Why was Rex Heuermann’s wife's hair found on 3 victims? Gilgo Beach murders investigation digs deeper into horror
Sophia Hammond
Updated on March 27, 2026
LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK: The hair of Rex Heuermann's Icelandic wife was discovered on or near three of the Gilgo Beach victims, prosecutors said in a bail application. Heuermann, 59, who was arrested for Long Island murders, has been married twice in his life after divorcing his first wife Elizabeth Ryan, and is a father of his stepson and daughter.
A hair was reportedly found from the buckle of one of the belts found binding the body of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Besides, two female hair were recovered on the body of Megan Waterman who was found bound by tape. One hair was found from “outside the head area” and another from “the tape of the head area.” Another female hair was discovered on a piece of tape inside burlap wrapping found on the body of Amber Costello, reported NBC news.
Where was Rex Heuermann's wife at the time of the murders?
The shocking discoveries subsequently made Huermann's second wife a suspect in the infamous serial killings but travel and cellphone billing records show that the woman was out of state when three slain Gilgo Beach victims disappeared. Heuermann’s wife was reportedly in her native place, Iceland, when Melissa Barthelemy vanished in July 2009, said a bail application filed by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Also, cellphone billing records show she was in Maryland when Megan Waterman vanished in June 2010. Waterman was last seen on June 6, 2010. Heuermann’s wife was in New Jersey when Amber Costello disappeared from late August to early September 2010.
Why was the suspect's wife's hair found on the victims?
All the female hair found on the bodies of victims were sent to an outside forensics laboratory. The lab determined in July 2022 that the hair belonged to a woman who was not any of the victims. An undercover Suffolk County Police Department detective recovered 11 bottles from a trash receptacle in front of Heuermann’s home on July 21 last year. The bottles were swabbed and the samples were sent for testing.
The lab concluded in February that one of the DNA profiles generated from the bottles matched the same “mitochondrial haplogroup” as the female hair found in the victim's bodies. It was determined the hair belonged to Heuermann’s wife based on the probe and evidence. As the investigation found that Heuermann’s wife was out-of-state at the time of the three murders and disappearances, “it is likely that the burlap, tape, vehicle(s) or other instrumentalities utilized in the furtherance of these murders came from defendant Heuermann’s residence where his wife also resides or was transferred from his clothing.”
More from MEAWW
Gilgo Beach murder suspect Rex Heuermann signs over Long Island home to estranged wife Asa Ellerup
Rex Heuermann and the Route 29 Stalker: Alicia Showalter Reynolds' sister has theory on 1996 murder
