'I don't forgive you'
Nicolette Brainard-Barnes, daughter of victim Maureen Brainard-Barnes, speaks in court prior to the sentencing of Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead on Wednesday. Credit: Newsday/James Carbone
Nearly an hour into victim impact statements, Nicolette Brainard-Barnes, daughter of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, addressed the court.
Brainard-Barnes called her mother a warm, lovely funny and artistic person, who was a poet, politically active and loved rap and R&B.
"Rex Heuermann stole decades from a woman who should still be here making memories with her family," Nicolette said.
She said she was only 7 years old when she lost her mother and has struggled with her mental health ever since.
"Her death did not create a single moment of grief," she said. "It created a lifetime of pain."
Brainard-Barnes thanked the investigators who worked to solve the case, saying they treated her family with "dignity and respect."
"They gave our family humanity," she said.
She said her mother was a sex worker but also much more than that. "The women he targeted were not disposable," she said.
"You are a pathetic man who thinks he is better than women," she told Heuermann.
Brainard-Barnes concluded by saying, "You make me sick and I don't forgive you."
'A million years isn't enough' NewsdayTV goes behind the scenes of the day Rex Heuermann was sentenced for the Gilgo killings.
