Gilgo Beach victim’s sister says Long Island-accented suspect called her to say he raped her

The sister of one of the Gilgo Beach victims has revealed how the killer would torment the family by calling them and even using the victim’s personal cell phone on at least seven occasions.

The body of Melissa Barthelemy, who grew up in Buffalo, New York, was found on December 11, 2010, more than a year after she went missing.

Two days later, the bodies of three other young women were found nearby along remote stretches of coastline on New York’s Long Island. Manhattan architect Rex Heuermann, 59, has been charged with three murders, including that of Barthelemy, after he was arrested July 14 at his Long Island home.

The ordeal was especially unnerving for Barthelemy’s family, as in 2009 the suspect used Barthelemy’s own cell phone to taunt her relatives with multiple calls shortly after her disappearance — including one in which he admitted to killing her.

‘He killed her; he raped her. Maybe one day he’d tell me where she was,’ Amanda F, Barthelemy’s sister, told PIX11after she started receiving phone calls when she was 15.

Horrifyingly, Amanda also revealed that the man had been watching her in the aftermath of her sister’s murder: ‘I knew my name. He knew what I looked like.’

“He had a strong accent, New York, Long Island. He was very monotonous when he talked, like a middle-aged white man.’

Police later traced the calls and found that pings from her late sister’s phone had been detected at Penn Station in Manhattan, close to where Heuermann’s office is located, according to court documents, and also in Massapequa, where he lives.

Recalling the terrifying calls in 2020, Amanda said the killer called her to give her sister offensive names, referring to her sex work.

“He killed Melissa after having sex with her,” Amanda F. said. “On the last call, he said he killed her.”

A total of seven calls were made to the family, the last being placed on August 26, 2009.

The dates of the calls were revealed Friday during Heuermann’s criminal indictment.

Barthelemy, a petite blonde woman, was the first of the victims of the serial killer found on Ocean Parkway in December 2010.

Barthelemy was an escort who had disappeared from the Bronx the previous year.

The killer gave clues, including strands of hair, the burlap used to wrap the bodies, and a belt with possible initials embossed.

Heuermann was charged with first degree murder and second degree murder in connection with the deaths of Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. Authorities said he is also the “prime suspect” in another murder.

A niece of Barthelemy, Amy Brotz, said the arrest sparked anger and sadness, but also brought the prospect of closure.

“I can’t get around this,” Brotz said, just hours after being shaken by the unexpected news of an arrest.

“God has brought peace to the families,” she said. “Maybe we can start with the healing.

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Although closure is near for Brotz and her family, the ordeal is not over.

She worries that prosecutors won’t be able to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, and she’s wary of the emotional toll and relived trauma that will come when the case goes to trial.

“The fact that my family will have to sit and listen to all this, every specific, little detail, makes me sick,” Brotz said.

To speed up the search for Barthelemy’s remains, her family hired a psychic who gave tantalizing clues that would prove prophetic: She would be found in a shallow grave along the shore, near a sign with the letter G.

Gilgo Beach would become the focal point of the long-stalled investigation into the discovery of 11 sets of remains, including that of a toddler, all discarded along the parkway that cuts the length of a thin strip of white sand, dirt, brambles and marshes known as Jones Beach -Island.

The toddler and three other victims have yet to be identified. All 10 adult victims, including the toddler’s mother, were sex workers, police said.

But investigators say the suspect, Heuermann, may not be responsible for all of the deaths.

In addition to the Barthelemy case, he has so far only been charged with the murders of two others, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, who were reported missing in 2010.

He is also the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman who disappeared three years earlier, Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

Heuermann says he is innocent, according to his lawyer.

If convicted on all charges, Heuermann would receive multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole.

“Death is too good for him,” says the victim’s mother, Lynn Barthelemy, told NBC News.

“I want him to suffer at the hands of other prisoners,” she said.

But the grieving parent expressed relief that a suspect had finally been taken into custody.

Although all cases are not resolvedNew York Governor Kathy Hochul said many affected communities would “sleep a lot easier” after Heuermann’s arrest.

“Many families whose lives have just been turned upside down are always wondering, wondering what happened and if the perpetrator will ever be brought to justice – hopefully the answer will be yes,” she said Friday.