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Heuermann, 60, of Massapequa Park, was indicted for second-degree murder in the killing of Valerie Mack in Suffolk County Court on Tuesday morning, Dec. 17.
Mack, a 24-year-old Wildwood, NJ woman was working as an escort when she disappeared in 2000. A group of hunters discovered her skeletal remains wrapped in a plastic bag in a wooded area of Manorville in November 2000.
She had been decapitated, and both of her hands had been severed from her body, prosecutors said. Her right leg had also been cut off mid-calf, and her body was bound with rope.
Eleven years would go by before Mack’s head, hands, and right foot were discovered along Ocean Parkway, just east of Gilgo Beach, during an expanded police search of the area in April 2011.
Her remains were found less than 1.5 miles from where the remains of another victim, Jessica Taylor, were located.
According to the superseding indictment, DNA from a hair found with Mack’s remains matched those of Heuermann’s wife and daughter, neither of whom are considered suspects.
Heuermann was arrested in July 2023 and initially charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. He has since been charged in the killings of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla, and Jessica Taylor.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Following his appearance in a Riverhead courtroom Tuesday morning, a judge ordered him held without bail.
In all, police located the remains of 11 victims along the South Shore of Long Island, most of them near the town of Gilgo, over several months in 2010 and 2011 in what became known as the Gilgo Beach murders. The victims, many working as sex workers, were all killed between 1993 and 2011.
In September, the investigative task force released details about clothing that was worn by an unidentified victim known simply as “Asian Doe,” whose skeletal remains were found along Ocean Parkway in April 2011.
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of $2,500 for information leading to the man’s identification. Tips can be submitted on the organization’s website or by calling 1-800-220-TIPS.
This continues to be a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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