A suspect has been taken into custody in connection with a series of unsolved murders, known as the Gilgo Beach murders, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Friday.
A spokesperson for the Suffolk County Attorney’s Office told NBC News Friday morning that there was a “significant development in the case,” but declined to comment further.
The case, which has long baffled investigators, captured national attention for years and was the subject of the 2020 Netflix movie “Lost Girls.”
Eleven sets of human remains have been found on a stretch of highway in Suffolk County after police began a search for Shannon Gilbert, a 24-year-old sex worker who disappeared in 2010 after leaving the home of a customer in Oak Beach, according to NBC News.
Most of the victims were young women who had been sex workers. Several of the bodies were found near the town of Gilgo Beach.
Last year, an interagency task force was formed with investigators from the FBI, as well as state and local police departments, in an effort to solve the case.
Here’s what we know about the case and the suspect.
Where was the suspect in the Gilgo Beach murders arrested?
The suspect was taken into custody in Massapequa on Thursday evening and investigators were at a home linked to the case on Friday, according to The Associated Press.
Four senior law enforcement officials briefed on the case told NBC News that the suspect has been identified as Rex Heuermann.
CBS News and the New York Post also identified Heuermann as the arrested suspect.
Who is Rex Heuermann?
Rex Heuermann, identified as the suspect in custody, is the owner and founder of a Manhattan architecture firm, RH Consultants and Associates, according to his LinkedIn page and the firm’s website.
Where were the victims of the Gilgo Beach murder found?
Several of the bodies and remains were found along a highway on Long Island near the town of Gilgo Beach.
The movie ‘Lost Girls’ is based on the Giglo Beach murders
The case inspired the Netflix drama “Lost Girls,” starring Amy Ryan, Thomasin McKenzie and Gabriel Byrne.
The film, directed by Liz Garbus, was based on the book “Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery”, written by Robert Kolker.
“Lost Girls” premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, according to Deadline, and was released the same year on Netflix.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Gilgo Beach Murders: Rex Heuermann Identified as Long Island Murder Suspect