The sister of one of the Gilgo Beach victims has revealed how the killer tormented the family by calling them on the phone and even using the victim’s personal cell phone on at least seven occasions.
The body of Melissa Barthelemy, who grew up in Buffalo, New York, was found on December 11, 2010, more than a year after her disappearance.
Two days later, the bodies of three other young women were found nearby on remote stretches of shore on New York’s Long Island. Manhattan architect Rex Heuermann, 59, has been charged with three murders — including Barthelemys — after he was arrested at his Long Island home on July 14.
The ordeal was particularly troubling for Barthelemy’s family because in 2009, shortly after her disappearance, the suspect used Barthelemy’s own mobile phone to taunt her relatives with multiple calls – including one in which he admitted to killing her.
“He killed her; he raped her. “Maybe one day he would tell me where she was,” Amanda F, Barthelemy’s sister, told PIX11 after she started receiving calls when she was 15.
The body of Melissa Barthelemy (pictured here with brown hair), who grew up in Buffalo, New York, was found on December 11, 2010, more than a year after her disappearance
Manhattan architect Rex Heuermann (pictured), 59, is charged with three murders attributed to the Gilgo Beach serial killer and is the prime suspect in the killing of a fourth victim
Shockingly, Amanda also revealed that the man kept an eye on her after her sister’s murder: ‘He knew my name.’ He knew what I looked like.’
“He had a heavy accent, New York, Long Island.” “He spoke very monotonously, like a middle-aged white man.”
Police later traced the calls and found that pings from her dead sister’s phone were detected at Penn Station in Manhattan, near Heuermann’s office, and also in Massapequa, where he lives, according to court documents.
Recalling the horrific phone calls in 2020, Amanda said the killer called her using offensive nicknames for her sister and referred to her sex work.
“He killed Melissa after he had sex with her,” Amanda F. recounted. “In the last call he said he killed her.”
A total of seven calls were made to the family, the last call being on August 26, 2009.
The dates of the calls were released during the indictment against Heuermann on Friday.
Barthelemy, a petite blonde woman, was the serial killer’s first victim, found on Ocean Parkway in December 2010.
Barthelemy was a companion who had disappeared from the Bronx the year before.
The killer provided clues, including strands of hair, the burlap used to wrap the bodies, and a belt that may have had initials embossed on it.
The first victim, Melissa Barthelemy (left), 24, was discovered by Suffolk County Police on December 11, 2010. The body of Megan Waterman (right), 22, was found two days later
Heuermann is charged with the murder of Amber Costello (right) and linked to the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes (left).
Rex Heuermann can be seen in one of his Tinder profile pictures. Police traced the fictional email account he used for the profile and his burner’s phone number to the case
Heuermann was charged with first and second degree murder in connection with the deaths of Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. Authorities said he was also the “prime suspect” in another murder.
A cousin of Barthelemy, Amy Brotz, said the arrest reignited anger and sadness – but also brought with it the prospect of closure.
“I can’t imagine that,” Brotz said, just hours after being startled by unexpected news of an arrest.
“God brought peace to the families,” she said. “Maybe we can start healing.”
While Brotz and her family could face closure, the ordeal is not over.
She worries that prosecutors will not be able to prove her case beyond a reasonable doubt, and is concerned about the emotional distress and relived trauma that lies ahead if the case goes to trial.
“The fact that my family has to sit there and listen to all of this, down to every little detail, makes me sick,” Brotz said.
To expedite the search for Barthelemy’s remains, her family hired a psychic who provided tantalizing clues that proved prophetic: she would be found in a shallow grave on the shore near a sign with the letter G.
Gilgo Beach would become the focus of the long-stalled investigation into the discovery of 11 remains, including that of an infant, all discarded along the park’s path, which stretches across a thin strip of white sand, earth, brambles and swampy areas known as Jones Beach Island.
Crime scene investigators bring up evidence from the Massapequa Park home of Rex Heuermann, who was arrested as a suspect in the Gilgo Beach serial murder
Forensic teams were spotted Friday combing Heuermann’s Long Island home. A freezer was also among the confiscated items
A map shows where eight of the victims’ remains were located along the barren section of Ocean Beach Parkway in Gilgo Beach on Long Island’s south shore
Long Island architect Rex Heuermann (pictured), 59, has been arrested in connection with the Gilgo Beach serial killings in a major police breakout
The toddler and three other victims have yet to be identified. All 10 adult victims, including the infant’s mother, were sex workers, police said.
But investigators believe the suspect Heuermann may not be responsible for all of the deaths.
In addition to the Barthelemy case, he has only been charged with the killing of two other people, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, who were reported missing in 2010.
He is also the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who disappeared three years earlier.
Heuermann says he is innocent, according to his lawyer.
If convicted on all charges, Heuermann faces several life sentences without the possibility of parole.
“Death is too good for him,” the victim’s mother, Lynn Barthelemy, told NBC News.
“I want him to suffer at the hands of other inmates,” she said.
But the grieving parent expressed relief that a suspect was finally in custody.
Although not all cases have been solved, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said many affected communities were “sleeping much more peacefully” following Heuermann’s capture.
“Many families whose lives have just been turned upside down are constantly wondering what happened and if the perpetrator will ever be brought to justice — hopefully … the answer will be yes,” she said Friday.