No Eighth Minute for Rex Heuerman

Rex Heuerman, the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer, has been cleared of involvement in the murder of an eighth woman. He faces charges for the deaths of seven young sex workers on Long Island, but the recent findings in the case of Colleen McNamee, who was killed back in 1994, have changed things up a bit.

Records from the Suffolk County Coroner’s Office indicate that DNA testing proves Heuerman wasn’t linked to McNamee’s murder. She had been beaten and strangled, her body found near William Floyd Parkway in Shirley.

An October 21 coroner’s report details a comparison between a DNA profile labeled “Unknown Male A,” created by CyberGenetics, and Heuerman’s own DNA profile. The conclusion? Heuerman is excluded from being “Unknown Male A.”

It’s a little ironic, really, given that John Bittrolf, who was convicted of murdering McNamee and another victim, Rita Tangredi, had attempted to pin McNamee’s murder on Heuerman. But, as it turns out, DNA evidence cleared him.

Now, Bittrolf, who is serving a lengthy sentence, wasn’t just a bystander in this case. He was a suspect early on until DNA analysis shifted the focus elsewhere. Bittrolf’s conviction came in 2017, after the bodies of Tancredi and McNamee were found in 1993.

Interestingly, it was DNA that eventually linked Heuerman to seven other unsolved murders, where the victims included Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, and others between 1993 and 2010. Those cases remained cold until Rodney Harrison took over as Suffolk County police chief and reopened the investigation, culminating in Heuerman’s arrest in July 2023.

Authorities searched Heuerman’s home in Massapequa Park twice. They reported finding disturbing “planning documents” allegedly written by him, including a section on “lessons learned.” It raises so many chilling questions, doesn’t it?

Heuerman, an architect from Manhattan, has denied any wrongdoing but is currently held without bail as the legal proceedings continue. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has suggested that Heuerman may be responsible for even more deaths dumped across Long Island, although he’s only been charged in seven cases thus far.

As for Bittrolf, the 58-year-old former carpenter remains in prison on a 50-year-to-life sentence for his crimes. It’s all quite a tangled web when you think about it.