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Those who have been following the case of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann have been trying to learn all they can about the man arrested in connection with the heinous crimes.
He’s been charged with killing seven women whose remains were found along the southern shore of Long Island and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Since the July 2023 arrest of Heuermann, a family man and architect who lived in Massapequa Park, New York, true crime fans have been struck by the stature of the now-61-year-old, considering that several of the women authorities accuse him of killing have been described as “petite.”
Heuermann’s height comes up several times in the intriguing Peacock documentary The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets, which is streaming now.
“Tall, dark, and handsome”
Heuermann’s height is mentioned by his now-ex-wife Asa Ellerup, who hasn’t been charged with any crime, in the three-part documentary.
Now in her early 60s, Ellerup first met Heuermann when she was 18 and moved in with him in his Long Island home in November of 1995. Ellerup told The Gilgo Beach Serial Killer: House of Secrets that one reason she was attracted to him was because he was so tall.
“He was the kind of guy, you turn your head, and you go take a look at. He was [a] tall, handsome, debonair-ing young man,” Ellerup said. “I loved tall, dark, and handsome. And at that time, I was madly in love with the man. There’s no doubt about that.”
The alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer’s height comes up in another way in the documentary, in regard to a client of Amber Lynn Costello, a 27-year-old sex worker who was living in West Babylon, Long Island. Costello is one of the seven women whose deaths Heuermann has been charged in connection with.
Costello went missing in September of 2010 after she left to meet a client whom she’d connected with on the Craigslist site. Her remains were found near Gilgo Beach on December 13, 2010.
Police allege that Heuermann hired and killed Costello.
Dave Schaller, Costello’s roommate, got a look at a client who came to their home one night and then arranged to meet Costello at another location on another night. Costello was never seen alive again after agreeing to meet the man.
What is the height of the accused Gilgo Beach serial killer?
“Schaller told police that this client resembled an ogre and he was around six foot, four inches tall,” New York Post reporter Selim Algar said in The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets.
That size stands in stark contrast to the victims, especially those that became known as “The Gilgo Four,” whose bodies were all found bound in 2010 along a stretch of Gilgo Beach.
“The commonality amongst the four women that were originally found was they were all bound, they were all Caucasian, they were relatively small in height, and small in frame,” Dr. Errol Toulon, the Suffolk County Sheriff, said in The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets.
Investigative reporter Shannon McGarvey said in the Peacock documentary that the “Gilgo Four were all petite women, all under 5’5” — and that was chilling.”
What’s next for Rex Heuermann?
In addition to Costello, Heuermann is also charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla, and Valerie Mack. Since his July 2023 arrest, he has been in custody at the Riverhead Correctional Facility in Suffolk County, New York.
The court has yet to announce a formal trial date, as attorneys from both sides continue to debate critical issues. The case’s complexity — partly stemming from multiple victims and disputes over DNA evidence — has significantly affected scheduling. A major point of contention is whether each woman’s death will be tried separately.
The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets is streaming now on Peacock.
