Rex Heuermann To Face Gilgo Beach Murder Charges in Court

Rex Heuermann, the architect accused of being Long Island's Gilgo Beach serial killer, is due to appear in court today and is set to face several homicide charges.

The 59 year old has been charged with murder in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. The women, who were all sex workers in their 20s, were found within the same area, bound by belts or tape, and had disappeared between 2007 and 2010. Heuermann was also named as the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, and she and the other victims were dubbed the "Gilgo Four." Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.

Investigators hope the court proceedings and eventual trial will finally draw a line under a slew of murders that had long mystified police and seen a killer escape justice for almost 20 years. Investigations began more than a decade ago in 2010, when police discovered the remains of 11 bodies on the beach in Long Island, New York. Officials believe the killings dated back to 1996.

Heuermann, who is being held at a Suffolk County jail without bail, is expected to appear at the Suffolk County courthouse in Riverhead for a status conference at 2:00 p.m. ET, where the legal teams for both the prosecution and the defense will inform the judge about progress in the case and where it currently stands. Heuermann's legal team may try to seek bail for their client, legal expert Marc Gann told Long Island channel News 12, but added: "There's virtually no chance that's going to happen."

It will be Heuermann's first appearance in court since he pleaded not guilty two weeks ago on July 14.

Prosecutors allege that Heuermann was living a twisted double life, taunting the family of one of his victims using her cell phone to call them. Investigators claim he embarked on the series of murders while his family was out of town.

The family man who lived in Massapequa Park—just a 20-minute drive from the beach—owns an architecture design firm in New York City and was well-known in his community having lived in his home for decades.

The alleged killer's lawyer Michael Brown insists his client is innocent, previously telling Newsweek that the authorities had "decided to focus on him [Heuermann] despite more significant and stronger leads."

He added: "We are looking forward to defending him in a court of law before a fair and impartial jury of his peers."

Brown described Heuermann as "a loving husband to his wife of over 25 years and an involved and dedicated father to his daughter and stepson."

However, Heuermann's wife, Asa Ellerup, has filed for divorce, according to The Associated Press.

The couple's home has been thoroughly searched by investigators in a bid to find clues, and Ellerup told the New York Post that she and her children—Christopher Sheridan, 33, and Victoria Heuermann, 26—have been left reeling and that their lives are in ruins.

"I woke up in the middle of the night, shivering," she said. "Anxiety. My children cry themselves to sleep. I mean, they're not children. They're grown adults but they're my children, and my son has developmental disabilities and he cried himself to sleep."

Investigations into the remaining victims remain ongoing.

Newsweek has reached out by email to Heuermann's lawyer Michael Brown and Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney for further information and comment.