'Cowardly opportunist'
Elizabeth Meserve, the aunt of victim Megan Waterman, addressed the court.
Waterman was a 22-year-old single mother from Scarborough, Maine, who was reported missing on June 8, 2010.
Meserve said Heuermann not only took Megan's hopes and dreams, he "shattered our family."
"Some days are easier than others .... But we continue moving forward hoping for the day when this type of evil is no longer a part of society," she said.
"He simply wanted to torture and kill," Meserve said, saying Heuermann did not have a specific type of person he wanted to kill. She called him a "cowardly opportunist."
Meserve said Liliana Waterman was too young to understand why her mother disappeared. She is referring to Heuermann as "the prisoner."
"I cannot find the words to truly express how devastating Megan's loss was to our family," she said.
Meserve said millions of people now mourn the Gilgo Beach victims thanks to the exposure of the case.
She added that families have suffered due to the actions of former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and Police Chief James Burke. She says key evidence was never looked at "due to their corruption."
She also called out the Peacock documentary that paid millions to Heuermann's family, calling it "despicable."
"This is the kind of world we're living in. A demon tortures and kills our loved ones and his family gets filthy rich off his crimes," Meserve said.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.
'A million years isn't enough' NewsdayTV goes behind the scenes of the day Rex Heuermann was sentenced for the Gilgo killings.
