The New York architect previously accused of killing four women and leaving their corpses scattered along a coastal highway was charged Thursday in the deaths of two more after prosecutors said they gathered new DNA evidence and found a computer document he had used to “blueprint” his crimes. Rex Heuermann, 60, appeared before a judge on the eastern end of Long Island to face charges that he killed Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla, two young women who were suspected of being the victims of men preying on sex workers, reports the Associated Press. Taylor disappeared in 2003. Costilla was killed in 1993. The new charges came after police finished extensive searches of Heuermann's home and a wooded area on Long Island tied to the investigation of a string of deaths known as the Gilgo Beach serial killings.
Prosecutors said they were able to use new forensic testing methods to match hairs found on or near the vicinity of both victims to a DNA profile that is a likely match to Heuermann. Prosecutors discovered a “planning document” on the hard drive found in his basement used to “methodically blueprint” his killings. The document includes Heuermann’s concerns about leaving behind forensic evidence, guidance for cleaning and washing bodies, and notes on how to improve “next time,” according to a bail application. The charges involving Costilla, who was killed 30 years ago, indicate that prosecutors believe Heuermann was killing victims for much longer longer than previously thought. Prosecutors say one entry in the planning documents suggested he was involved in the death of another woman, Valerie Mack, who was found dismembered in the same vicinity as Taylor. Heuermann has not been charged in the death of Mack, who disappeared in 2000. Since 2010, police have investigated the deaths of at least 10 people — mostly female sex workers — whose remains were discovered along an isolated highway not far from Gilgo Beach on Long Island’s south shore.