Convicted Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann was transferred out of Long Island and sent to an upstate prison less than a day after receiving the harshest sentence allowed under New York law, Suffolk County officials said.
Heuermann, 62, a former New York City architect, was sentenced Wednesday in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead to three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, followed by four additional sentences of 25 years to life. Prosecutors said he murdered seven of his eight known victims in what District Attorney Ray Tierney described as a “Dexter”-like kill room in the basement of his home.
“The sentence is appropriate for his crimes, and obviously he got what he deserved,” Heuermann’s ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, said in a statement released through her attorney, Bob Macedonio.
In a separate high-profile New York case, attorneys for accused killer Luigi Mangione briefly raised the possibility of a psychiatric defense in court this week before reversing course the following day.
Legal experts say Mangione, a former Ivy League student, would have needed to admit to shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the back in order to pursue an “extreme emotional disturbance” defense under New York law. Had that strategy succeeded, it could have significantly lowered any sentence he might face if convicted on state charges. But such an admission also could have complicated his position in his federal case, which is scheduled for trial next year.
A photo obtained by News Agency shows Luigi Mangione.
