When the Gilgo Beach investigation began
Dozens of media outlets from around the world will have a presence at the criminal courthouse in Riverhead for the sentencing of Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann this morning.
The case has spawned several books, a feature film and documentary series’ produced by three major streaming services.
But coverage of the case originated with a brief article published in Newsday after the discovery of the first set of remains found off Ocean Parkway on Dec. 11, 2010.
Here’s what our original 121-word article, penned by former Suffolk County politics reporter Rick Brand and published in print on Monday, Dec. 13, 2010, said about the discovery:
The skeletal remains of an unidentified body have been found on the side of Ocean Parkway between Cedar and Gilgo beaches, police officials said.
Homicide detectives are investigating after the remains were found Saturday about 2:45 p.m., when canine officer John Mallia and his dog, Blue, were doing a routine training exercise in the area.
A police spokeswoman said detectives could not immediately identify whether the remains are of a man or a woman and what was found is being turned over to the medical examiner for analysis.
Detectives ask anyone with information to contact the homicide squad at 631-852-6392 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS.
The remains would later be identified as Melissa Barthelemy, a hairdresser from Buffalo who had rented an apartment in the Bronx. She disappeared on July 12, 2009. Heuermann was charged in her killing on July 13, 2023, and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on April 8.
Heuermann will receive a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for the Barthelemy murder later today.
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.
