Since , 11 bodies have been found on or near Gilgo Beach. After more than a decade passed with no arrest, year-old Rex Heuermann was arrested on July 13, He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder in connection with the deaths.
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all counts, and he was named as a prime suspect in a fourth murder investigation. The four deaths investigators believe Heuermann is connected to are those of the "Gilgo Four. All of their bodies were found wrapped in burlap near Gilgo Beach within a mile of each other. Thirteen years after Gilbert disappeared, the Gilgo Beach murders case has garnered national attention once again.
But this case has roots as far back as 27 years ago. A pair of severed legs wrapped in plastic are discovered on Fire Island. The woman is referred to as "Fire Island Jane Doe. Partial remains of a woman are found in Manorville, Long Island. This woman is referred to as "Manorville Jane Doe" by investigators.
Partial remains of a woman are found in Manorville in the same location remains were discovered three years prior. Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, is seen alive for the last time. She was living in Connecticut and working as a sex worker. She would often travel to Manhattan to meet clients, as she was the week she went missing. Melissa Barthelemy, 24, of the Bronx disappears.
She worked as a sex worker. The night she disappeared, she told a friend she was visiting a client. After her disappearance, her family received several phone calls from her cell phone in New York City. They said on the other end of the taunting phone calls was the voice of a man. Shannan Gilbert, 24, of Jersey City disappears. She disappeared after visiting the home of Joseph Brewer in Oak Beach. Detectives said that Brewer was not a suspect in the investigation. Gilbert called before she disappeared.
