Gilgo Beach serial killer sentenced to life in prison | FOX 10 Phoenix

Long Island architect Rex Heuermann has been ordered to spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. A Suffolk County district judge handed down the sentence on Wednesday, marking the final chapter in a case that led to multiple documentaries and a movie. The ruling comes two months after Heuermann pled guilty to seven murders across Long Island spanning from 1993 to 2010, and confessing to another murder in 1996. A string of bodies found along a parkway near the Gilgo Beach area on Long Island were seemingly not connected and stumped investigators for years, until DNA on one of the bodies was traced back to Heuermann, leading to his arrest in 2023. Before the ruling, Heuermann spoke, saying, "I am responsible for all that was said in this room. The words I would say have no meaning." Judge Mazzei stated, "You are a disgusting and despicable small man if you're a man at all. You're a coward." Mazzei also noted, "It's the sentence of the court to be served the rest of your life without the possibility of parole." The sentencing followed multiple statements from victims' family members, who prosecutors say were crucial to closing the case. Tierney said, "All credit and and, admiration and inspiration goes to those victims family members," and later added, "And now it's time for them, to heal." As the decades-long case finally wraps up, the victims' families are calling on the public to keep the story centered on those who were lost. Waterman stated, "And from this day forward, stop saying his name. Stop putting his face everywhere. Put the girls face, put their names and make it known that we are the ones who live on for them." As part of Heuermann's guilty plea, he will have to cooperate with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Team to help catch other serial killers. Fox News' CB Cotton reports. Subscribe to FOX 10 Phoenix!    / @fox10phoenix   #fox10phoenix #news #truecrimecommunity #gilgobeach #serial #crime #newyork #nyc #longisland #fox10phoenix FOX 10 Phoenix delivers breaking news, live events, politics, entertainment, business news and local stories from Phoenix, Arizona and across the nation. Watch more FOX 10 Phoenix on YouTube:    • Arizona headlines      • National headlines      • Top Videos