Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer is a three part limited series currently showing on Netflix. It is based on the true-life disappearances of multiple woman.
The Disappearance of Shannan Gilbert
It all began with a frantic 911 call in May 2010. On the night of her disappearance, Shannan Gilbert dialed 911 and screamed, “They’re trying to kill me.” Shannan was an escort and had been driven by a man named Michael Pak to meet a client named Joseph Brewer who lived in the Oak Beach area. Both men claimed that Shannan ran off after a dispute. Witnesses say she fled into a neighbor’s house, panicked, then ran out again. That was the last anyone saw of her.
Months later, in spring 2011, police resumed their search for Shannan. On March 29, they discovered multiple bodies near Gilgo Beach — eventually totaling ten — setting off one of the most horrifying murder investigations in Long Island history.
The Gilgo Four
The initial victims — dubbed the “Gilgo Four” — were all young women who advertised escort services online but disappeared. What linked them wasn’t just how they worked rather it was how their bodies were found: in burlap sacks, buried along the same stretch of remote beach highway.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes
Maureen went missing in July 2007 at the age of 25. She was last believed to be at Penn Station, New York City. Her phone pinged heading toward Long Island.
According to Melissa Cahn, who is the sister of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, before Maureen went missing she believed she was modeling. She only found out about the escort activities after her sister went missing.
Sarah Karnes, Maureen’s friend said they were offering men the “girlfriend experience” back in 2007. Maureen was under an enormous amount of pressure. She was served an eviction notice and had a court date. When she didn’t show up for court, it was around that time that Melissa found out what Maureen really did to earn money.
Melissa Barthelemy
Melissa vanished in July 2009 and was the second to disappear. At the time, she was living in the Bronx but disappeared after heading to meet a client in Long Island. The last ping from Melissa Barthelemy’s phone was traced to Massapequa, Long Island, New York. She was only 24 years old.
After Melissa Bartelemy went missing someone called her sister Amanda Funderburg using Melissa’s phone. At first, Amanda felt a sense of relief when she saw her sister’s name calling her but it was a man on the other end of the line.
The man taunted her and made some derogatory remarks and even claimed to have killed Melissa. There were multiple calls made to the sister and you have to understand that Amanda at the time was teenage girl. The police would later tap Amanda’s phone in the hopes that the man would call back and something would pan out. The were able to determine that one of the locations were some of the follow-up calls were made from was mid-town Manhattan. The assumption was that the killer was someone who possibly commuted from Long Island but worked in Manhattan. The calls eventually stopped but not before leaving emotional damage for Amanda.
Megan Waterman
Megan went missing in June 2010 in Hauppauge, New York. She was only 22 years old. According to her aunt, Elizabeth Meserve, it was the day of her birthday that DNA results came back identifying Megan as one of the victims. Megan had a young daughter.
Amber Lynn Costello
Amber Costello was the last of the Gilgo four to go missing. She went missing only three months before they found the bodies. She was last seen in September of 2010 in North Babylon.
In September of 2010, Amber’s friend Dave Schaller stated that she had put an ad on Craigslist. She left her bag, phone and personal items to meet up with a client who he assumed may have convinced her not to bring those items. She was communicating with a client who promised to pay her almost 10 times what she would typically earn as an escort. The client was communicating using a burner phone and that phone pinged in locations in Long Island, creating a pattern.
Dave would later tell the police that prior to Amber going missing there was an incident that stuck out to him. Amber had met up with one guy at the house she shared with her friends. She told the guy before he arrived that she would only be offering dances. The client agreed but when he arrived, he wanted more than just dances. So she ran to the bathroom and texted her friends Dave and Bear. They came over, one of them had a Pitbull and they asked the man to leave, he was initially resistant but they managed to get him out.
Dave described him as a six foot eight, giant-sized ogre. According to Dave, the man kept looking maliciously at Ambre. He drove a green Chevvy Avalanche.
The Growing Horror
By spring of 2011, a new search was ordered for Shannan Gilbert. Shannan’s mother, Mari Gilbert, really kept the pressure going for her daughter to be found. On March 29, they found more bodies. At the beginning of April they were 10 unsolved murders yet Shannan Gilbert, the woman whose 911 call started the whole investigation was not one of them.
May 9, 2011, a press conference was setup. Some of the unknown victims were identified, one by her distinctive Tattoo. All the victims families came together in New York.
Finally, the police decided to search Oak Beach Marsh. They were previously reluctant to do so because it was dangerous however it is the area closest to where Shannan went missing.
December 2011, they found some of Shannan’s belonging, including her pocket book, jeans, and ID card. This triggered an all in search.
Turf Wars and Corruption
Behind the scenes, the investigation was marred by internal conflict. Police Commissioner Richard Dormer, who was about to retire, believed one killer was responsible for all the murders. On the other hand, District Attorney Thomas Spota disagreed. Spota cited differences in the conditions of the remains and the use of burlaps on some victims.
Once Dormer retired, James Burke who was recommended by Thomas Spota took over. He was an officer who for the most of his career was plagued with internal affairs investigations. Based on Spota’s recommendation, he jumped like four positions from Chief Inspector to Chief of Department.
The history between Tom Spota and James Burke goes way back to 1979, when Tom Sporta was prosecuting a case of the death of a 13 year old boy. Burke became the key witness connecting the two suspects who were later convicted.
Once Burke was in control, he and Spota pretty much stopped cooperating with other agencies including the FBI.
In 2015, another woman, Nikki Brass from Port Jefferson, Long Island met up with a man who she described as massive. According to her, he asked her if she had heard about the Gilgo Beach Killings. He also made weird comments and some inappropriate conversations that had her wondering if she was meeting the killer.
The Break-in That Broke the Silence
Smithtown 2012, Christopher Loeb, petty criminal and addict breaks into a car, steals a duffle bag with some questionable items and union card belonging to James Burke. He is eventually arrested and Burke threatens and assaults him. The Feds found out about the beating and started investigating. A blue wall of silence is formed. Three years of silence and finally one of the people talked.
Dec 2015, James Burke is arrested for civil rights violation and obstruction of justice. He is convicted and sentenced to almost 4 years in Federal Prison. His arrest unravels a conspiracy with Tom Spota to cover up the assault against Christopher Loeb. Spota is also arrested and convicted to three years in Federal Prison.
In 2018, Geraldine Heart who had been running the Long Island FBI office becomes Suffolk County Commissioner. She approves the use of DNA and from there one of the unidentified victims is identified, Valerie Mack.
By 2022, Geraldine Hart steps down and Rodney Harrison takes over. He forms a task force. There is also a new District Attorney, Ray Tierney. They digitized all the evidence, police reports and investigators were now able to look over all the evidence in ways they could not previously. One of the investigators comes across the police report for David Schaller, where he described the giant ogre like man who drove a green chevvy.
The Break in the Case: Rex Heuermann
Feb 1, 2022, a new taskforce is setup. March 14, 2022, Rex Heuermann’s name is introduced. He drives a green Chevvy, lives in Long Island and works in Manhattan. They had theorized based on where some of the victims had disappeared and where found that they killer possibly lived in Long Island and Worked in NYC.
The police watch him add minutes to a burner phone, he had many anonymous emails and was contacting escorts. Surveillance was set up to collect his DNA to see if it would match the 5 hairs that were recovered from the victims bodies. They were able to collect his DNA when he discarded some food. His DNA was a match.
In addition hairs belonging to Heuermann’s wife, Asa Ellerup and his daughter, Victoria were found on three of the victims.
Ironically, we didn’t hear the usual “he was such a nice guy” story from his neighbors. Some of his neighbors actually thought he was weird especially since he was an architect but his home was dilapidated. He also lived in the house he grew up in but did not make any attempt to change it up or renovate even though he reportedly suffered trauma from his dad in that house. Rex, at the time of his arrest, was married with children.
Where is Rex Heuermann now?
As of April 6, 2025, Rex Heuermann is incarcerated at the Riverhead Correctional Facility in Suffolk County, New York, awaiting trial for multiple murder charges. He has been in custody since his arrest in July 2023.
In December 2024, Heuermann was indicted for the 2000 murder of Valerie Mack, bringing the total number of charges against him to seven. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
A date for his trial has not been set.
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