RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — The man accused of killing several sex workers and dumping their bodies on a Long Island beach has been charged with two more murders after prosecutors announced Thursday that they had found a gruesome “planning document.” that was used to carry out the murders.
Rex Heuermann, a 60-year-old former architect, was formally notified of new charges – second-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla — before Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Timothy Mazzei.
He is now accused of murdering at least six women.
After Heuermann’s arrest, investigators seized several electronic devices from the suspect, including a laptop containing a Microsoft Word document, the complaint said.
That document, titled “HK2002-04,” was drafted in 2000 and was edited numerous times throughout 2002, officials said. It contained a section with four headings, for ‘problems’, ‘necessities’, ‘DS’ and ‘TRG’.
The “issues” include possible evidence such as DNA, tire tracks, bloodstains, footprints and hair, the indictment said.
Under “supplies,” the document listed items such as rope, tarpaulin, tape, medical gloves and various cleaning supplies.
“DS” likely stood for “dump site,” investigators said, and listed locations where evidence could be disposed of.
And TRG likely meant “target” and specified that “small is good,” according to researchers who noted that “the known victims so far are all small women.”
“The task force believes this is a planning document used by Heuermann to methodically blueprint and plan his murders in excruciating detail,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney told reporters outside the court on Thursday.
The document found on Heuermann’s computer also listed other actions after the event, according to the complaint.
The “body preparation” heading included reminders to “wash the inside of the body and all cavities,” “remove ID markings,” such as tattoos, and “remove head and hands.”
One entry was for “disposal of the following” and included “tools and equipment,” clothing and “anything that touched the victim.”
And “things to remember” for future actions include reminders like “go to sleep before hunting, too tired trouble (sic)” and the use of “heavy rope for the neck – light rope broke under the strain of tightening.” The writer also noted that “more sleep and noise control = more play time.”
“His specific intent was to locate these victims, track them down, bring them under his control and kill them,” Tierney said. “His motivations, meticulous planning and clear intentions are clear.”
Tierney later said on NBC News’ “Top Story with Tom Llamas” that while there were dead ends and false leads, the significance of the find was immediately apparent.
“When we found this document, we immediately knew it was an important document,” he said.
Heuermann was arrested on July 13 last year as he casually walked down a busy New York City street after work, apparently unaware that he was being followed by police.
He was originally charged with murdering 24-year-old Melissa Barthelemy; Megan Waterman, 22; and Amber Lynn Costello, 27. Earlier this year, he was charged with the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25.
The victims were among several found around Gilgo Beach, on the south coast of Long Island, in cases that remained unsolved for more than a decade.
Taylor, 20, disappeared in July 2003 while working as an escort in New York City, and her remains were found in two gruesome incidents that year and in 2011.
A dog walker in 2003 found Taylor’s body mutilated, with her head removed and arms severed below the elbows, officials said.
A tattoo of hers was also mutilated and “acts were committed by Rex A. Heuermann to … impede the identification of the victim through facial recognition, fingerprints and/or tattoo identification,” according to the complaint.
“Ms. Taylor’s skull, hands and forearm were discovered along Ocean Parkway, just east of Gilgo Beach,” the complaint states.
At the time of Taylor’s murder, Heuerman’s family was vacationing in Vermont with the family of his daughter’s kindergarten classmate. But Heuerman did not go along, according to the complaint.
A dark-colored Chevy pickup parked near where Taylor’s body was found appeared to be a truck Heuermann owned at the time, the complaint said.
And a hair found on Taylor’s body was matched with 99.96 percent certainty to Heuermann, prosecutors said.
Costilla was found by hunters in a wooded area of Southampton on November 20, 1993.
“The victim’s shirt was pulled over her torso and head, exposing the victim’s breasts,” according to court documents, which described gruesome post-mortem wounds. “The victim suffered numerous sharp force injuries to…her face, torso, breasts, left thigh and vaginal area.”
Hairs found on Costilla’s body also matched Heuermann with 99.96 percent certainty, prosecutors said.
Pages from the book “Mindhunter,” about the FBI’s serial crime unit, were also referenced in the “planning document,” and Tierney said he believes Heuermann used that book “to help him better hone his craft as a woman hunter.” and to Learn how law enforcement investigates murders.
Heuermann wore a suit and tie with his hands handcuffed behind his back during Thursday’s brief hearing.
Heuermann’s attorney, Michael Brown, entered a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf. Outside court, Brown said he could not immediately discuss the new charges.
“So it’s difficult for me to comment without looking at the documents and without talking to my client and examining the evidence,” Brown told reporters. “It wouldn’t be fair for me to comment at this point. I really have to look at everything.”
The judge ordered Heuermann to remain behind bars without bail. His next court date is set for July 30.
Tierney said investigators are still looking at several other homicides that could still be linked to Heuermann.
Tierney said on “Top Story” that the document recovered by investigators “speaks to the obsessiveness” of Heuermann.
“I think he thought he had destroyed it. He didn’t do that,” Tierney said.
Tierney was asked specifically earlier Thursday whether the murder of Valerie Mack, 24, is on the district attorney’s radar for Heuermann, and he said, “I think that would be fair to say.”
“We’re not going to stop, we can’t stop,” the prosecutor said. ‘We owe that to the victims. That’s the least we can do.’
Carolina Gonzalez reported from Riverhead, New York; and David K. Li of New York City.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
