The daughter of Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann was unexpectedly dismissed from a New York jury after a judge determined her presence could become a distraction in a child molestation trial.
Victoria Heuermann, 30, of Long Island, was excused during jury selection in Nassau County after disclosing that she knew a criminal, according to Newsday.
Her father, Rex Heuermann, pleaded guilty in April to murdering seven women and admitted killing an eighth. He lured sex workers to his home, strangled them and disposed of their bodies.
Victoria requested a sidebar after being asked whether she could remain impartial once the court learned she was Heuermann’s daughter.
“They took her into chambers and she answered it, and then they chose to discharge her,” her attorney, Robert Macedonio, told Newsday.
“She was still willing to serve, but I guess the defense, the prosecution, and the judge – I haven’t read the transcript, so I’m not sure who decided that they didn’t want her there.”
Macedonio said Victoria could have declined to answer but instead honestly told the court she believed she could remain fair and impartial to both the defendant and the prosecution despite her personal experiences.
“She could have very easily said no, but she answered it honestly that she thought she could still be fair and impartial to the defendant’s rights and the prosecution’s rights, even having experienced all that,” he said. “That’s her own personal judgment. So I give her a lot of credit for saying that.”
Macedonio said he had offered to write Victoria a letter excusing her from jury service, but she declined. She was reportedly nervous about returning to a courtroom after attending her father’s proceedings.
Victoria Heuermann, 30, of Long Island, was dismissed by a Nassau County judge after it was revealed she knew a criminal during jury selection
Her father, Rex Heuermann, pleaded guilty in April to seven counts of murder and admitted to killing an eighth in Gilgo Beach. Heuermann is pictured with his children in an undated photo
Victoria frequently attended hearings in her father’s case and also appeared in a documentary about him.
The details of the sidebar discussion that led the judge and prosecutors to remove Victoria from the jury pool remain unclear.
The Daily Mail has contacted Macedonio for comment.
Heuermann confessed to and pleaded guilty in April to the murders of Sandra Costilla, 28, Valerie Mack, 24, Jessica Taylor, 20, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Costello, 27.
He also admitted killing an eighth victim, 34-year-old Karen Vergata, in 1996, although he has never been charged in her death.
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Justice Timothy Mazzei called Heuermann a coward before sentencing him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“You’re a disgusting and small man, if you’re a man at all. You’re a coward,” Mazzei said. “Alright, get him out of here.”
Heuermann had remained largely silent during court appearances following his 2023 arrest, but he briefly addressed the court at his sentencing hearing.
Victoria was dismissed from jury selection after requesting a sidebar when asked if she could remain impartial after it was revealed she was the daughter of Heuermann
“I am responsible for all that was said in this room. The words I say have no meaning,” he said.
The judge asked Heuermann if he was sorry for the murders.
‘At least eight women that we know of. Are you a little bit sorry for that?’ the judge said.
Heuermann replied, ‘Yes.’
But Heuermann had stared straight ahead and avoided looking at his victims’ loved ones as they castigated him for his crimes.
In all, Heuermann murdered eight women during a 17-year killing spree between 1993 and 2010.
For decades, Heuermann masqueraded as a family man, living in Massapequa Park with his wife of 27 years, Asa Ellerup, and their children, Victoria and Christopher Sheridan, and commuting to his architecture firm in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.
But when his family was out of town on vacation, the towering six-foot-four predator would lure petite young women working as sex workers, strangle them and dump their bodies in remote areas of Long Island.
In all, Rex murdered eight women during a 17-year killing spree between 1993 and 2010
With the exception of his first victim, Costilla, Heuermann killed the women inside the basement of his home – the same suburban ranch-style house where he spent his own childhood and then raised his family. He also dismembered Vergata, Mack and Taylor inside the home.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney told the Daily Mail that a ‘meticulous’ level of planning had gone into each of the murders, meeting the women in advance, selecting his chosen victim and then buying a designated ‘kill phone’ to use solely to contact her.
Heuermann’s killing spree was only discovered and appeared to come to an end when his dumping ground was discovered along a remote stretch of Ocean Parkway, near Gilgo Beach, in 2010. But another 13 years would go by before the notorious Gilgo Beach serial killer was finally unmasked with Heuermann’s arrest in 2023.