Rex Heuermann to Accept Deal, Plead to Eight Murders: Sources | Crime Alert 04.08.26

This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. Crime Alert hourly update, breaking crime news now. I'm Sydney Sumner. For over a decade, a shadow hung over Long Island. The salt air of Gilgo Beach felt heavier tainted by the knowledge that a predator had used its desolate dunes as a graveyard. For years, residents left wondering if the demon among them would ever have a name. Well, this morning, that demon is expected to finally stop fighting. Rex Huerman, the 62-year-old Massa Piqua architect who has spent the last three years stone-faced and defiant, is heading back to a riverhead courtroom. But this isn't just another hearing. Sources say we are about to witness a stunning reversal. After years of not guilty pleas, Huerman is expected to admit to the unthinkable, the murders of all seven women he was charged with, plus an eighth, the currently unsolved but long suspected murder of Karen Vergara. But this isn't a moment of restorative justice for everyone. There will be no trial, no grueling cross-examinations. Sources suggest Huerman is taking this deal specifically to spare himself and his family from the public airing of the gory details of his 17-year killing spree. The discovery of these women was nothing short of a nightmare. In December of 2010, their bodies were recovered. They were buried in a similar fashion, in a similar location, in a similar way. All the women were petite. They all did the same thing for a living. They all advertised the same way. Immediately there were similarities with regard to the crime scenes. All the women were bound at the head, at the midsection, or at the chest, and later at the legs. They were bound by burlap. The burlap is, it was camouflage burlap used for duck blinds, of hunting. Obviously it was used to hide, purposefully hide the bodies. The breakthrough that brought us to this moment didn't come from a high-tech satellite, it came from a green Chevy Avalanche and a discarded Pizza Crust. Investigators linked Huerman's unique truck to the victims through witness statements and cell tower pings in his own neighborhood. DNA found on his trash matched hairs recovered from a victim's body. Investigators turn up scores of digital evidence after searching Huerman's house. Obsessive online searches for sexual violence and the Gilgo murders and a chilling planning document on how to kill and avoid detection. The task force believes that this is a planning document and it was utilized by Huerman to methodically blueprint and plan out his his skills with excruciating detail. We allege that this document evinces the defendant's intent in committing the charge crimes, that his intent was specifically to locate these victims, to hunt them down and to bring them to bring them under his control and to kill them. As Huerman prepares to trade his 23 hours a day solitary confinement for a permanent life behind bars, the storm hasn't settled for his family. His ex-wife, Asa Elarup and their daughter are currently staring down a wrongful death lawsuit, the claim that in a house as small as theirs, barely 343 square feet, it was impossible not to know what was happening in the basement. Their attorney, Robert Macedonio, isn't staying quiet. He held a press conference Tuesday afternoon, standing beside a silent Elarup to blast the lawsuit as reckless. It is deeply troubling in the wake of such tragedy that anyone would choose to advance claims that have no factual basis only to serve the further harm individuals who themselves are dealing with profound personal human trauma. My clients are trying to process the reality that someone they trusted, a husband, a father is accused of committing unthinkable acts. They are victims in this situation as well, not perpetrators. They have absolutely no involvement in the actions of Rex Huerman. There is no evidence that implicates them in any way, none. Today, the Long Island serial killer loses his mystery and becomes just another inmate. But for the families of the victims, the end of the legal battle doesn't mean the end of the questions. If the trial dies, the full truth of what happened in that Massapequa basement might just stay buried with it. More crime and justice news after this. A major update in the hip hop world coming out of Florida following a violent incident involving two of the industry's biggest names. Rapper Lil T.J. was arrested Monday night in connection with a shooting that left Migos member Offset hospitalized. The Seminole Police Department confirmed that the incident took place around 7 p.m. at the valet area of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Offset, whose real name is Kiari Kendral-Sifas, was shot during the altercation and transported to a local hospital. Fortunately, his representatives say his injuries are non-life threatening and he is currently in stable condition. Lil T.J. or T.O. N'Jaden Merritt was taken into custody at the scene. While social media was quickly flooded with rumors of his direct involvement in the gunfire, the current charges tell a slightly different story. As of Tuesday morning, the 24-year-old was booked into the Broward County Jail on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. Records show he is also facing a traffic violation with a combined bond set at $3,000. His attorney, Don Florio, has been quick to push back against the narrative that her client pulled the trigger. In a statement posted to Instagram, Florio denied that T.J. was involved in the shooting or that he had been shot himself, calling the accusations baseless rumors. According to police spokesperson Gary Bittner, the violence appears to have stemmed from a fight in the valet area. While a second person was detained alongside Lil T.J., they have not yet been charged and the investigation remains active as authority search for others who may have been involved. This shooting brings a somber reminder of the tragedy that has followed the Migos, coming just over three years after member Takeoff was fatally shot in Houston. For the latest Crime and Justice breaking news, be sure to follow the Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast app. With this Crime Alert, I'm Sydney Sumner.