The mother of one of the Gilgo Beach killing victims says she hopes suspected killer Rex Heurman ‘suffers’ at the hands of other inmates behind bars.
Lynn Barthelemy struck a vengeful tone when speaking about her daughter Melissa’s alleged killer, feeling that ‘death is too good’ for the ‘devil’ Manhattan architect.
‘Let her get what the girls got,’ he told NBC News, adding that a painless death would be an ‘easy’ way out of the consequences of a heinous crime.
The Barthelemy family suffered relentless heartache as Melissa’s killer repeatedly taunted them about her death, but as police traced the calls to Heuerman’s Manhattan office, the mother said: ‘I always knew the phone calls were going to be important.’
His comments came after Heuerman’s dramatic arrest in Manhattan Thursday evening for the murders of three victims found in Gilgo Beach in 2010 and 2011. 11 sets of remains were found on the beach.
Lynn Barthelemy, mother of Gilgo Beach murder victim Melissa Barthelemy, says ‘death is too good’ for her daughter’s killer
Lynn’s daughter Melissa went missing in 2009, her body was found the following year
Rex Heuerman is featured in his Tinder profile picture. Police tracked down the fictitious email account used in his profile and his burner phone number in the case
Heuerman’s arrest comes after a decade-long manhunt for the notorious ‘Gilgo Beach Serial Killer’, with police admitting Friday they acted on fears he might strike again.
He is charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, who disappeared in 2009, as well as Megan Waterman and Amber Costello.
Even with the accused killer in custody, Lynn Barthelemy said it’s little comfort given the heartbreak her family has endured for 14 years.
He said, ‘Our family has suffered every day. ‘I want him to suffer at the hands of other prisoners.’
After Melissa’s murder, the killer made abusive phone calls to her family in which he would mock her death and describe sexually assaulting and killing her.
But the psychopathic move may have led investigators to the killer, as they were able to trace the calls to a midtown Manhattan location near Human’s old office.
‘I always knew the phone calls were going to be important,’ added Barthelemy.
Heuerman pleaded not guilty to manslaughter after his arrest.
Barthelemy said he hopes Heuermann ‘suffers’ as his family suffers ‘every day’
Shannan Gilbert’s sister (pictured) said she was ‘overwhelmed’ by the news that her killer could be caught more than a decade later. He went missing in May 2010 and his remains were found in December 2011. Heuerman has not been charged with her murder
11 sets of remains have been found on or near Gilgo Beach, and although Heuermann has only been charged with three of the murders, the families of those found believe their killers have finally been caught.
Shere Gilbert, sister of Shannon Gilbert, whose decomposing remains were found in December 2011, said she was ‘overwhelmed’ by the news.
‘This has been a long time coming and I have never given up hope that justice will one day be served,’ he said in a statement to NBC News.
‘The suspect deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life,’ he continued.
‘He’s destroyed too many lives so it can’t bring our loved ones back, it helps that one less monster is on the street and he can never hurt anyone else.’
John Ray, an attorney for the families of Shannon Gilbert and another victim, Jessica Taylor, said he hoped the arrests would mean ‘the dam has been broken’.
While he said the arrest brought a ‘sigh of relief’, he said he believed Heuermann was not responsible for the 11 murders and there were ‘undoubtedly’ other suspects.
A map showing where the remains of the victims are located along a barren stretch of Ocean Beach Parkway in Gilgo Beach on the south coast of Long Island
Heuerman was arrested after a decade-long manhunt for the notorious Gilgo Beach serial killer. He pleaded not guilty
Prosecutors alleged other evidence implicating Heuerman in the murder:
His wife’s DNA was found on the bodies of three of the victims. A hair of his own was found on the body of one of the victims. After his death, his Tinder profile with photos of him in his office was linked to Berner’s phone number. His personal phones were always pinged in the same area as the suspect. Physical description of ‘ogre’ seen by witness as seen with a man Heuerman conducted a graphic search for child pornography and sexual abuse. He also searched Google for updates on the case, investigating ‘why law enforcement was trying to trace the calls made by the Long Island serial killer. can’t’
The arrests came after investigators admitted they held Heuermann out of fear he might kill again.
The alleged serial killer has been tailed since last year, and the police were planning to continue the operation to build their case.
However, they decided to pounce and make an arrest in the interest of ‘public safety,’ Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told reporters.
Tierney cited a number of red flags, saying that Heuermann ‘continues to patronize sex workers’, uses false IDs and burner phones, and has a staggering 92 firearms permits.
‘That certainly made us very nervous,’ said Tierney, who has led a secret investigative task force focused on Heuerman since spring 2022.
Prosecutors said numerous pieces of evidence linked him to the murder, including DNA recovered from a pizza crust that matched genetic material found in the Heuermann woman’s remains.
He has denied the offenses he faces and is due back in court on August 1