Defense Wants Gilgo Charge DROPPED — Rex Heuermann May Not Be the Only Killer on That Beach

Rex Heuermann's defense just made their biggest move yet. A 178-page motion filed January 12, 2026 demands the Sandra Costilla murder charge be dismissed — and points directly at another convicted killer who may have been responsible for deaths attributed to their client.

Sandra Costilla was murdered in 1993. The prosecution's entire case linking Heuermann to her death rests on a single hair found on the outer layer of her shirt. Not on her skin. Not in his vehicle. Not in his home. Defense attorney Danielle Coysh called it insufficient: no eyewitnesses, no surveillance, no digital evidence, no phone records, no fingerprints, no confession, no murder weapon.

The defense wants discovery from the John Bittrolff case. Bittrolff is already in prison for two Long Island murders — same era, same geography, same victim type. A former prosecutor previously said Bittrolff was "probably responsible" for Costilla's death. Now Heuermann's team is forcing that issue into the spotlight.

And then there's Andrew Dykes — arrested in December for murdering "Peaches," Tanya Denise Jackson, whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway with the other Gilgo victims. For years, she was assumed to be part of Heuermann's alleged body count. She wasn't.

Judge Mazzei set trial for September 2026. DA Ray Tierney has whole genome sequencing, nine hairs across six victims, and a computer planning document. But the defense is building a case that Long Island wasn't one killer's hunting ground — it was several. And reasonable doubt lives in that chaos.

#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #LongIslandSerialKiller #JohnBittrolff #SandraCostilla #TanyaDeniseJackson #Peaches #AndrewDykes #TrueCrime #SerialKillerCase

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