The Gilgo Case newsletter: Heuermann sentenced

One by one, the families of the victims of Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann had their say in court Wednesday.

Nearly 16 years after the first set of remains were found off Ocean Parkway, the eight women’s children, parents, siblings and other close relatives were given a first opportunity to offload the burden of carrying such heavy emotions in the presence of the man who brutally ended their loved one’s lives.

It was a moment some thought might never come as the decades passed.

“We thought this was a lost cause but [investigators] proved otherwise,” Ruth Ramos, sister of 1993 victim Sandra Costilla, said in a statement read by prosecutor Andrew Lee.

The tension was palpable in the courtroom where Heuermann spent his final moments before being sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The killer hardly looked up, doing so only when challenged to by one of his victim’s sisters.

While the life sentence was a foregone conclusion, reached through extensive plea discussions that culminated in April, many questions remained about what might be said by family members and Heuermann himself.

Each of the relatives spoke of both the joyful impact their loved ones had on them in life and the tragic suffering they’ve endured since their deaths. They questioned Heuermann’s humanity and intelligence and asked if he was truly capable of remorse. He told them he had no words worth sharing, never saying he was sorry.

The final word, as always at sentencing, went to the judge. State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei recalled how the 6-foot-4 killer is often described as a “big man.”

“But you are a disgusting and despicable small man, if you are a man at all,” Mazzei said. “You are a coward.”

The judge then urged the court officers to usher Heuermann away, bringing to a close one of the darkest chapters in Long Island history.

Rex Heuermann, the Gilgo Beach killer, will now spend the rest of his days in whatever prison state officials deem appropriate.

The question of who was responsible for the carnage discovered along that waterfront highway all those years ago has been answered.

Melissa Cann, the sister of victim Maureen Brainard-Barnes said she lived with survivor’s guilt for more than a decade since her sister's remains were discovered, replaying every moment in her mind.

That’s over now, she told the man who killed her sister.

"The guilt is not mine to carry and never was,” Cann said. “This burden belongs to Rex."