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Netflix Docuseries “Gone Girls” Re-examines Long Island Serial Killer Case Following Arrest
In July 2023, documentarian Liz Garbus received news of a significant development while on holiday: an arrest had finally been made in the long-unsolved Long Island serial killer case. Since 2010, after the remains of four women were discovered along a remote stretch of highway near Gilgo Beach, law enforcement had been searching for a suspected serial killer, facing considerable public concern and making limited headway. Garbus became a key figure chronicling the community-led effort to push authorities to act, notably with her 2020 feature film Lost Girls. This adaptation of Robert Kolker’s book depicted the determined campaign by working-class women to uncover the fate of their daughters and sisters—all of whom were sex workers advertising on Craigslist—often with minimal police assistance.
Amy Ryan, the star of Lost Girls, informed Garbus about the apprehension of Rex Heuermann, a 60-year-old architect based in Massapequa who regularly commuted to Manhattan. Ryan had portrayed Mari Gilbert, the mother of Shannan Gilbert, who vanished in the early hours of May 1, 2010, after meeting a client on Long Island. Mari Gilbert persistently pressured the police to prioritize her daughter’s case, despite their initial dismissal of her as a runaway prostitute. It took eight months for Long Island authorities to initiate a comprehensive investigation for Shannan, during which they instead discovered the bodies of the “Gilgo Four”: Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, and Amber Costello, who disappeared between July 2007 and September 2010. By spring 2011, investigators had identified the remains of 10 possible victims linked to the same perpetrator. Cellphone data had long suggested that the killer resided in central Long Island and commuted to New York City. Heuermann, it emerged, was a relatively successful architect with involvement in numerous buildings throughout the city—including Ryan’s residence.
Filmmaker’s Personal Connection to the Case
“Amy said, ‘Liz, he was in my apartment,’” Garbus recounted, still expressing shock. “This development, coupled with the realization of how close he was not only to individuals on Long Island but also in New York City, was truly remarkable.”
“Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer” Docuseries on Netflix
Garbus immediately reconnected with the families of the Gilgo Four, whom she had consulted for Lost Girls. She envisioned a docuseries documenting both the breakthrough in this long-standing cold case and the systemic issues within the justice system that allowed it to remain unsolved for so long. The result is Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, a three-part documentary series for Netflix. This series foregrounds the victims and their families and investigates the corruption within Suffolk County, Long Island, that significantly impeded the investigation for nearly a decade.
Focus on Systemic Failures and Victim Dehumanization
As the series reveals, from the outset, law enforcement deprioritized the disappearances of sex workers, and the media often dehumanized them. “It’s just one excuse after another,” Mari Gilbert states in archival news footage featured in the series. Garbus noted that early media coverage in the 2010s frequently failed to mention the victims by name, or even refer to them as women. “Even the most respected publications would simply call them prostitutes,” she said. Each family interviewed in the series shares a similar narrative: their sister, daughter, niece, or mother disappears; police express skepticism regarding the disappearance due to their line of work; and the investigation receives minimal priority, quickly losing momentum, if initiated at all.
Sex Workers’ Overlooked Insights
Gone Girls incorporates several interviews with sex workers—friends or colleagues of the victims, and women who had unsettling encounters with someone resembling Heuermann, described as a large man standing 6ft 4in and weighing 250lbs. One woman recounts being attacked in Philadelphia, escaping only by using a concealed Taser. Another describes a date with a man similar to Heuermann who spoke excessively about the Gilgo Beach murders, referring to the victims by number in a “very dehumanizing” manner.
Crucially, police investigators never accessed this kind of information because they failed to engage with sex workers or create a secure environment for them to report information without fear of arrest. “Their voices were ignored and dismissed for an extended period,” Garbus explained. “They felt unable to approach the police due to the fear of arrest and the perception that they would not be taken seriously. Yet, these were the individuals possessing the most valuable information.”
Missed Clues and Investigation Lapses
In winter 2010, Suffolk County police did possess a crucial piece of evidence: a suspect description provided by Amber Costello’s roommate. Dave Schaller recounts in Gone Girls how he reported to police a frightening incident weeks before Costello’s disappearance. Costello had called him in distress one night, barricaded in her bathroom, because a client had threatened her. Schaller and a friend intervened, nearly unleashing a pit bull on the man they described as a massive, “Frankenstein-like” figure with an “empty gaze”—“like a predator who’s just tripped,” he recalls in the series. Schaller also provided a description of the man’s truck: a green, first-generation Chevy Avalanche.
Corruption’s Role in Hampering Justice
This description, along with significant portions of the investigation files, remained dormant in Suffolk County for years. As the second episode reveals, this was largely due to a highly corrupt alliance between Suffolk County’s district attorney at the time, Tom Spoda, and police chief, James Burke. Spoda had initially recruited Burke as a teenage informant in a notorious Long Island murder case involving a 13-year-old boy. Burke’s cooperation led to what the series suggests were likely wrongful convictions of two other teenagers. Appointed police chief by Spoda in 2011, Burke prohibited officers from sharing information with the FBI or other agencies, effectively ending initial collaboration on the Gilgo Beach case.
Exposing Official Misconduct
It later came to light that Burke had directed subordinates to conduct surveillance on his girlfriend and her former partners, solicited sex workers, reportedly dismissed the Gilgo Beach killings as “misdemeanor murders,” and orchestrated a cover-up after pornography and sex toys were stolen from his vehicle in 2012—which included the police assault of the suspected thief. In 2016, Burke was convicted of assault and obstruction of justice, receiving a 46-month federal prison sentence. Spoda was also convicted of obstruction of justice for his role in protecting Burke and sentenced to five years.
Interagency Task Force Leads to Breakthrough
It wasn’t until 2022 that the Gilgo Beach murders investigation was assigned to a joint task force, enabling full-time investigators to share critical information. Remarkably, within just six weeks, the task force identified a suspect: a Massapequa resident matching Schaller’s description who had previously owned a green 2003 Chevy Avalanche. They placed Heuermann under surveillance for ten months before securing a DNA sample that matched evidence from the crime scenes. Following his arrest in July 2023, Heuermann has been charged with seven murders—the Gilgo Four, as well as Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla, and Valeria Mack—but not Shannan Gilbert, whose death is still not officially classified as a homicide.
Addressing Conspiracy Theories and Systemic Issues
In the years preceding Heuermann’s arrest, online conspiracy theories alleging police involvement in the murders proliferated. Garbus neither validates these theories nor dismisses the considerable impact of Suffolk County’s failures in delaying potential justice. “I don’t anticipate definitively linking the police directly to the Gilgo Beach murders, but I do believe that managing a corrupt operation within a police department consumes substantial time and resources, undoubtedly diverting attention from essential investigations,” she stated. “The simple fact that the Gilgo Beach task force identified the alleged perpetrator in just six weeks—using evidence readily available for over a decade—speaks volumes.”
Focusing on Victims and Systemic Change
Gone Girls refrains from speculating on a potential motive or psychological profile of the killer. Garbus explained, “I want to avoid sensationalizing and centering the perpetrator. However, I believe we can learn valuable lessons by understanding the patterns and systemic failures that hindered the search.” A primary failure was the lack of interdepartmental coordination and a failure to recognize the potential scope of victims, largely stemming from ingrained biases against sex workers. Melissa Cann, sister of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, struggled even to have her sister’s name added to the national missing persons registry. Garbus highlighted that every identified victim had a dedicated advocate tirelessly seeking answers and keeping their case active. “How many others lacked such advocacy?” she questioned. “I believe numerous unanswered questions remain, and I hope our systems aren’t so fundamentally flawed that these crucial investigation records become irretrievable.”
Unanswered Questions and Pursuit of Resolution
As Heuermann awaits trial, significant questions persist in the Long Island Serial Killer case. What happened to Gilbert? How many victims were there in total? Did Heuermann truly cease his alleged crimes for a decade between his first suspected victim in 1993 and his second in 2003? “I do not believe we currently understand the full extent of this case,” Garbus asserted.
Nevertheless, the impending trial, which will likely reveal information currently known only to prosecutors, provides a prospect of answers. “The hope is that the families receive as many answers as possible,” Garbus concluded, “and that we can resolve as many cases as possible, bringing some closure for these missing young women.”