Rex Heuermann Part 5: THE UNRAVELING — How a Pizza Box Led to LISK's Arrest

Part 5 of 5: How the alleged Long Island Serial Killer was finally arrested.

Investigators had been watching the man they believed was LISK for months. They had cell tower evidence placing his phone with burner phones in every instance. But they needed DNA to make the Gilgo Beach case.

Then he threw away a pizza box.

In this final episode, we examine how a discarded pizza crust allegedly provided the evidence that led to charges in the thirteen-year Gilgo Beach cold case—and what happens when Rex Heuermann faces trial in September 2026.

The investigation stalled for years after bodies were discovered along Ocean Parkway in 2010 and 2011. Then a new Suffolk County task force formed in February 2022. Six weeks in, an investigator noticed an old witness statement about an "ogre-like man" driving a Chevrolet Avalanche near where Amber Costello vanished.

A database search returned one name.

Cell phone records allegedly connected the alleged Gilgo Beach Killer to burner phones in every instance. But they needed physical proof.

Enter whole genome sequencing—technology that can extract DNA from degraded samples. According to prosecutors, hairs on six of seven victims linked to LISK or his family.

Then the pizza. DNA from the crust matched a male hair on Gilgo Four victim Megan Waterman. A profile found in only 0.04% of the population.

July 13, 2023. The alleged Long Island Serial Killer arrested outside his Manhattan office. Twelve-day search of his Massapequa Park home. Fifty-eight hard drives. Over two hundred firearms. The planning document.

The defense has challenged the DNA technology. Judge Mazzei allowed it—first time in a New York criminal trial. The LISK trial happens September 2026.

After thirty years and seven women, the architect will finally face trial for the Gilgo Beach murders.

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