April 9, 2026
Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Pleads Guilty, Confesses To Murdering 8 Women
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RSS Feed 62-year-old architect, father and former husband Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty to a series of murders that plagued Long Island for 2 decades. As victims’ families gathered in court, Heuermann detailed how he strangled and dismembered the women while hiding in plan sight, posing as a normal suburban Dad. As part of his plea deal, the Gilgo Beach serial killer will be interviewed by the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit to try and understand what drove him to become the monster he is today.
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00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks, it is Thursday, April ninth. Then you might not know his name.
00:00:07
Speaker 2: Yet, but Rex Hureman might quite possibly go down as one of the most prolific and also one of the most fascinating and even one of the most studied serial killers in US history.
00:00:21
Speaker 1: With that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Robes.
00:00:25
Speaker 2: A significant chapter has been closed for an area of New York. Frankly that has been terrorized for decades. Finally got an answers, finally got the guy who has killed at least eight women there could be more.
00:00:42
Speaker 3: Yes, that's right. He is known as the Gilgo Beach serial killer. We now know his name. He is sixty two year old Rex Hureman, and yes, that name does not pop off. But he may now go down, not may he will go down in history along the likes of Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy. These are names we all know that frightened us to our core, and names of monsters who were still trying to understand. And Rex Huerman is in that category. And yesterday, standing in that New York courtroom admitting to killing eight women in front of some of their families. Police who spent year seventeen years trying to get this guy and certainly the community he terrorized, all watching and.
00:01:33
Speaker 2: Listening because these deaths, these killings took place over a twenty year stretch of time essentially, and Robs the last confirmed at least killing was how long ago.
00:01:43
Speaker 3: Twenty eleven, I believe, so it was a while ago. And here's part of like, if you're not familiar with the story, for those of us who worked in the area, I remember covering this when I was back at the Today Show all those years ago. Because what would happen is body parts, not even bodies of women would show up up wrapped up in burlap bags along this Ocean Highway near Gilgo Beach, along New York's famed Long Island. A little bit further east. You would be at the Hamptons, just to give people an idea of where this is, and there would be parts of women, body parts that would show up that would be found ten years apart. It was a huge puzzle that police could not put together. They could not figure out who was responsible for these killings. And just the fact that they were getting pieces of women over decades apart to try and figure out who was doing this, and why, and do I have right?
00:02:40
Speaker 2: We always look for a smoking gun or a big break in the case. It looks like to this one or at least for me robes and you correct me if I'm wrong. He was arrested in two thousand and twenty three. Right, So he was arrested not because I think roads necessarily because somebody came forward, there was a big piece of evidence. It sounds like the community and the police force recommitted and rededicated themselves to solving these crimes.
00:03:05
Speaker 3: That's exactly what happened. These cases had gone cold. And look, there are still other bodies that have not been necessarily attributed or connected to him, but they're trying to. They believe there were far more than just eight women killed by Hureman. But yes, he was arrested because a new task force was created in twenty twenty two focused solely on solving this case. And by the way, the first murders happened in nineteen ninety three, so this was a long time coming. And through that renewed effort they were able to pinpoint Hureman and arrest him after they used cell phone data. He was using a lot of burner phones, but they were able to find cell phone data and then they were able to watch him and wait, they got DNA from a pizza crust that he was eating, from bottles of water that he was drinking, and even human hairs. And when they got this DNA without him realized they were doing this, they were able then to connect him to the killings and make the arrest. In twenty twenty three.
00:04:06
Speaker 2: They make this arrest robes and we I think we talk about the fascination certainly with serial killers. Over time, a lot of the fascination. We want to know motive, why, what makes this person tick, But a fascination comes. And there have been some robes that are walking among us, walking among us as normal leading lives have careers, even successful careers have families. He was among them for decades.
00:04:37
Speaker 3: You just described rex Hureman to at and it was so fascinating during or at least after court. We got to hear from the investigators, from police and so many authorities on serial killers, FBI profilers who were talking about rex Hureman. Yes, he was an architect, a successful businessman, he had a daughter, he had an ex wife, and they described these types of criminals. They're rare. But they called Rex Heureman a serial sexual killer, meaning he was sexually aroused by killing women, and so they said he had what I didn't know these terms? Have you heard of pro social life? That's how they describe been said.
00:05:19
Speaker 2: They've said, there are some that it was fascinating to hear a what someone who studies cyrical and studies mind, I did not. When they describe it, it makes sense, but I haven't heard the term, yeah really before.
00:05:30
Speaker 3: This got a pro social life serial killer, meaning that these killers have a job, they have a family, they appear to be living their life in the correct moral way, and they're basically because of living this double life, they're able to elude police for that much longer because they don't look like a likely suspect. There is no motive that they could be identified by for killing these women. So yes, they said. This was the direct quote from the DA huremen walked among us play acting as a normal suburban dad when in reality, all along he was obsessively targeting innocent women for death. That is a frightening thing to think about. And we also heard him Huerman himself tell the judge describe to the judge what he did to these women.
00:06:23
Speaker 2: We talk motive robes as you're just describing. As you just went back and you said, I just need to hear his voice. So as you all are listening to us and hearing about this guy, and you hear about that type of monstrous behavior, what do you are?
00:06:37
Speaker 1: You fascinated? You want to hear it?
00:06:39
Speaker 2: He's you know, when you look at him, there's something about his look. I don't know if now having the knowledge of who he is and what he's guilty of, if it adds to it. But you look at the guy and he can be a little frightening and intimidating looking walking down the street, keeping up a job fine in a courtroom, you look and he looks like a scary guy quite frankly, way his hair was done, and the way he was carrying himself, and it might have added to the ominous nature of his appearance. Because you try to juxtapose or you try to put that it does you can't really make it make sense with all the crimes he's accused of. He doesn't. Nobody really fits that or walks out looking like that. But there was something about his look and now his voice, as you said, robes in court and hearing him and then nothing about him animated, nothing worked up, nothing emotional.
00:07:36
Speaker 1: At what's his.
00:07:37
Speaker 2: Trading and he's architect He just described robes like it was just another building he was designing.
00:07:44
Speaker 3: Yes, a reporter in the room said a similar thing. Yes, yeah, No, that's so interesting, you said, he said, it was almost like when you're listening to him in court and he's describing these heinous acts and it's almost as if he's in an architectural meeting describe having plans for the next building he was rendering. I mean, that is what and how clinical he sounded. But yes, he told the court that he hired each woman, each victim, as an escort, so these were women in that trade, and then he would strangle them, dismember them, bound them in burlap, and then dump body parts along that ocean front parkway. And that, of course, is what gave this murder, these murders their case name, the Gilgo Beach murders. That's how we refer to them here in the New York area for so long, and it's just it is something to behold, to witness, to see this man who Yeah, I get it. He does look creepy now that we know. But I have to say, if I walked into I don't know, a Walmart and I saw him, I wouldn't necessarily find him threatening. He's a little, i don't know, unusual. Maybe his hair would be the only thing I would speak of. But he kind of just looks like, Yeah, a guy who's a little overweight, who's a little larger than most and you know, a middle management job. That's kind of what he looked like to me.
00:09:03
Speaker 2: And again, Rose's motive, You've hit on a little bit. Why was he killing these folks? I don't know if a lot of those answers are ever gonna get got. But to whatever the person you were describing the I'm not sure what doctor or whatever that looks into this stuff.
00:09:17
Speaker 1: I said, this is a rare case. He gets off.
00:09:20
Speaker 2: Sexually by what he was doing, Robes, I don't know how that happens. I mean, the stuff we are talking about, we're not talking about I just a sexual assault. He is violently chopping yes up and dismembering and going about his day the next day.
00:09:39
Speaker 3: And the details were horrific. And to think that some of these victims family members were in the court listening to this, and they did try to spare the family members some of this because it is really just heinous. But just to get I was just trying to absorb the fact that he went through all of this and then a leg would be found on a beach, then ten years later, that same woman's skull would be found on a different part of the beach. It was just the lengths that he went to to separate all of these body parts and the work that he put into placing them in different areas. It just it is mind blowing. And so to your point, the why everyone wants to understand, well, no one wants to understand more than the FBI's Behavioral Analysis unit. And this is the unit that was made famous. If you love the Silence of the Lamb like we do the TV show Criminal Minds. That unit has been depicted in Hollywood and on the big screen, in small screens, but it's an actual unit and it played a big role in the reason why prosecutors decided to strike this plead deal and to let Hureman plead guilty to these murders rather than go to trial. When we come back, we're going to tell you what Rex Hureman agreed to do with the FBI as a part of his deal. And welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ, where we are getting all the details about a serial killer that had been a mystery in the New York area for decades. Solved because Yes. On Wednesday, sixty two year old Rex Humerman, an architect, a father, a former husband, has pleaded guilty to killing at least eight women in the most horrific fashion imaginable. He was a sexual serial killer, and there are a lot of questions about why his motivation. This is a rare type of criminal, thank goodness, according to the FBI. But as a part of his plea deal, Babe, he agreed to be interviewed by the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. And you had known about this. I mean, I know that it's a thing, but I guess I didn't realize the thing. Yes, I just thought it was something I saw in entertainment.
00:12:01
Speaker 2: I'm not saying I seriously considered going into the FBI into law enforcement, but the study of what makes serial killers tick to figure that out and to help people solve crimes is something I've always been fascinated by. And we have seen shows in which they just talk to a profile or an FBI profile and say police are desperate and say, okay, we know this, we know this, we know this, we know that, and the profile, having no idea about the case, will say, you're looking for somebody who's in their thirties, who probably still lives with their mom. They probably are driving a car that's like this, and it's probably and they're able to nail it. It's a fascinating study of law enforce. It's a fascinating area of law enforcement. So these guys, he has incredibly useful information that could help Robes now us solve crimes for the rest of all time. It's weird to think this guy and all the horror he's caused is going to be helpful.
00:12:58
Speaker 3: Yeah, And you know, as you're saying all of this, I'm just seeing Jodie Foster's character Clarice going to talk to the Anthony Hopkins character to try and help solve another serial murderer. And that is exactly what they are doing. Now. They say that this is not about the investigation, This is about his motivation. This is about trying to understand what made him tick. So they said they're hopefully going to get insight into what created him, like how did he become this monster, what drove him to do this, and what does cause this type of monstrous behavior. And this unit has studied John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Richard Speck just to name a few. But basically any notorious serial killer has pretty much sat down with this unit. And if you ask why would they do that, it's the narcissism. They love to be important. This is part of the I guess the character study that these are the types of individuals who actually like to be center of attention, who want to actually be studied because it makes them feel important, so they can gladly do it.
00:14:12
Speaker 1: Sure, I want to see in the visitor over. I got nothing going that day? What time? Thursday at three?
00:14:16
Speaker 3: I think I can fit that into my schedule. But no, And it was really chilling to hear the investigators talk about why this unit is so important, because yes, it is. The intent is to catch the next serial killer. And they said, there are several out there right now. There are some we don't know about, there are some we are looking for, and what we can glean from Humorman absolutely could make the difference. Between breaking the next case and we are on them and they will there will always be, unfortunately, more men like this, and they are typically men in the world. And any information that we can get about what makes these people do what they do, maybe we can save lives with that information.
00:15:00
Speaker 1: Y is, he's a fascinating case.
00:15:02
Speaker 2: Ropes he was so he's sixty two now, so while this was all going on, he was what in his third.
00:15:08
Speaker 3: Thirties, forties, forties, Yes, and an active and present member of the community. I mean, that is what just is so chilling. I think he.
00:15:17
Speaker 2: Pled guilty to seven he admitted Now, of course he's killed the seven, but he also admitted to an eighth. But it's not a part of a conviction. How much have you read? Tell me if you know what the possibilities are of how many more victims there could be.
00:15:35
Speaker 3: Police believe there are almost certainly more, because there are plenty of unsolved cases that fit a similar pattern of what we saw with the Gilgo Beach murders. So they're hoping to get that information as well. And look, his sentencing, we should point out, is coming June seventeenth, and you might kind of think, why do you even need that he just admitted to murdering, viciously murdering eight women. Look, he is going to spend the rest of his life behind bars. He is going to get life in prison without parole. But it's important because those families that were sitting in that courtroom on Wednesday will get to speak, They will get to tell their pain, They will get to share the impact of his disgusting behavior with the court, and that's important for closure for so many of these families who didn't think they were ever going to find justice. It was actually such a horrific day but also a beautiful one because these families got closure and these investigators got to say, we got our guide.
00:16:30
Speaker 1: What was the what was the trial date? Right? Because there was an anticipation.
00:16:34
Speaker 3: It was coming up. Yeah I don't know, but yes, he was going to trial, and it was going to be really tough for these family members to have to go through this and live through this. So this was a big deal to get the plea deal in place and now to be able to study him going forward. But we will have he will have one more day in court where we will hear from the victims and he'll be able to say what he wants to as well. Both sides can present their cases the judge.
00:17:00
Speaker 2: That's their day in court. All these times and all this legal wrangling going up, they are finally getting their day roades. We have watched victim impact statements. These are very difficult days to watch in court, and judges give all congrant all kinds of leeway to families. So Robes, this is one I'm expecting to be just gutting to listen to. It's the anger that you're going to hear, the pain you're going to hear, and talking to him and Robes, they get to look at him directly in the face and say what they want to say. From what we've seen of him so far, what do you expect from him?
00:17:37
Speaker 3: Zero emotional reaction, And they say that's actually part of how he does what he does. He doesn't have He's a psychopath, is what sociopaths, psychopath, all these labels placed on him, But he doesn't feel guilt, he doesn't feel remorse. No one who did could do what he did to these women. I also think it's important to say this. I remember when I was covering this, I don't even know all those years ago. One of the big issues with these case. With this case was these women and what they did and how they were diminished and minimized because they were considered sex workers or prostitutes or what escorts, you can call them what they were.
00:18:14
Speaker 2: But these priorities. Frankly, these are lives that don't matter as much as some others. Right if they had the right motivation. What if some suburban mom who looked a little differently with a little two kids and driving the right car and had done could he have been stopped sooner? Did he probably long enough to even pick the right victims to know? Ah, these people aren't going to be worth anything that is interesting to hear, right, it's these are these.
00:18:42
Speaker 1: You know what?
00:18:43
Speaker 2: This is all you need to know about these women. Thirty years later, their families are showing up in court.
00:18:47
Speaker 3: Exactly, And that's my point. They were young women, they said, Look, you can label them however you want. Some of these women were trying to pay bills for school to further their education. Some of these women were trying to put food in their children's mouths.
00:19:00
Speaker 1: Don't care.
00:19:01
Speaker 3: These were young mothers, many of them. But these were women like from twenty years old to thirty. These were young women who had futures ahead of them, who were trying to get by, And it doesn't mean that their lives were any less valuable. But you know, and we know how society treats hate when they do that.
00:19:20
Speaker 2: They start saying they were sex workers, but they would blah blah blah, they were sex workers. But like trying to justify why I should care about this human being. I don't give a damn what she did for a living. This dude butchered eight people. You don't have to explain to me why I should care. These are humans. This is something we do all the time in this country. What you look like, how kinky your hair is, how dark your skin is, what neighborhood you're from, and then will determine what kind of value your life has.
00:19:49
Speaker 3: No.
00:19:49
Speaker 2: I hate that conversation. I hate I'm not gonna say the lawyer who was out there trying to I get where that comes from, robes, But you almost lessen the value of their life when you're trying.
00:20:00
Speaker 1: To justify the value of their life.
00:20:01
Speaker 2: If you're trying to explain to me why I should care, then both of us have a problem.
00:20:06
Speaker 1: She's a human being and.
00:20:06
Speaker 3: She's dead, and she didn't do anything wrong.
00:20:09
Speaker 1: End of story.
00:20:11
Speaker 2: Don't need to hear what she did for anything else. And we don't do that enough in this in this country, with the stories and with media.
00:20:17
Speaker 1: But you make that point.
00:20:18
Speaker 2: I actually got pissed in hearing because you're right, they were explaining, no, these women were this, and they were that now, they were women.
00:20:26
Speaker 3: Who didn't deserve to die.
00:20:27
Speaker 1: How are human beings?
00:20:28
Speaker 3: And so I think that is why this June seventeenth, no on no, but iota, I get that. I feel that same way, and I think that's why June seventeenth, this victim Impact statement, this opportunity for these families to try and finally get their say. It's all the more sweet because they haven't necessarily gotten the same regard and haven't been valued in the same way. And I think that's why sentencing day will be incredibly powerful. We will of course follow that for you, but just wanted to get you updated on this really power orful moment in court in New York that happened on Wednesday. But thank you all so much for listening to us. As always, I'm Amy Roebuck alongside TJ. Holmes. We will talk to you soon
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks, it is Thursday, April ninth. Then you might not know his name.
00:00:07
Speaker 2: Yet, but Rex Hureman might quite possibly go down as one of the most prolific and also one of the most fascinating and even one of the most studied serial killers in US history.
00:00:21
Speaker 1: With that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Robes.
00:00:25
Speaker 2: A significant chapter has been closed for an area of New York. Frankly that has been terrorized for decades. Finally got an answers, finally got the guy who has killed at least eight women there could be more.
00:00:42
Speaker 3: Yes, that's right. He is known as the Gilgo Beach serial killer. We now know his name. He is sixty two year old Rex Hureman, and yes, that name does not pop off. But he may now go down, not may he will go down in history along the likes of Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy. These are names we all know that frightened us to our core, and names of monsters who were still trying to understand. And Rex Huerman is in that category. And yesterday, standing in that New York courtroom admitting to killing eight women in front of some of their families. Police who spent year seventeen years trying to get this guy and certainly the community he terrorized, all watching and.
00:01:33
Speaker 2: Listening because these deaths, these killings took place over a twenty year stretch of time essentially, and Robs the last confirmed at least killing was how long ago.
00:01:43
Speaker 3: Twenty eleven, I believe, so it was a while ago. And here's part of like, if you're not familiar with the story, for those of us who worked in the area, I remember covering this when I was back at the Today Show all those years ago. Because what would happen is body parts, not even bodies of women would show up up wrapped up in burlap bags along this Ocean Highway near Gilgo Beach, along New York's famed Long Island. A little bit further east. You would be at the Hamptons, just to give people an idea of where this is, and there would be parts of women, body parts that would show up that would be found ten years apart. It was a huge puzzle that police could not put together. They could not figure out who was responsible for these killings. And just the fact that they were getting pieces of women over decades apart to try and figure out who was doing this, and why, and do I have right?
00:02:40
Speaker 2: We always look for a smoking gun or a big break in the case. It looks like to this one or at least for me robes and you correct me if I'm wrong. He was arrested in two thousand and twenty three. Right, So he was arrested not because I think roads necessarily because somebody came forward, there was a big piece of evidence. It sounds like the community and the police force recommitted and rededicated themselves to solving these crimes.
00:03:05
Speaker 3: That's exactly what happened. These cases had gone cold. And look, there are still other bodies that have not been necessarily attributed or connected to him, but they're trying to. They believe there were far more than just eight women killed by Hureman. But yes, he was arrested because a new task force was created in twenty twenty two focused solely on solving this case. And by the way, the first murders happened in nineteen ninety three, so this was a long time coming. And through that renewed effort they were able to pinpoint Hureman and arrest him after they used cell phone data. He was using a lot of burner phones, but they were able to find cell phone data and then they were able to watch him and wait, they got DNA from a pizza crust that he was eating, from bottles of water that he was drinking, and even human hairs. And when they got this DNA without him realized they were doing this, they were able then to connect him to the killings and make the arrest. In twenty twenty three.
00:04:06
Speaker 2: They make this arrest robes and we I think we talk about the fascination certainly with serial killers. Over time, a lot of the fascination. We want to know motive, why, what makes this person tick, But a fascination comes. And there have been some robes that are walking among us, walking among us as normal leading lives have careers, even successful careers have families. He was among them for decades.
00:04:37
Speaker 3: You just described rex Hureman to at and it was so fascinating during or at least after court. We got to hear from the investigators, from police and so many authorities on serial killers, FBI profilers who were talking about rex Hureman. Yes, he was an architect, a successful businessman, he had a daughter, he had an ex wife, and they described these types of criminals. They're rare. But they called Rex Heureman a serial sexual killer, meaning he was sexually aroused by killing women, and so they said he had what I didn't know these terms? Have you heard of pro social life? That's how they describe been said.
00:05:19
Speaker 2: They've said, there are some that it was fascinating to hear a what someone who studies cyrical and studies mind, I did not. When they describe it, it makes sense, but I haven't heard the term, yeah really before.
00:05:30
Speaker 3: This got a pro social life serial killer, meaning that these killers have a job, they have a family, they appear to be living their life in the correct moral way, and they're basically because of living this double life, they're able to elude police for that much longer because they don't look like a likely suspect. There is no motive that they could be identified by for killing these women. So yes, they said. This was the direct quote from the DA huremen walked among us play acting as a normal suburban dad when in reality, all along he was obsessively targeting innocent women for death. That is a frightening thing to think about. And we also heard him Huerman himself tell the judge describe to the judge what he did to these women.
00:06:23
Speaker 2: We talk motive robes as you're just describing. As you just went back and you said, I just need to hear his voice. So as you all are listening to us and hearing about this guy, and you hear about that type of monstrous behavior, what do you are?
00:06:37
Speaker 1: You fascinated? You want to hear it?
00:06:39
Speaker 2: He's you know, when you look at him, there's something about his look. I don't know if now having the knowledge of who he is and what he's guilty of, if it adds to it. But you look at the guy and he can be a little frightening and intimidating looking walking down the street, keeping up a job fine in a courtroom, you look and he looks like a scary guy quite frankly, way his hair was done, and the way he was carrying himself, and it might have added to the ominous nature of his appearance. Because you try to juxtapose or you try to put that it does you can't really make it make sense with all the crimes he's accused of. He doesn't. Nobody really fits that or walks out looking like that. But there was something about his look and now his voice, as you said, robes in court and hearing him and then nothing about him animated, nothing worked up, nothing emotional.
00:07:36
Speaker 1: At what's his.
00:07:37
Speaker 2: Trading and he's architect He just described robes like it was just another building he was designing.
00:07:44
Speaker 3: Yes, a reporter in the room said a similar thing. Yes, yeah, No, that's so interesting, you said, he said, it was almost like when you're listening to him in court and he's describing these heinous acts and it's almost as if he's in an architectural meeting describe having plans for the next building he was rendering. I mean, that is what and how clinical he sounded. But yes, he told the court that he hired each woman, each victim, as an escort, so these were women in that trade, and then he would strangle them, dismember them, bound them in burlap, and then dump body parts along that ocean front parkway. And that, of course, is what gave this murder, these murders their case name, the Gilgo Beach murders. That's how we refer to them here in the New York area for so long, and it's just it is something to behold, to witness, to see this man who Yeah, I get it. He does look creepy now that we know. But I have to say, if I walked into I don't know, a Walmart and I saw him, I wouldn't necessarily find him threatening. He's a little, i don't know, unusual. Maybe his hair would be the only thing I would speak of. But he kind of just looks like, Yeah, a guy who's a little overweight, who's a little larger than most and you know, a middle management job. That's kind of what he looked like to me.
00:09:03
Speaker 2: And again, Rose's motive, You've hit on a little bit. Why was he killing these folks? I don't know if a lot of those answers are ever gonna get got. But to whatever the person you were describing the I'm not sure what doctor or whatever that looks into this stuff.
00:09:17
Speaker 1: I said, this is a rare case. He gets off.
00:09:20
Speaker 2: Sexually by what he was doing, Robes, I don't know how that happens. I mean, the stuff we are talking about, we're not talking about I just a sexual assault. He is violently chopping yes up and dismembering and going about his day the next day.
00:09:39
Speaker 3: And the details were horrific. And to think that some of these victims family members were in the court listening to this, and they did try to spare the family members some of this because it is really just heinous. But just to get I was just trying to absorb the fact that he went through all of this and then a leg would be found on a beach, then ten years later, that same woman's skull would be found on a different part of the beach. It was just the lengths that he went to to separate all of these body parts and the work that he put into placing them in different areas. It just it is mind blowing. And so to your point, the why everyone wants to understand, well, no one wants to understand more than the FBI's Behavioral Analysis unit. And this is the unit that was made famous. If you love the Silence of the Lamb like we do the TV show Criminal Minds. That unit has been depicted in Hollywood and on the big screen, in small screens, but it's an actual unit and it played a big role in the reason why prosecutors decided to strike this plead deal and to let Hureman plead guilty to these murders rather than go to trial. When we come back, we're going to tell you what Rex Hureman agreed to do with the FBI as a part of his deal. And welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ, where we are getting all the details about a serial killer that had been a mystery in the New York area for decades. Solved because Yes. On Wednesday, sixty two year old Rex Humerman, an architect, a father, a former husband, has pleaded guilty to killing at least eight women in the most horrific fashion imaginable. He was a sexual serial killer, and there are a lot of questions about why his motivation. This is a rare type of criminal, thank goodness, according to the FBI. But as a part of his plea deal, Babe, he agreed to be interviewed by the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. And you had known about this. I mean, I know that it's a thing, but I guess I didn't realize the thing. Yes, I just thought it was something I saw in entertainment.
00:12:01
Speaker 2: I'm not saying I seriously considered going into the FBI into law enforcement, but the study of what makes serial killers tick to figure that out and to help people solve crimes is something I've always been fascinated by. And we have seen shows in which they just talk to a profile or an FBI profile and say police are desperate and say, okay, we know this, we know this, we know this, we know that, and the profile, having no idea about the case, will say, you're looking for somebody who's in their thirties, who probably still lives with their mom. They probably are driving a car that's like this, and it's probably and they're able to nail it. It's a fascinating study of law enforce. It's a fascinating area of law enforcement. So these guys, he has incredibly useful information that could help Robes now us solve crimes for the rest of all time. It's weird to think this guy and all the horror he's caused is going to be helpful.
00:12:58
Speaker 3: Yeah, And you know, as you're saying all of this, I'm just seeing Jodie Foster's character Clarice going to talk to the Anthony Hopkins character to try and help solve another serial murderer. And that is exactly what they are doing. Now. They say that this is not about the investigation, This is about his motivation. This is about trying to understand what made him tick. So they said they're hopefully going to get insight into what created him, like how did he become this monster, what drove him to do this, and what does cause this type of monstrous behavior. And this unit has studied John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Richard Speck just to name a few. But basically any notorious serial killer has pretty much sat down with this unit. And if you ask why would they do that, it's the narcissism. They love to be important. This is part of the I guess the character study that these are the types of individuals who actually like to be center of attention, who want to actually be studied because it makes them feel important, so they can gladly do it.
00:14:12
Speaker 1: Sure, I want to see in the visitor over. I got nothing going that day? What time? Thursday at three?
00:14:16
Speaker 3: I think I can fit that into my schedule. But no, And it was really chilling to hear the investigators talk about why this unit is so important, because yes, it is. The intent is to catch the next serial killer. And they said, there are several out there right now. There are some we don't know about, there are some we are looking for, and what we can glean from Humorman absolutely could make the difference. Between breaking the next case and we are on them and they will there will always be, unfortunately, more men like this, and they are typically men in the world. And any information that we can get about what makes these people do what they do, maybe we can save lives with that information.
00:15:00
Speaker 1: Y is, he's a fascinating case.
00:15:02
Speaker 2: Ropes he was so he's sixty two now, so while this was all going on, he was what in his third.
00:15:08
Speaker 3: Thirties, forties, forties, Yes, and an active and present member of the community. I mean, that is what just is so chilling. I think he.
00:15:17
Speaker 2: Pled guilty to seven he admitted Now, of course he's killed the seven, but he also admitted to an eighth. But it's not a part of a conviction. How much have you read? Tell me if you know what the possibilities are of how many more victims there could be.
00:15:35
Speaker 3: Police believe there are almost certainly more, because there are plenty of unsolved cases that fit a similar pattern of what we saw with the Gilgo Beach murders. So they're hoping to get that information as well. And look, his sentencing, we should point out, is coming June seventeenth, and you might kind of think, why do you even need that he just admitted to murdering, viciously murdering eight women. Look, he is going to spend the rest of his life behind bars. He is going to get life in prison without parole. But it's important because those families that were sitting in that courtroom on Wednesday will get to speak, They will get to tell their pain, They will get to share the impact of his disgusting behavior with the court, and that's important for closure for so many of these families who didn't think they were ever going to find justice. It was actually such a horrific day but also a beautiful one because these families got closure and these investigators got to say, we got our guide.
00:16:30
Speaker 1: What was the what was the trial date? Right? Because there was an anticipation.
00:16:34
Speaker 3: It was coming up. Yeah I don't know, but yes, he was going to trial, and it was going to be really tough for these family members to have to go through this and live through this. So this was a big deal to get the plea deal in place and now to be able to study him going forward. But we will have he will have one more day in court where we will hear from the victims and he'll be able to say what he wants to as well. Both sides can present their cases the judge.
00:17:00
Speaker 2: That's their day in court. All these times and all this legal wrangling going up, they are finally getting their day roades. We have watched victim impact statements. These are very difficult days to watch in court, and judges give all congrant all kinds of leeway to families. So Robes, this is one I'm expecting to be just gutting to listen to. It's the anger that you're going to hear, the pain you're going to hear, and talking to him and Robes, they get to look at him directly in the face and say what they want to say. From what we've seen of him so far, what do you expect from him?
00:17:37
Speaker 3: Zero emotional reaction, And they say that's actually part of how he does what he does. He doesn't have He's a psychopath, is what sociopaths, psychopath, all these labels placed on him, But he doesn't feel guilt, he doesn't feel remorse. No one who did could do what he did to these women. I also think it's important to say this. I remember when I was covering this, I don't even know all those years ago. One of the big issues with these case. With this case was these women and what they did and how they were diminished and minimized because they were considered sex workers or prostitutes or what escorts, you can call them what they were.
00:18:14
Speaker 2: But these priorities. Frankly, these are lives that don't matter as much as some others. Right if they had the right motivation. What if some suburban mom who looked a little differently with a little two kids and driving the right car and had done could he have been stopped sooner? Did he probably long enough to even pick the right victims to know? Ah, these people aren't going to be worth anything that is interesting to hear, right, it's these are these.
00:18:42
Speaker 1: You know what?
00:18:43
Speaker 2: This is all you need to know about these women. Thirty years later, their families are showing up in court.
00:18:47
Speaker 3: Exactly, And that's my point. They were young women, they said, Look, you can label them however you want. Some of these women were trying to pay bills for school to further their education. Some of these women were trying to put food in their children's mouths.
00:19:00
Speaker 1: Don't care.
00:19:01
Speaker 3: These were young mothers, many of them. But these were women like from twenty years old to thirty. These were young women who had futures ahead of them, who were trying to get by, And it doesn't mean that their lives were any less valuable. But you know, and we know how society treats hate when they do that.
00:19:20
Speaker 2: They start saying they were sex workers, but they would blah blah blah, they were sex workers. But like trying to justify why I should care about this human being. I don't give a damn what she did for a living. This dude butchered eight people. You don't have to explain to me why I should care. These are humans. This is something we do all the time in this country. What you look like, how kinky your hair is, how dark your skin is, what neighborhood you're from, and then will determine what kind of value your life has.
00:19:49
Speaker 3: No.
00:19:49
Speaker 2: I hate that conversation. I hate I'm not gonna say the lawyer who was out there trying to I get where that comes from, robes, But you almost lessen the value of their life when you're trying.
00:20:00
Speaker 1: To justify the value of their life.
00:20:01
Speaker 2: If you're trying to explain to me why I should care, then both of us have a problem.
00:20:06
Speaker 1: She's a human being and.
00:20:06
Speaker 3: She's dead, and she didn't do anything wrong.
00:20:09
Speaker 1: End of story.
00:20:11
Speaker 2: Don't need to hear what she did for anything else. And we don't do that enough in this in this country, with the stories and with media.
00:20:17
Speaker 1: But you make that point.
00:20:18
Speaker 2: I actually got pissed in hearing because you're right, they were explaining, no, these women were this, and they were that now, they were women.
00:20:26
Speaker 3: Who didn't deserve to die.
00:20:27
Speaker 1: How are human beings?
00:20:28
Speaker 3: And so I think that is why this June seventeenth, no on no, but iota, I get that. I feel that same way, and I think that's why June seventeenth, this victim Impact statement, this opportunity for these families to try and finally get their say. It's all the more sweet because they haven't necessarily gotten the same regard and haven't been valued in the same way. And I think that's why sentencing day will be incredibly powerful. We will of course follow that for you, but just wanted to get you updated on this really power orful moment in court in New York that happened on Wednesday. But thank you all so much for listening to us. As always, I'm Amy Roebuck alongside TJ. Holmes. We will talk to you soon