Rex Heuermann charged with Valerie Mack’s murder 24 years later. Who was she?
LONG ISLAND - Suspected serial killer Rex Heuermann has been charged with the murder of Valerie Mack, whose partial skeletal remains were discovered in a wooded area in Manorville, Long Island, 24 years ago.
Heuermann was arraigned in a Suffolk County court on a superseding indictment, adding a new charge of second-degree murder.
"Your honor I’m not guilty of any of these charges," Heuermann said Tuesday, speaking for the first time.
Graphic via Suffolk County Police Dept.
Before today's newest charge, Heuermann was charged with killing six women whose remains were found on Long Island, and has pleaded not guilty. He was initially charged in the deaths of three women in 2023, and was subsequently charged in three more earlier this year.
The families of murder victims, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, Jessica Taylor, and Shannan Gilbert appeared alongside Gloria Alred, who represents the victims of the Gilgo murders at the press conference Tuesday.
Valerie's parents were not in attendance but the Suffolk County DA says that the family was thankful for the "little bit of closure."
Who was Valerie Mack?
Valerie Mack in 2000. (Courtesy of Suffolk County Police Department)
Valerie Mack, 24, worked as an escort in Philadelphia under the alias "Melissa Taylor."
She was last seen by her family in Port Republic, New Jersey, in the spring or summer of 2000 but was never reported missing.
Valerie Mack in 1998. (Courtesy of Suffolk County Police Department)
Her partial remains were found on Mill Road in Manorville back in 2000, and additional remains were discovered in 2011 during the search for Shannan Gilbert on Ocean Parkway.
Advances in DNA technology, along with help from the FBI, led to the positive identification of the remains once known as "Jane Doe #6."
What are the Gilgo Beach murders?
The Gilgo Beach murders – the deaths of 11 people whose remains were found in 2010 and 2011 – have long stumped investigators.
Most of the victims were young women who had been sex workers. Several of the bodies were found near the remote town of Gilgo Beach on the southern shore of Long Island.
Who were the other victims?
Shannan Gilbert
The bodies of the "Gilgo Four" were located within a quarter-mile of one another near Gilgo Beach in December 2010.
Courtesy of Amber Lynn Costello's family
In 2022, Suffolk County Police released new information on victims Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello including personal information and their last known whereabouts.
Courtesy of Maureen Brainard-Barnes's family
Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old sex worker, vanished on May 1, 2010. A police officer and his cadaver dog were looking for her body in the thicket along nearby Ocean Parkway when they happened upon the remains of a different woman. Within days, three other bodies were found, all within a short walk of one another.
Courtesy of Melissa Barthelemy's family
Her disappearance prompted a search that turned up the other remains, leading to suspicion that a serial killer was involved.
Megan Waterman
Partial remains of Taylor who was an escort working in New York City, were located in a wooded area in Manorville on July 26, 2003.
Courtesy of Jessica Taylor’s family
Additional remains of Taylor were discovered on March 29, 2011 along Ocean Parkway during the search for Shannan Gilbert.