A suspect has been arrested in connection with serial killings in New York more than a decade ago that targeted sex workers and others whose bodies were strewn along a Long Island beach, police said on Friday.
Eleven sets of human remains were found in 2010 and 2011 along an isolated stretch of Gilgo Beach on an Atlantic barrier island about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of New York City. The killings drew national attention.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said a male suspect was arrested at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. He did not identify the suspect but said a grand jury was expected to hand down an indictment on Friday afternoon.
Speaking to reporters outside a home in the Long Island town of Massapequa, Harrison declined to offer more details. He said more information would be provided at a press conference later on Friday.
Citing four law enforcement officials, NBC identified the suspect as Rex Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect from Massapequa, a 20-minute drive from Gilgo Beach. The New York Times, citing an unnamed official, also named Heuermann.
Pictures of women, whose bodies were identified among 10 bodies found near Gilgo Beach since December 2010, are seen in this Suffolk County Police handout image released to Reuters on September 20, 2011. Police investigating the 10 bodies dumped by a possible serial killer near a Long Island beach (credit: REUTERS/Courtesy of Suffolk County Police/Handout)A spokeswoman for the Suffolk Country Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on reports naming a suspect in the case.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reports naming a suspect in the case.
How did he find his victims?
Some bodies were found wrapped in burlap bags, and five of the victims were identified as missing prostitutes who had advertised for clients online, including on Craigslist, police have said.
The remains were linked to nine women, one man and a toddler girl. Police have said that one person might be responsible for all the murders.
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