Ultimately, the new docuseries is about uncovering flaws in the system that allowed this killer to roam free for so many years and left many people with unanswered questions about their loved ones. “I don’t want to sensationalise and centre the killer,” said Garbus to The Guardian. “But I do think there’s a lot that we can learn from understanding patterns and what might have gone wrong in the search for him.”
The true story told in Gone Girls
The case, often known as the Gringo Beach murders, has a long history dating back to 1993, when women in their early 20s who at the time worked as sex workers, disappeared in the area.
In May 2010, Shannan Gilbert went missing after an escort appointment, prompting a search. Four bodies of other previously missing sex workers were discovered along a stretch of Ocean Parkway in Suffolk County: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes. They became known as the “Gilgo Four.”
Netflix
Following this discovery, six more sets of remains, thought to predate the Gilgo Four, were discovered in 2011 in the surrounding area. Gilbert’s remains were eventually found later that year.
In July 2023, local architect Rex Heuermann was arrested. Since then, he’s been charged with the murders of seven of the victims: the Gilgo Four – Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes – and Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla and Valerie Mack.
What happened to the alleged Long Island serial killer, Rex Heuermann?
Garbus’ docuseries culminates with the arrest of Heuermann for the murders of the Gilgo Four. Since then, he’s been charged with three other murders. As Garbus told Tudum, “After we completed and turned in our cuts to Netflix, there was another victim added to [Heuermann’s] docket. Will there be more between now and the time that we air? It’s possible. Will there be more between now and the time that we go to trial, if they go to trial? It’s probable.”