and advanced dna technology to link him to the four murders. court documents saying authorities matched dna lifted from this pizza crust recovered from a trash can outside his manhattan office to dna of hair found on a victim. all four women in their 20s and working as escorts were found in a wooded stretch of beac

heuermann is accused of three women, amber costello, megan waterman and melissa suspected in a fourthureen brainard-barnes. all founded in a wooded stretch of beach, their bodies wrapped in hunting burlap, each in their 20s, petite and working as escorts. prosecutors said took this selfie he sent using disposable phones to solicit the women for sex. >> they've compared the victim's phones with the burner phones, and they immediately honed in on some similarities. >> reporter: they linked him through the cars, his car, a chevrolet avalanche, and dna lifted from this pizza box in a trash can outside his manhattan office. 13 years after the bodies were discovered, police seized more evidence at his home in massapequa park where neighbors were stunned, saying it's shocking, an alleged serial killer lives so close for so long. >> they never really were up. i'd see the wife come up and down the block in the car, but that's about it. >> the fact that this guy is only a couple doors down or so from me is really -- it just makes me tremble a little bit. >> reporter: rex heuermann seen here in

was registered to the defendant as described they say significant because one of the witnesses, amber costellodentified a first generation chevrolet avalanche. we do know there was a vehicle, we had video of it, a vehicle getting taken away from his home in massapequa park earlier today, had no idea what vehicle it was, but another key piece of evidence. >> without question, it's a lot of dna evidence. we don't know where the women died. we know from at least one 911 call, a woman panicked and thought her life was at risk, some evidence she had gone to a location not at the beach. so if the young women were killed in a home near the beach, then transported, all the dna evidence is going to be found in the vehicle that was used to make that transport. so, any where, any locations where dna evidence could exist, in his home, in his car, at his offices. there might be trace elements, because he was going to work every day, another shocker. and maybe not so shocking for those of us that cover a lot of this, all of us do cover serial killers, btk killer was installing security installments in homes

they include killing melissa barthelemy, megan waterman, and amber costello, stuffing their bodies intoarnes. >> reporter: as the investigation into the gilgo beach serial killing suspect continues, more people coming forward to talk about their interactions with rex heuermann. >> i had a really, really bad feeling, like, my gut was telling me i needed to get away from him. >> reporter: nikki brass telling "good morning america" telling heuermann solicited her online in 2015 when she worked as an escort and that he talked about the gilgo beach murders. >> when he talked about it, he would, like, speak in a "they" and hypothetical. but he had this, like, smile on his face. it made me really uneasy. and, like, he had this glossed over look in his eye. >> reporter: the investigation now spans the country. authorities in south carolina searching property owned by heuermann for any evidence to link the 59-year-old architect to the murder of three young women in new york in 2009 and 2010. sources tell cnn a chevy avalanche was seized from the property and is being combed for evidence. >> s.w.

alleged serial killer may have committed the murders of melissa barthelemy, megan waterman, and amber costello for clues including personal effects linked to the victims. >> every piece of evidence that could be gathered, whether it's from the storage containers or from his home could be valuable not only to the charges he's currently being charged with, but more importantly if we can connect him to other murders. >> reporter: but it is the forensic evidence from possible victims that will establish the home as the primary crime scene. documents show authorities believe they already have circumstantial evidence that points to the long island home where victims may have been murdered. in 2022, a comprehensive investigation revealed for the first time heuermann used burner phones to arrange dates with the victims. documents state, before each victim went missing, tringilation of cell phone tower data show the burner phones and the victims' phones traveled to mass pekka, long island, at about the same time as heuermann where his family home was located. they were never seen again. heuermann was c

they were eventually identified as melissa bar tholmy, megan, marie -- and amber lynne costello, and they were not the only ones. investigators would uncover seven more sets of human remains across two long island counties, bringing the total to 11. but there were few clues. the case went cold. no arrests were made until now. tonight the remarkable story of how authorities came first to suspect and build a six-count murder case against a 59-year-old married architect with two children of his own in a home in a quiet long island neighborhood. miguel? >> reporter: anderson, i want to show you what's been happening outside this home. this case, this unsolved murders, have gripped long island and so many people for so long. police have been out here all day going through his home, bringing out tons of evidence. and even though they've only brought charges regarding three of those deaths near the beach, it has been received with enormous relief. >> i'm standing here with my law enforcement partners and the gill guo task force to announce the indictment of defendant rex andrew hereman. >>

cleaned up, even years later, because in the three cases that they have charged, in the case of amber costellock that he used seems to pick her up on the street away from her residence. and her phone is left behind. but the assumption is he takes her to her residence. in the megan waterman case, her cell phone starts in a hotel way out and they can track it to his neighborhood at 1:46 in the morning. in the melissa barthelemy case, her phone is tracked to the area of his residence at 3:11 a.m. so there is a theory that he was making late-night appointments at his house in an environment where he would have access to what they call the murder kit, the things he was going use to tie them up and kill them, that he would have privacy. in each instance of those three cases, his family was out of town, and that he would have control. >> is one reason that he was arrested in new york city where he had an office because of that long drive back that brynn mentioned, that it would give them an opportunity if he was so inclined to talk to perhaps talk in the vehicle going back there? >> if he was a talke

the killings of three women. 22-year-old megan waterman, 24-year-old melissa and 27-year-old amber lynn costelloking as escorts at the time of their deaths according to police. also a prime suspect in a fourth murder according to prosecutors. in total, human remains were found between 22 and 2011 long you will go beach. back in january this year, dna was collected on p stuffed crust and it linked him to a hair found at the crime scene. prosecutors say he was linked to the killings through his pickup truck and burner phones allegedly used to arrange meetings with the victims. it's within less than 48 hours since people learned the that an architect is accused of heinous crimes. one woman tells fox news her mom was invited inside his home while working for the census bureau a decade ago. >> it was just decrepit. happy, not somewhere you want to live. he acted very intelligent and he knew the words but she is shocked, scared for me so it is only now have come from queens, do i have to lock my doors again? it's a quaint little town, it's community. >> fox news digital spoke with a woman who calls he