Judge's Final Words and Case Legacy

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It was an incredibly emotional day in court for the families of the victims of the Long Island serial killer Rex Ewerman, who had pleaded guilty to the murders Of seven women spanning from nineteen ninety three to twenty eleven. My mother was not a headline, a statistic or a label You thought you took her voice, but you didn't know that she had people who loved her You hunted her and I hunted you. His actions changed the course of my life forever. They devastated my family, but they also shattered the lives of his own family who now must live with the knowledge that they shared a home with a Serial killer We have reached the final chapter of this high profile case that has cast a shadow over the shores of Gilgo Beach on Long Island and over so many families for years I'm forty eight Hours correspondent Eron Morardi, and this is case by case On Wednesday, june seventeenth, twenty twenty six, Kueran was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for three counts of first degree murder and then twenty five years to life for each of the four counts of second degree murder All to run consecutively for the murders of Melissa Barthellomey Meghgan Waterman, Amber Costello, Maureen Brainard Barnes Taylor, Sandra Costia and Valerie Max Rex Schuman spoke in court didnidn't say a lot and he showed very little emotion Th on the words I can say. I' responsible for what' said in this room The words, I would say have no meaning And I'm gonna do this. there. Human has also admitted to killing an eighth woman, Karen Fgada. However, as part of the plea deal. He was not actually charged with forgata's murder. Purean though will never hurt another woman I've been reporting on this case since twenty eleven. Over the years, we've interviewed the family members and friends of the murder victims. I've come to know many of them personally From the beginning, our goal was to make sure these women weren't seen simply as escorts as they were often portrayed in the media But as mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends People whose lives mattered. and whose loved ones never stopped searching for answers Joining me today to discuss a dramatic sentencing is CBS News legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Caroline Polisi Wh has been following this case since Human was arrested in twenty twenty three Thanks for joining us, Caroline Thanks for having me, Eron. I've been watching your coverage of this case for many years now, and it's a real honor to be here today. I mean, you could feel that emotion in the courtroom I found it so interesting. I mean, you could literally hear the judge's voice quivering as he delivered this colloquy, which was escalating to the end. He was yelling. He even wiped away tears at one point. I mean, I've never seen a judge really get so worked up at sentencing I mean, in fact, the only person who didn't show emotion was the person who should have, the one who brought everybody together, Rex Scherman. Let's start about, let's just start where this whole case started. And it's interesting, it began as a search for a missing woman twenty three year old Shannon Gilbert I want to be clear, Shannon was not one of the murder victims. Shannon had been working as an escort and had been at a client's house on Long Island when she called police in a panic and then she suddenly vanished. State pololice? Yeah, there's some of the uping Police did an exhaustive search for Shannon And while searching in an area near Gilgo Beach Police found human remains of four other women who became known as the Gilgo four Maen Brainard Barnes Amber Costello, Meghgan Waterman, and Melissa Barthellomey Shannon's remains were eventually found about a year and a half after her disappearance. The police believe her death was not a murder and not connected to the other victims that Shannon had instead died from an accidental drowning But given that police described the Gilgo four as all petite in their twenties and working as online escorts, investigators believed that they were dealing with a serial killer, who soon became known as the Long Island serial killer They got a description of him and the car he drove from a roommate of Amber Costello The roommate had told police about the client she'd left with the night she disappeared, describing him as looking like a quote ogre and having a first generation Chevrolet avalanche. You know, it's funny. I met David Chchalller and he did use that term Ogre invvestigators didn't have much else to go on though. I mean, that could fit any large man. and the investigation stalled for over ten years. That lack of movement was so tough on the families of the four women. I talked to Missy Kann, Maureen Brainner Barn's sister frequently over the years She tried so hard to keep a spotlight on the case, but it finally took a new Suffolk County police commissioner by the name of Rodney Harrison, who happened to be a retired high ranking New York City police detective to make real progress. He set up a task force in twenty twenty two devoted to cracking the case and it works Yeah, and kudos to them and that task force. It was so gut wrenching for those families when this case had turned cold for so many years. But they turned it around and really once that task force was formed, they figured it out pretty quickly. It turns out that in the original case files, there were a number of critical clues that this new task force was finally able to connect pieces of a puzzle. It was all really there. Like that information we just talked about from the roommate of Amber Costello who told police about this big ogre like man who drove a chehevy avalanche. pololice back then also knew that a client used a burner phone to contact Amber Costello on the night she disappeared. Also that Maureen, Melissa, and Meghgan had also been in contact with Burnerone numbers right before they disappeared So in twenty twelve, with the help of the FBI, the task force determined that most of those calls were connected to cell towers inside a small area of Massipeiqua Park, Long Island. They called it the box. We had known that for a long time that it was they believed it was someone who lived on Long Island. They didn't know Massapeiqua Park right away and someone who worked downtown. We always knew that. So the task force knew now that they were looking for a large built man who also lived in that small area, the box. owned a Chevy Avalanche and he owned it at the time of the disappearances In march twenty twenty two, they had what we call that aha moment. female state trooper linked a man by the name of Rex Horan who lived in Masapeka Park to a first generation Chevrolet avalanche pickup truck that was registered to him at the time of the murders So after years and we are talking years of uncertainty, suddenly, six weeks sound so fast to identify a suspect I have to be honest, I remember Here in the news Rex Serman, I mean, that name wasn't even on the radar I mean I was shocked. I was really initially just stunned by the profile of this guy. I mean, essentially he's the monster living among us, right? He went undetected for years. They finally were able to put all of those pieces together. Investigators say Herman's personal cell phone records show that his phone was in the same area as those burner phones when they were used to contactictict s They also say that when the burner phones contacted victims, they were often in Massapeiqua Park, where Humerman lived or Midtown Manhattan, where his architectural firm was located. But there's also DNA evidence. Police tailed Humerman and recovered his DNA from a discarded pizza crust in Midtown Manhattan, which was consistent with the DNA profile found on a male hair discovered with Meghan Waterman's body From a legal perspective, when you think about investigative techniques, know a discarded pizza crust is fair game for law enforcement to use to test for DNA. Remember, Human had never been arrested before, so obviously none of his forensic information was in any database like COodIS, which is the centralized system that combines local state and national crime labs information They had to get a new sample for this guy. And that's what made it so difficult to track him down for so long was usually a killer is connected to a victim and he was picking strangers. So this DNA became so crucial Humerman was arrested in twenty twenty three and he was charged with multiple counts of murder in the deaths of Melissa Bartholomey, Meghan Waterman and Amber Costello. He pleaded not guilty. And then in twenty twenty four, he was also charged with more murders, Maureen Brainer Barnes, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack. and again also pleaded guty not guilty. Summer always sneaks up on me. One week it's still spring, and then the next, my calendar is filling up with travel plans and packed weekends. With everything going on, it can be harder to prioritize wellness habits. But groons can make keeping up with wellness routines easy because one daily pack of gummies covers greens, vitamins, and prebiotics Grooons is a convenient, comprehensive formula in one delicious daily pack of gummy bears. 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That's Qu IMCE dot com slash case by case For free shipping and three hundred and sixty five day returns, quince d. com slash case by case. So let's talk a little bit, Caroline. What The investigators learned about this man after his arrest Well, that's right, Earon. I mean, it's just so chilling. This is where we start to get this picture of a serial killer essentially hidden in plain sight. By all accounts, he was this family man who led a normal sort of boring suburban existence. He commuted to the city every day to do his job and provide for his family. He ran an architectural consulting firm in midtown, Manhattan He has a stepson and a daughter with his now ex wife, Asa Ellerp who was born in Iceland and she would take the children to see her family there in the summers. And it was during those trips and some others that police believed that Herman killed the women Sumerman's wife filed for divorce shortly after the arrest Her attorney said she was as stunned as anyone, any of us by the accusations. And I know there were real questions by the public. How could she not know But I have seen this happen over and over again when wives of serial killers didn't know. Others would see personality traits that seem odd or stood out. And that was true with Heren as well includluding some of Humerman's neighbors, right? Yeah. Human's neighbors obviously were shocked when police made the arrest at the house. One neighbor described him as very quiet, dark, keeping to himself, extremely intelligent, very smart. You know I remember reading a New York Times article that reported that he used to swing an axe in his front yard while he was glaring at neighbors and that parents told their children not to go to his house on Halloween. I think we all have that one weird neighbor, you know that we all tell our kids not to go to on Halloween, but none of us obviously expect them to be a serial killer. I also remember the neighbors being shocked by how many firearms that he owned and were found in his house because he was a hunter. He had an arsenal Yes, he did This case was expected to go to trial in September of twenty twenty six Prosecutors planed to call more than one hundred witnesses. That would have been a very long trial But then in April of twenty twenty six, almost three years after Herman's arrest He suddenly changed his pa pleaded guilty to killing seven women between nineteen ninety three and twenty eleven and admitted to killing an a victim, Karen Vergada So you tell me can you give me an idea of how unusual this is from a legal perspective? Why do you think he decided to take a plea? Yeah. I mean, to tell you the truth, I wasn't totally surprised. I think the timing was more surprising than the guilty plea itself. Look, we'll never know for sure why he did it. When the evidence in a case is just so strong like this one, and when you lose constantly those pretrial motions like Herman did in this case Of course the logical thing to do would be to plead guilty. And the prosecution really saves so many resources when you get a guilty plea. Also he gives up his right to appeal. So saving you so much time and money and really the angst for those victims' families. And so that gives you a sense of sort of the benefit that both sides get here The defense really essentially saves him from having to sit through all the glory details of what he actually did, and he may have wanted to spare his own family from hearing that Well, that's what Michael Brown, who her men's defense attorney told me that He did want to spare his family. But he also told me something that I found so interesting that as part of the plea agreement, Gverment agreed to cooperate with the FBI behavioral unit. It's the department that It analyzes offenders' motivations. It also is the department that creates profiles and it assists in solving cases So are you at all surprised that this would actually be part of a The agreement, have you run into that I am so surprised. I've never, ever come across this. I find this to be one of the most fascinating aspects of this plea agreement. I've never seen it before. And honestly, you know, I do believe that this sort of excites Herman and makes him feel important. We know other serial killers often love that attention because They're narcissists and this likely feeds into that feeling of importance for human. Nonetheless, it is obviously so rare to be able to get inside the mind of someone like human that there may be some benefit to law enforcement in terms of what the psychological profile is of this specific kind of serial killer documents, prosecutors released an image of what they called a blueprint that Hran allegedly used to, I mean, it's detailed to plan out his kills with these excruciating details. What all do we know about that blueprint? And how unusual is that really track of all these things for a killer Yeah, well, and he would have to, given how many victims there were over the course of how many years. I mean, seventeen years we're talking about. The details are, as you would expect, just absolutely chilling. The document has four columns labeled problems, supplies, DS and TRG, which police believe stood for dump site and targets Among the problems that he listed down there, DNA, tire marks, bloodstains, and more. I mean, just it's just chilling. Well, also, he was really keeping track of the investigation itself I mean, I did not initially believe that so many bodies would be connected with the Long Island serial killer He is really proof of how someone would change his MO because he did over the years. Yeah, he really it really seemed like he was essentially honing his craft as it were. And you know these meticulous notes that he would have when his family were away on vacation. I mean, he had to plan it out day by day, minute by minute in order to stay undetected and under the radar for that period. And there were also some interesting reports of how Herman has spent the last three years in jail specifically what he reads, who he's been talking to. that also give a sense of his character and mindset Yeah, absolutely. Suffle County Sheriff Erl Tulin told the Associated press that Herman has been a really voracious reader in jail with a preference for violent crime and mystery novels, some involving serial killers. Tulin also said that Keith Hunter Jesperson, the infamous happy face killer who's currently serving multiple life sentences in Oregon reached out to Hrerman by letter German did write back, but he hasn't responded to several follow up letters from Jessperson Sorry, I think it's very creepy that this case is brought out. Bonds from other serial killers So gives gives you a sort of a look inside the mind of, you know, some of these guys want to feel important and this is this is how they do it. on this sentencing hearing This was not about the killer now This now was something that was specifically for the families of the victims, S they had been waiting for for years. And in the case of one family since nineteen ninety three You might not think about oil and natural gas, but it's a big part of your daily routine From the soap you use to your toothpaste Even your bedsheets. 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Icebreaker's C convenient pack fits everywhere, from car cup holders to backpack pockets, so you can find your cool wherever you go. Grab icebreakerss gum online or at a store near you june seventeenth, twenty twenty six, Rx Schumerman showed up in court He sat at the defense table without much reaction. There were times I thought he looked red, but he didn't seem to be reacting. He remained still with like one hand over the other Yeah. noticeably, his ex wife, Asa Ellerup, was not at the sentencing hearing. Her attorney did release a statement on her behalf that read, quote, Miss. Ellerup believes this day should be centered on the victims, their families and the profound impact these crimes have had on their lives Out of respect for those who have endured unimaginable loss and suffering, she does not wish her presence to distract from the purpose of these proceedings H thoughts remain with the victims and their loved ones as they continue their pursuit of justice. heealing enc closure In hindsight, I think it was wise that she did not go to this hearing. During the sentencing, we heard from several of the victim's families and friends These families have been through a terrible time. They are angry, they want answers. and they were allowed to address him directly, which actually surprised me. Do you believe that they were limited in what they could actually say to him But look, this was really meant to be a catharsis for those families letting out all that anger. And yeah, they were basically allowed to say anything that they wanted, obviously within these usual boundaries of courtroom decorum. So generally no swear words, no yelling, et cetera. Every judge has different rules about they allow, but they were very powerful in those statements and just very gut wrenching I thought it was kind of odd that they were facing the judge and he was to their left so they had to keep like looking over So I thought that's pretty typical. That's pretty typical. But you know, if you listen to the statements, they are directed at Hran. I thought, you know, while he was emotionless, you could see sort of something on his face that wasn't, you know, he wasn't It wasn't penetrating. He wasn't feeling the emotion that was on display by the victims' families. Well, it could be also because he was like looking down most of the time first heard from Valerie Max' family. She disappeared in two thousand, and this is what her adoptive mother, Joanne Max, said to the court Even though justice is done It cannot replace what you have taken from us Or can it give every loved Vallie back her life here on earth I do, however, want you to understand that even though you were able to commit these horrendous atrocities against our daughter And't matter What sense of power or control you felt over Valerie's body? you were never able to touch her soul We then heard from Jasmine Robinson, a cousin of Jessica Taylor who was killed in two thousand three, and she was the one that was just so emotional. And I think it really was because they were marking Jessica Taylor's forty third birthday I can't even put into words the verating loothing I have for you. My heart broke even more that there were more victims Sick, twisted, heartless There aren't enough words for these murders. Missy Can is the sister of Maureen Brainnard Barnes, and I have spoken to her actually many times before. She always carried so much guilt. The last time she talked to her sister, her sister had called her from Penn Station before she disappeared asking for a ride home, but Missy was liivving in Connecticut, it was late at night. So this is what Missy said at the hearing and this just broke my heart. R Bcks chose to take Moruren's life. He didn't just take her from us. He took my sense of safety. He took my peace of mind He took the way I used to move through the world without fear in many ways I became one of his victims to Well, I do have a I could say that just what I had forgotten until I heard her speak is that they also had a brother Will And I mean, she just vanished And and then he died. So Missy lost two siblings and then had all of this guilt Yeah, it's absolutely gut wrenching. Also in attendance there was Maureen's son, Dylan Hagett, who was just one year old at the time of her murder He spoke about how he never had her when he needed her, and she never got to see who he had become. And there was Nicolette, Brainnard Barnes, Mureen's daughter. She spoke really lovingly about her mother, but then really turned her anger on human. You are a pathetic man who thinks you're better than women. You need to believe that sex workers are so human because you're a coward who takes out your own shortcomings on others I feel bad for you because your capacity for hate means that you can't possibly understand love. the purity of it, the kind of love I've had and still had for my mother Seeing your last appearance and the way you smirked as you finally confess to what you did to my mother, proves that you need to be locked away for the safety of the community. There are no words extreme enough to communicate the level of depravity within you. You make me sick and I don't forgive you I think it's the toughest for the kids, The kids of these women, they never really got to know their parents Meghan Waterman's daughter, Lilianna, I know her as Lily Waterman, who's so grown up now, started her statement and she was so caught up in emotion and she was sniffling as she was trying to speak. I hadn't even thought about this. She was noting that she is now the same age as her mother was when she was pregnant with her. And Lilianna expressed how difficult it had been living out this tragedy so publicly For years, my mother's murder has been discussed in articles. teelevision specials, podcasts and across social media There are weeks when I cannot bring myself to open any social apps because I am constantly confronted with reminders of the worst thing that's ever happened to me I am grateful that People want to say her name and seek justice for her. But there's a difference between Remembering who she was and profiting off of the tragedy that she's been through. Then there was a statement from Kimberly Overstreet. That was the sister of Amberlyn Costello. That was read aloud in court. In it, she spoke of finding religion and direction in the wake of her sister's murder And she actually credited her sister's death as leading to a crack in the case For Karen Vergata, another victim, her two sons were present in court for support but they chose not to speak A statement was read from Sandra Costilla's sister, Ruth Ramos. She spoke of Sandra as a mother I was actually a little surprised to see Amanda Fundnderberg there. She was the little sister, Melissa Bartholomey And when she was fifteen years old, right after her sister disappeared in two thousand nine, she gets a call and it looks like it's from her sister's phone But when she answered, it wasn't Melissa at all, it was a man wasas her killer? We now know that was Rex Herman. which means that he has such an evil, sadistic streak because he threatened to do to Amanda what he had done to Melissa. um What was interesting was as Amanda is talking as we've mentioned, Caroline all the way through this, you know, he's looking down and she's looking over him and you could tell it was really upsetting her And so she tells him, you know, stop looking down. Look at me You can look at me while talking It's about seventeen years since sheo don't forget I mean, talk about taking the bowl by the horns. I mean, this is her one shot, her one chance to finally get that closure and she was not going to throw it away. Amanda also specifically reference Furean's call during that sentencing hearing and then said something that I don't know about you, Caroline, but it really took me aback and showed How angry She really is. You murdered my sister. The things that Jy were far worse than anything you've ever done to anyone or even thought of And just because you have a few fans, remember, you are hated by so many. I know everyone spoke on heaven, but do me a favor, Snd me in a spot and help and I'll see you there. I mean, I really was I was so sad at at her, I think her statements the most. You'll see a range of emotions from each victim, some just extreme sadness, obviously at the loss, but then others really did have this angry side because there's obviously so much anger here. and it was almost like an emotional release for these victims to have their day in court, to have this justice, to have this closure After hearing from many of the victims' families, the judge Timothy Maisy himself address Rex youeren. Let's take a listen to that I know that you're sorry that you got caught I assume that you saorry For what you've done to your wife and children Are you a little bit sorry for what you did to these poor innocent women Eight women that is strangled to death, at least eight that we know of Are you at least a little bit sorry for that Yes? Yeah, and Eron, if you listen closely, you can faintly hear him in the background saying, Yes, I am U the judge though didn't mince words at all. I mean, he seemed to be getting angrier Didn't you think Yeah, I mean, honestly, you don't see that that often at a sentencing. This judge, again, you could hear the quiver in his voice. He was audibly yelling by the end You know what You've been described as a very big man You're a disgusting and despicable small man If you're a man at all