A suspect in custody in the Gilgo Beach murders, a case that captured national attention and confounded investigators on Long Island for more than a decade, was identified Friday as Rex Heuermann, sources said.
He was expected to be arraigned Friday after his arrest Thursday night, said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison.
“We anticipate an indictment later on this afternoon,” said Harrison, whose agency and the Suffolk County district attorney are leading the investigation.
Heuermann is a New York City-based architect who lives in Massapequa, which is in neighboring Nassau County.
The sister of Shannan Gilbert, the first of the 11 victims found slain, said she was "relieved that they finally caught him."
"It’s been a long time coming & I never gave up hope that one day justice would be served," Sherre Gilbert said in an email to NBC News. "I’m just happy it happened sooner rather than later. The suspect (Rex) deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life. He destroyed many lives so while it won’t bring our loved ones back, it does help that one less monster is off the streets and he can’t ever hurt anyone else!”
Heuermann's arrest came after a spokesperson for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Friday morning there was a “significant development in the case” but declined to comment further until after a court proceeding later this morning.
“The focus for me, members of our team, has been on bringing justice for this victims and closure to these families who have suffered," Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said at a news press conference. "Today’s developments take us a major step forward in doing exactly that."
Friends of the suspect expressed shock at his arrest. They said he owns a Manhattan architecture firm and belonged to a New York City-based networking group known as The Dream Team.
"I knew him as a friend and a colleague,” Emma Tang, 37, told NBC News in a telephone interview. “And I am completely surprised...I did not see this coming.”
Eleven sets of human remains have been found on a stretch of highway in Suffolk County after police began searching along Ocean Parkway for Gilbert, a 24-year-old sex worker from New Jersey who vanished in 2010 after leaving a client’s house in Oak Beach.
During the search, the remains of Melissa Barthelemy, 24, were found on Dec. 11, 2010. Two days later, three more bodies were discovered — Megan Waterman, 22, Amber Lynn Costello, 27, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25
In March 2011, Suffolk police found the partial remains of Jessica Taylor along Ocean Parkway. Eight years earlier, remains also belonging to Taylor were found in Manorville, police said in 2020.