Episode Preview: The Gilgo Beach Murders

Summary

The Trial of Diddy – Episode Preview: The Gilgo Beach Murders

Podcast: The Trial of Diddy
Host: Daily Mail
Date: September 5, 2025
Episode: Episode Preview: The Gilgo Beach Murders

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Overview

This episode of "The Trial Plus" previews in-depth coverage of the infamous Gilgo Beach Murders, a cold case that haunted Long Island, New York for over a decade. Host Caroline Cheetham, joined by US reporter Ruth Bashinsky, recounts the chilling series of events that began with the disappearance of Shannon Gilbert in 2010, leading to the discovery of multiple bodies along Ocean Parkway. The episode also highlights a recent landmark judicial ruling regarding DNA evidence—potentially pivotal in the upcoming trial of suspect Rex Heuermann.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Chilling Genesis: Shannon Gilbert’s Disappearance

• Shannon Gilbert's Last Night:

  • Gilbert, a 24-year-old escort, traveled from New Jersey to Long Island’s secluded Ocean Beach for a well-paying job ([05:09]).
  • The night took a terrifying turn:
    • "What's your name? — Shannon Gilbert. Where are you? — I'm by on the Long Island. What's wrong? — These people are starting to kill me. Shut up. No. Stop it. Please stop it. Please. Please stop it. Please stop it." — Shannon Gilbert on 911 call ([01:37])
  • Gilbert, in a state of extreme paranoia and fear, bolted from her client’s house and desperately sought help from neighbors, her distress evident on the 911 call ([05:09]-[06:54]).

• Community and Police Response:

  • Her disappearance triggered a campaign from her mother pushing for action, but police attention was reportedly limited at the outset ([06:54]).

2. Discovery of the Bodies & The Case Expands

• Initial Finds:
  • Eight months after Gilbert’s disappearance—in December 2010—police uncovered a body, mistakenly assuming it was hers; it was actually Melissa Barthelemy ([07:41]).
  • As they searched, three more bodies surfaced, all young women in their 20s: Maureen Brainard Barnes, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. All were bound and wrapped in burlap—“chilling... absolutely terrifying” ([07:41]-[08:35]).
• The Gilgo Beach Setting:
  • The bodies were discovered in a remote, marshy area along Ocean Parkway—described as "a great place to dump a body...eerie at night... no street lights" ([07:41]).

3. The Pattern: Neglect and Systemic Issues

• Victims' Profiles & Police Oversight:
  • All four women were sex workers, a fact that may have contributed to police inaction.
    • “The families were looking for them. All this time, there were no leads... there were sex workers. And again, we had Jimmy James Burke as head of the Suffolk County Police Department. So that was one of the issues. What the heck was this guy doing?” — Ruth Bashinsky ([08:52])
• Law Enforcement Corruption:
  • “...chaos in the various investigation teams which came and went—two of that team involved in the initial investigation later went to prison for corruption, if that gives you any indication of the chaos... ” — Caroline Cheetham ([02:26])

4. Break in the Case: New Task Force and Suspect

• Turning Point (2022):
  • After a decade of stagnation, a new task force was formed. Within six weeks, evidence pointed to Rex Heuermann, a New York architect with a family, as a suspect.
  • Originally charged with three murders, charges have now increased to seven. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty. No trial date is set, but it's expected to be a landmark proceeding ([02:26]).

5. Critical Evidence: DNA and a Landmark Legal Ruling

• Recent Judicial Decision:
  • The episode teases a recent “landmark” ruling on DNA evidence by the trial judge, which could impact not just this case but how evidence is handled in future New York trials ([02:26]).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Shannon Gilbert’s 911 Call Audio (01:37):

  • “What's your name? Shannon Gilbert... These people are starting to kill me... Please stop it. Please stop it.”
    (Sets the haunting tone; a real-time window into her terror.)

• On Law Enforcement Issues (02:26):

  • “...chaos in the various investigation teams... two... later went to prison for corruption, if that gives you any indication of the chaos that I'm talking about.” — Caroline Cheetham

• On Victims and Policing (08:52):

  • “What the heck was this guy doing? When there are young missing women, you know, their families are screaming out for help and nothing was being done.” — Ruth Bashinsky

• On the Setting (07:41):

  • “It's a great place to dump a body. I hate to say it, but it's a great place, we should say, shouldn't we?”
    (Darkly acknowledge how geography made the crimes possible.)

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Timestamps: Important Segments

• 01:37 — Shannon Gilbert’s harrowing 911 call
• 02:26 — Case summary, initial investigation failures, police corruption discussed
• 05:09 — Ruth Bashinsky recounts the night of Shannon Gilbert’s disappearance
• 06:54 — Revisiting the 911 call and community response to Gilbert’s disappearance
• 07:41 — Discovery of Melissa Barthelemy’s body and others; details of the remote, chilling crime scene
• 08:35 — Identification of the four initial victims; victimization of sex workers; police neglect

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Tone and Style

The episode maintains a serious and investigative tone, mixing journalistic rigor with genuine empathy for the victims and their families. Both hosts communicate the gravity and enduring impact of the case, emphasizing the injustice experienced by both the victims and the community. The language is factual yet vivid, intended to immerse listeners in the ongoing complexities and developments of the Gilgo Beach investigation.

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Transcript

[Caroline Cheetham]

For members only, the Trial Plus. Hi, I'm Caroline Cheetham, the host of the Trial uk. So while we wait with bated breath for more updates on the trial of Diddy and that approaching sentencing hearing, you might want to listen to some of the other cases that we've been working on this week on the Trial plus, we're looking at the infamous Gilgo beach murders and we're going to go through everything we know about this case so far. And a landmark ruling just made this week that could prove critical when this trial finally begins. So we're going to play you a preview of the episode, but if you want to hear more, please do head over to the Trial plus where you'll find the full episode as well as some of our other mini series like the Idaho Murders where we looked at the awful crimes committed by Bryan Kohberger and the unlikely hit woman, which was a really unusual story about the attempted murder. All for love. To get exclusive access to the entire Trial plus catalog plus more brilliant true crime podcasts like this, you can subscribe to the crime desk at www.thecrimedesk.com. for now, though, this is the Gilgo Beach Murders.

[Shannon Gilbert]

What's your name? Shannon Gilbert. Where are you? I'm by on the Long Island. What's wrong? These people are starting to kill me. Shut up. No. Stop it. Please stop it. Please. Please stop it. Please stop it.

[Narrator]

A serial killer, they said, maybe even two killers, which instantly propelled Gilgo Beets to international infamy as the body count mounted and the crime scene stretched for miles. Anything, Anything is possible at this point because there's so many unanswered questions. We're looking at that.

[Ruth Bashinsky]

We're looking at that.

[Caroline Cheetham]

That we could have a serial killer.

[Narrator]

But police had uncovered. Nothing explains how those bodies got here or why.

[Shannon Gilbert]

Foreign.

[Caroline Cheetham]

Welcome to the Trial Plus. I'm Caroline Cheetham. So today we're bringing you the details of a huge case in the United States which our teams have been following over there and which we'll be covering once it goes to trial. Now, these are the murders that haunted Long island in New York for years. And what started really as a disturbing phone call and the disappearance of one woman in 2010 then led to the discovery of 10 bodies along Ocean Parkway near to the beach town of Gilgo. Now, while not all of the bodies could be identified, many were confirmed to be missing women, some dating back over a decade. Now, the case became known as the Gilgo beach murders. And even though it shocked the world and horrified local people, for many, many years, there was no clue as to who could be responsible. In truth, partly because of chaos in the various investigation teams which came and went, two of that team involved in the initial investigation later went to prison for corruption, if that gives you any indication of the chaos that I'm talking about. And because of all of that, it wasn't until 2022, some 12 years later, when a new task force took on the case. Within six weeks, they identified a suspect, a New York architect, Rex Hohrmann. Married with two children, he was initially charged with three murders, but that number has since risen to seven. He's pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. Now, crucially, no trial date has yet been set, but there is speculation the case will go to court next year. Now, when it does go to trial, it will be a huge moment, and if convicted, Rex Heumann will be one of the US's most notorious serial killers. Which brings me onto why we're talking about this case today. Now, that's because this week the judge made a decision on the case's evidence that could prove to be critical. In fact, it could prove to be a landmark decision for future cases held in New York. And it all centres around the DNA. We're going to come to that shortly. But first of all, to help me explain everything about this case, I'm now joined by our US reporter from the Daily Mail who's been working on this case since the very beginning. That's Ruth Bashinsky. Ruth. It goes back to 2010, April 2010, and effectively a disturbing phone call from a woman who said she was being chased. They're trying to kill me. And then her disappearance. So can you pick it up there?

[Ruth Bashinsky]

Yes, of course. So Shannon Gilbert was a 24 year old escort slash sex worker. She lived in New Jersey with her boyfriend and she was working a job on Long island the night she went missing. It was for a man by the name of Joseph Brewer. Shannon had her driver drive her from New Jersey to Long Island. Now, where this area is, Caroline, it is extremely dark, There is minimal lights, it's right near the beach and it's tucked away in a gated community called Ocean Beach. If you don't know Long island, that's probably not the best place to be, especially in the dark of night. So she was meeting a client there for a pretty well paying job. That's why I think she went so far away. When she was in that house, in Joseph Brewer's house, she snapped. Something happened that we are still trying to figure out what I do know from my reporting is that she was very paranoid. She felt she was in fear of her life. She ran out of that house and started running to a neighbor's house. You hear her on the steam, videotape, panting and out of breath. You feel like you're with her. And it's so chilling where she's running and running, like, help me. He's trying to kill me. And she goes to the first person's house. I think maybe someone was scared and they didn't answer. And then someone else answered, this older man who said, what are you doing? You know, he thought she was a young kid, he wanted to help her. He invited her in. She was scared. She was like, help me, Help me. Like the operator on the phone was still on with her, saying, where are you? She goes, I don't know where I am. Because again, she didn't know Long Island. She was disoriented.

[Caroline Cheetham]

I've heard that 911 call and I've. I've seen the interviews with the man who tried to help her, the older man who tried to help her. And you're right, she was clearly terrified of something that night. And as you said, she. Something seemed to snap in her as she was in the house of Joseph Brewer. And I know that he was never implicated in her disappearance. I think he was questioned, but, you know, cooperated all the time with the police. But she then did disappear. I know there was a huge campaign from her mum and the police at that point didn't particularly seem interested. Not a massive search was carried out for her. But then fast forward, if you like, eight months later, December 2010, and a body is found. The police assumed, of course, it was her, didn't they?

[Ruth Bashinsky]

They did. They did assume it was her, but unfortunately it wasn't. It was Melissa Barthelemy. And what was so, again, chilling. We're going to be using that word a lot because that is just what this is. It is absolutely terrifying that they found Melissa wrapped in burlap, she was bound, and then they found a second body and then they found a third body, all the same, bound and wrapped in burlap. But it's a very remote stretch of land. It's actually called Ocean Parkway, which is a highway also, and it's part of Gilgo Beach. That is very eerie at night because, again, remote, no one is around. You have the marshes and the water and there's no street lights. It's a great place to dump a body. I hate to say it, but it's a great place we should say, shouldn't we?

[Caroline Cheetham]

The four bodies they found, we're talking about Maureen Brainard Barnes, Melissa Bartholomew, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello, all in their 20s. In fact, when these bodies are found in 2010, Maureen's been missing by that point for almost three years.

[Ruth Bashinsky]

I mean, it's really sad. These girls just basically vanished. The families were looking for them. All this time, there were no leads. I'm sure the police were working on them, but again, they were sex workers. And again, we had Jimmy James Burke as head of the Suffolk County Police Department. So that was one of the issues. What the heck was this guy doing? When there are young missing women, you know, their families are screaming out for help and nothing was being done.