Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann’s chilling confession to his ex-wife, where he admitted he murdered ‘all except one’ of victims in their home

Nypost · Apr 21, 2026 · 541 words · By Chris Bradford

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What to know about Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann’s chilling confession to his ex-wife, where he admitted he murdered ‘all except one’ of victims in their home

Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann’s chilling confession to his ex-wife, where he admitted he murdered ‘all except one’ of victims in their home Hulking Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann admitted to his ex-wife he killed all but one of his eight…

Claims checked 15

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center67%

Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Refusing to address him as Rex, she said: “So Mr.

Common ground

Heuermann, I understand that you are confessing to me on these murders – can you please tell me how many of these women did you kill?” “He said he killed eight women,” Ellerup told her lawyer Bob Macedonio.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann’s chilling confession to his ex-wife, where he admitted he murdered ‘all except one’ of victims in their home?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Brianard-Barnes’ body was found in December 2010 – more than three years after Heuermann arranged a rendez-vous?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/21/us-news/gilgo-beach-serial-killer-rex-heuermanns-c…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7

schedule Pending 5

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info Single Source 1

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Claim 1: “Brianard-Barnes’ body was found in December 2010 – more than three years after Heuermann arranged a rendez-vous.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “In the clip, Asa Ellerup, who finalized her divorce from Heuermann last year, claimed he told her he killed eight women without hesitating — despite being charged with seven murders ahead of his April 8 guilty plea.”

CORROBORATED

Two web search results cite Asa Ellerup stating that Heuermann admitted to killing eight women. One source specifies that he told her he killed seven in the downstairs room, and another notes he admitted to killing an eighth.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Ellerup says shortly before he pleaded guilty, Heuermann admitted to her that seven of the eight women were murdered inside the Massapequa Park house. Those killings took place in a room in the baseme…
https://newyork.news12.com/rex-heuermann-told-ex-wife-he-kil…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Rex Heuermann, who pleaded guilty to murdering eight women, told his wife that he killed seven of the victims in a downstairs room in their Long Island home, she said in a Peacock documentary.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/nyregion/gilgo-beach-kill…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Asa Ellerup, estranged wife of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann, speaks to the media, after he pleaded guilty to killing seven women between 1993 and 2011 and admitted he killed an eigh…
https://abcnews.com/US/gilgo-beach-serial-killer-suspect-rex…

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Claim 3: “Heuermann dismembered Valerie Mack, who vanished between September and December 2000 and dumped her remains in some woods in Manorville, prosecutors said.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 4: “He pleaded guilty to killing Amber Lynn Costello, 27; Megan Waterman, 22; Melissa Barthelemy, 24; and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, who were famously known as the “Gilgo Four.””

CORROBORATED

One web search result lists Heuermann pleading guilty to first-degree murder for Waterman, Costello, Barthelemy, and Vergata, and second-degree murder for Brainard-Barnes, Taylor, Mack, and Costilla. Another web search mentions the four women (Costello, Waterman, Barthelemy, and Brainard-Barnes) in the context of the case.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Gilgo Beach serial killings were a series of murders on Long Island, New York, between 1993 and 2010. The case gained national attention in late 2010 and 2011, when police searching for missing wo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgo_Beach_serial_killings

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web search NEUTRAL — Melissa Cann, sister of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, one of the women Rex Heuermann admitted to killing, speaking to the news media after a court hearing in the case.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04/08/nyregion/gilgo-beach…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Heuermann pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for Waterman, Costello, Barthelemy and Vergata, and second-degree murder for Brainard-Barnes, Taylor, Mack and Costilla.
https://nypost.com/2026/04/08/us-news/gilgo-beach-slayings-e…

+ 1 more evidence source

info

Claim 5: “The burly architect even copped to dismembering some of the women and tying them up in a burlap.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While multiple sources discuss the nature of the victims (sex workers), the specific detail that Heuermann confessed to *dismembering* the women and *tying them in burlap* is not independently corroborated across the provided web search results. The sources confirm the confessions and the nature of the crimes but do not repeat this specific detail.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Heuermann's victims are all believed to be sex workers at the time of their death, some of them contacted by him through their advertisements on Craigslist.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crl12xl2p4lo

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Rex Heuermann, the man accused of murdering at least seven women on Long Island in what became known as the Gilgo Beach killings, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, bringing a sudden end to a case that ...
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04/08/nyregion/gilgo-beach…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Rex Heuermann, a former architect accused of killing seven women and dumping them on Long Island's Gilgo Beach, pleaded guilty Wednesday, more than a decade after the discovery of human remains ...
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/gilgo-beach-serial-kill…

schedule

Claim 6: “Heuermann will be sentenced on June 17.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 7: “In July 2003, he strangled Taylor where he dismembered and dumped her body, before turning to his next victim Brianard-Barnes.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 8: “She strangled and butchered Vergata in April 1996 after arranging to meet her. Her name wasn’t released until 2023 – 12 years after her skull was found on Ocean Parkway.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was gathered from the provided sources for this claim.

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Claim 9: “Heuermann also confessed to the murder of Karen Vergeta, whose case hadn’t been linked to him.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that Heuermann confessed to the murder of Karen Vergeta, noting that this case was separate or hadn't been previously linked.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Heuermann had been charged in seven of the killings. He pleaded guilty to all of them on Wednesday and confessed his involvement in an eighth woman's death, that of Karen Vergata in 1996.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/long-island/will-rex-heuermann-ma…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — (NewsNation) — The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office identified Karen Vergata as the eighth victim tied to Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann during his plea hearing. Heuermann pleaded gu…
https://www.newsnationnow.com/crime/who-is-karen-vergata-rex…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Many of his victims were sex workers. Heuermann admitted that he killed Karen Vergata in 1996, although he hasn't been charged in her death. Remains of six victims — Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Braina…
https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/takeaways-gilgo-beach-case-…

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Claim 10: ““He said yes. They were killed in his room downstairs. All except one,” she said.”

CORROBORATED

Two web search results quote Asa Ellerup stating that the victims were killed in a downstairs room, with the exception of one victim. One source quotes her saying, 'He said yes.'

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Heuermann's victims are all believed to be sex workers at the time of their death, some of them contacted by him through their advertisements on Craigslist. In court on Wednesday, Heuermann provided f…
https://www.aol.com/articles/serial-killer-pleads-guilty-eig…

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web search NEUTRAL — Asa Ellerup, the now ex-wife of Rex Heuermann, the 61-year-old architect police accuse of being the Gilgo Beach serial killer, is at the center of the gripping three-part documentary The Gilgo Beach K…
https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/asa-ellerup-accused-gilgo-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Mr. Heuermann’s wife, Asa Ellerup, who has since divorced him, tells her lawyer in the Peacock documentary, “The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets,” that as Mr. Heuermann prepared to speak to her a…
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/nyregion/gilgo-beach-kill…

schedule

Claim 11: “But before that discovery, he killed Barthelemy after arranging a date with her, and murdered Waterman and Costello.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 12: “Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann’s chilling confession to his ex-wife, where he admitted he murdered ‘all except one’ of victims in their home”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results report that Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty to murdering seven women and admitted to killing an eighth woman, which was stated by his ex-wife. One source mentions him admitting to killing an eighth woman in a Long Island courtroom, and another notes he admitted to killing an eighth woman after pleading guilty to seven.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Long Island serial killer may refer to: Gilgo Beach serial killings, a series of murders committed by serial killer Rex Heuermann between 1996 and 2011 in which the remains of 11 people were found on…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_serial_killer

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — John Bittrolff (born July 1, 1966) is an American convicted murderer and former suspect in the Gilgo Beach serial killings case. In July 2014, he was charged with the murders of Rita Tangredi and Coll…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bittrolff

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 13: “Heuermann’s killing spree dated back to 1993 when he picked up Costilla before strangling her and dumping her body near Fish Cove Road in Southampton. Her body was found by hunters days later.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was gathered from the provided sources for this claim.

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Claim 14: “He also fessed to the murders of Valerie Mack, 24; Jessica Taylor, 20; and Sandra Costilla, 28, in the case that has gripped Long Island for three decades.”

CORROBORATED

Two web search results explicitly state that Heuermann confessed to the murders of Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, and Sandra Costilla, along with their respective ages.

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travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Sandra Costilla was a 28-year-old woman from Trinidad and Tobago who was killed on November 19 or 20 in 1993. In December 2024, 31 years after her death, Heuermann was charged with her murder.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgo_Beach_serial_killings

+ 2 more evidence sources

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Claim 15: “Ellerup said Heuermann told her she wasn’t home at the time of the killings before Macedonio asked if any were murdered in their Massapequa Park home.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that Asa Ellerup stated that Heuermann told her she was not home when the killings occurred, which was prompted by a question about the Massapequa Park home.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Ellerup said Heuermann told her she wasn't home at the time of the killings before Macedonio asked if any were murdered in their Massapequa Park home. "He said yes.
https://nypost.com/2026/04/21/us-news/gilgo-beach-serial-kil…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Rex Heuermann told ex-wife he killed some of the victims in their Massapequa Park home Asa Ellerup revealed the bombshell details in a teaser of a new episode of a documentary series about the ...
https://longisland.news12.com/rex-heuermann-told-ex-wife-he-…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.