Between 2010 and 2011, the remains of multiple people were retrieved from the Gilgo Beach area in Long Island, NY — all of whom were believed to have been murdered by the unidentified Long Island Serial Killer. In 2020, Netflix released Lost Girls about one of the killer’s victims. And as of today, July 14, police have arrested a suspect.
After the 2010 disappearance of Shannan Gilbert, a sex worker who was visiting the area for an escort job, police recovered the bodies of four female victims, who were later dubbed “The Gilgo Four.” Over the course of the year, a total of nine women, a man and a toddler were discovered, including Gilbert’s remains, which were found in 2011. According to the New York Post, most of the victims had been sex workers.
So who was arrested in connection with the killings? Is there a Netflix movie about the Gilgo Beach murders? Read on for more information.
Massapequa Park resident Rex Heuermann was arrested for his alleged ties to three of the murder victims — and is the prime suspect of the fourth. The father-of-two, who works as an architect, was reportedly “in tears” and claimed he “did not do this” following his arrest, per the New York Post.
Actor Billy Baldwin, who grew up in Massapequa, revealed in a tweet earlier today that he went to high school with the suspect.
“Woke up this morning to learn that the Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect was my high school classmate Rex Heuermann,” he wrote. “Married, two kids, architect. ‘Average guy… quiet, family man.’ Mind-boggling… Massapequa is in shock.”
If you’re looking to dive more into this true crime saga, then look no further than Netflix.
In 2020, the streaming platform released a movie called Lost Girls about the tragic murders. Academy Award-nominee Amy Ryan plays activist and murder victim advocate Mari Gilbert, Shannan’s mother, as she urges law enforcement to search for her missing daughter. While retracing Shannan’s steps in her own investigation, Mari’s discoveries “force law enforcement and the media to uncover more than a dozen unsolved murders of sex workers,” per Netflix’s description.