could set all-time records. 12 and a half years ago, the bodies of four people were found over several days buried on long island. all four women were murdered, wrapped in burlap. they were eventually identified as melissa bar tholmy, megan, marie and amber lynne costello, and they were not the only ones. investigators would uncover seven more sets of human remains across two long island counties, bringing the total to 11. but there were few clues. the case went cold. no arrests were made until now. tonight the remarkable story of how authorities came first to suspect and build a six-count murder case against a 59-year-old married architect with two children of his own in a home in a quiet long island neighborhood. miguel? reporter: anderson, i want to show you what s been happening outside this home. this case, this unsolved murders, have gripped long island and so many people for so
long. police have been out here all day going through his home, bringing out tons of evidence. and even though they ve only brought charges regarding three of those deaths near the beach, it has been received with enormous relief. i m standing here with my law enforcement partners and the gill guo task force to announce the indictment of defendant rex andrew hereman. sex workers found tied up, their bodies wrapped in camouflage burlap, dumped on new york s long island. when i took office in january 22, i made gillgo a priority. reporter: the beach murders traumatized and captivated long island just east of new york city for more than a decade. now the suspect, as unthinkable as the thursdays themselves. this is a shock. i ve seen some things, but this is wicked.
in three of 11 killings on new york s long island, how authorities used dna from a pizza crust to identify the suspect. also, could soon be three people charged with classified documents case? maggie haberman joins us live. the heat, what is behind it, where it s worse, and the places that could soon set all- time record. good evening, thanks for joining us. 12 1/2 years ago the bodies of four people were found over several days buried near a remote beach on new york s long island. all four women murdered, wrapped in burlap. they were eventually identified as melissa bartholomew, megan waterman, maureen brainard- barnes and amber lynn castillo they were not the only ones. in the year that followed, investigators would uncover seven more sets of human remains across two long island counties. there were few clues, the case went cold. no arrests were made until now. tonight, the remarkable story of how authorities came first to suspect and then build a six count murder case against a
the death of the fourth woman. all women were found bound in camouflage burlap in the same area just within days of one another in 2010. police would later find at least six more sets of human remains spread across the shore of long island, but there were no major leads until recently. a new york architect, married father of two, by tracking email address and burner phones. perhaps the most damning evidence, though, came from a pizza box, which investigators got af digging through the suspect s trash. dna evidence from a swabbed pizza crust matched the dna of a hair found on one of the victims. prosecutors say they acted quickly because they feared other victims could also be in danger. one of the reasons we had to take this case down was we learned the defendant was using these alternate identities and these alternate instruments to continue to patronize sex workers, which, of course, made
year-old married architect with two children of his own in a home on a quiet long island neighborhood. miguel marquez joined us now from outside the suspect home. miguel? reporter: anderson, i want to show you what has been happening outside this home. this case, these unsolved murders just ripped long island and some of the people for so long. police have been out here all day going through his home, bringing out tons of evidence, and even though they have only brought charges regarding three of those deaths near gilgo beach, it has been received with an enormous relief. i am standing here with my law enforcement partners and gilgo task force to announce the indictment of defendant rex andrew heuermann . reporter: their bodies wrapped in camouflage burlap, dumped on gilgo beach. i made gilgo a priority.