Gilgo Beach serial killer pleads guilty. Hawaii doctor learns his fate. Plus, reasonable doubt.

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1:20Welcome to Dateline True Crime Weekly. I'm Andrea Canning. It's April 9th, and here's what's on our docket. In Hawaii, a verdict is in for the anesthesiologist accused of attempting to murder his wife on a birthday hike. We may have the verdict right now. The jury is in the room and the judge, you see them talking to the jury right now. In Dateline Roundup, courtroom confusion in the case of murdered dad and Microsoft designer Jared Bridegan. And our first glimpse at DNA evidence prosecutors plan to use against a former police officer accused of murdering pregnant teacher's aide Sandra Birchmore.

1:55The state made it very clear this week. Their stance is that the evidence has only gotten stronger since he was first charged. Plus, we'll talk to a veteran trial lawyer about the two words jurors need to bear in mind before reaching their verdict. Reasonable doubt. As a prosecutor, I think every closing I sat through, I often thought, man, how are we going to meet this? But before all that, we're off to Long Island for what appears to be the final chapter in the saga of the Gilgo Beach serial killer. It's a case I've been covering for more than a decade, and one that has haunted the people of Long Island for even longer.

2:32Since 1993, police have found 11 sets of human remains in multiple locations in and around the coastal community of Gilgo Beach. Some of the bodies were wrapped in burlap. Some of them were dismembered. Many of the victims were sex workers, and families were left wondering who had done this to their loved ones. I couldn't believe it. I just was like, how do you go looking for my sister, this one woman, to now uncovering a Sarah Killer's dumping ground? For years, investigators had no answers until one evening in July of 2023, 30 years after the first remains were found, police finally made an arrest.

3:11They handcuffed architect Rex Heuerman as he left his office in Midtown Manhattan. He was subsequently charged with the murders of seven of the victims. Since then, in hearing after hearing, Heuerman has steadfastly maintained his innocence. And his defense seemed to be gearing up to go to trial in September. Then, on Wednesday morning, everything changed. The Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect now says he did it and he has admitted to an eighth murder. NBC News reporter Adam Reese was inside the courtroom as Heuerman pleaded guilty and is here now to tell us what he heard. And Adam, you are right outside the courthouse right now.

3:47Yes, thank you for having me, Andrea. Yeah, sure. So this has been, as we said and know, it's been a big story in true crime news for a lot of years. What started as a search for one victim really snowballed into something truly frightening. When they were set to go to trial this fall, what evidence did the prosecution have against Heurman? They were able to develop some key evidence, everything from his cell usage, pinpointing various cell towers, both in Massapequa Park, where he lived, and in Manhattan, where he worked. They were able to find a manifesto describing how he was going to approach the killings.

4:29And most importantly, they were able, through witness testimony, to identify the vehicle he had used in the pursuit of some of these crimes. And also some of the big DNA evidence, Adam, was hairs that were found on the duct tape used to bind the victims. One hair was a direct match to Hewerman. Well, the DNA evidence was really, truly overwhelming. And I think that was key to the decision by Heuerman to change his plea. You had digital, nuclear, mitochondrial DNA evidence. So take us to inside that hearing. What was the mood like, the vibe? The public and the press started lining up at 4.30 this morning for an 11 o 'clock hearing.

5:14And there was lots of anticipation. The courtroom was packed. There were investigators, police officers, members of the Suffolk County, Nassau County, New York State Police lining the walls as Rex Heerman entered the courtroom. One thing, Adam, that I was like so surprised to hear was that his daughter, Victoria, and his ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, they arrived with their lawyer. They had to get in line with everyone else and they had a film crew with them. Yes, they actually happened to sit in my row five seats down from me. And Victoria sat on next to her mother and actually put her head on her mother's shoulder before the hearing began.

5:58Come to order, please. Remain suited at this time. Adam, take us to the moment of the plea that everyone was waiting for. How did it unfold? There was a moment at the beginning of the hearing when the judge said, don't bring him out yet. And then he said the court has become aware that the defendant may enter a guilty plea today, which is perhaps the worst kept secret in this building. There were lots of media reports that he was going to plead guilty. But you never know until the moment that he does it whether he's going to do it or not. Yeah, seriously, someone like that, you know, you never know.

6:30They could want to mess with people. Should we bring the defendant out, please? Bring the defendant out now. Coming out, judge. So one by one, Rex pleaded guilty to murdering Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, Melissa Bartholomew, Maureen Brainerd Barnes, Jessica Taylor, Valerie Mack, and Sandra Castilla. Mr. Heumann, how old are you? 62. After discussions with your lawyer, you feel it's in your best interest to plead guilty rather than go to trial. Yes, Your Honor. Do you understand that by pleading guilty to a charge, that is the same as you had gone to trial and been found guilty of that charge?

7:03Yes, Your Honor. Do you understand that by pleading guilty, you're waiving a number of very important rights? Yes, Your Honor. And on top of that, he admitted to an eighth murder, Karen Vergata, in 1996. He had never been charged for that. He had to give an allocution, which is, for the record, a full accounting of his actions. Did he show any emotion at all? No emotion and somewhat soft-spoken, very clear, but somewhat soft-spoken. What did he say? Well, I was actually quite surprised by that because a typical allocution, he would have described in detail what he did, how he went about meeting up with them, how he went about taking them out to Gilgo Beach, how he killed them, how he dismembered them.

7:50There was none of that. So I think a lot of families, a lot of investigators were left sort of somewhat empty in terms of wanting more, wanting more description of how he went about doing this. But very importantly, he is going to meet with the FBI and explain. This is a behavioral analysis unit of the FBI, and they will have an opportunity to really delve into his mind. He has promised that he'll do this as part of the plea negotiation, and maybe they'll learn more about how and why he went about doing this. Adam, imagine being a fly on the wall for those meetings. Wow. That's huge. So there's some of these cases, the remains that were found are unsolved at this point.

8:40Could he be charged in the future with any more of these? Potential charges could come forward as their investigations continue. And if they were to find other bodies, he could potentially be charged for those. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, who I've interviewed, he spoke at a press conference after the hearing. Tell us what he had to say. This was a moment for Ray Tierney to celebrate. He said the defendant walked among us as a normal suburban dad. He lured women, he murdered them, but he didn't silence them. Not only did their bodies provide the clues necessary to find their killer, but the families never gave up in their determination to get justice.

9:29And while we in law enforcement, as well as our Suffolk County citizens, mourn the loss of these victims, we are also grateful to them and to their families, because without them, this defendant would have never been brought to justice and would still be walking amongst us. And he would still be portraying himself as that same harmless father next door instead of what he is, a convicted murderer. And Ray Tierney was, you know, grateful to the families. Did they speak after court? They basically all said that we agree with this plea. It was important for them to be in court, to watch him plead guilty, to be there and witness that.

10:13I think a lot of them are breathing a sigh of relief. Yeah, and I mean, Maureen Brainerd-Barnes, the sister Missy, spoke and said, your life will always mean more than the tragedy that took you, which is very moving. It's not about the person responsible. Today, it's about the women's lives who were stolen. It's about their voices, their future, and their families, the love that still surrounds them. There were moments when the wait felt unbearable, but I never gave up. Maureen was never forgotten, not for a single moment. What about Heuermann's family, Asa, Ellerape? They're no longer married.

10:50She also spoke after this? Yes. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. Their loss is immeasurable, and the focus should be on them at this time and moment. I ask that you give some privacy to my family as they navigate through this very difficult time. Reporters tried to press her. She said she wasn't going to answer any questions, but they tried to press her on the fact that you lived with him. How could you say you had no idea this was going on? She and her daughter continue to say that they had no idea, that they just couldn't imagine. And there still will be a sentencing?

11:39June 17th. We expect multiple family members to speak out as victim impact statements. Rex Heuerman is expected to speak at the sentencing hearing as well. Adam, we will definitely cover that sentencing for Dateline True Crime Weekly, and we appreciate all of your insight into this very emotional day for a lot of people. Thank you, Andrea.

12:08Coming up, the Hawaii anesthesiologist accused of attempting to murder his wife on a clifftop gives his side of the story.

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14:13For the past four weeks, a Hawaii jury has heard conflicting testimony about what happened between Dr. Gerhardt Koenig and his wife, Ariel, during a morning hike on a clifftop trail in Oahu in March of 2025. Prosecutors say Gerhardt was so consumed with rage and jealousy over his wife's emotional relationship with a male co-worker that he tried to kill her. First by pushing her off a cliff, then by pulling out a syringe and trying to inject her with something. When that didn't work, they say he hit her over the head with a rock. They have called witnesses ranging from the hikers who found Ariel bleeding at the top of the mountain to the doctors who treated her injuries.

14:51Ariel herself showed the jury her scars. Do you have any visible long-term effects from the injuries from March 24, 2025? Yes, I have scarring on my scalp and my face. But last week, the jury got to hear from Gerhard himself. and over five hours of dramatic testimony, he laid out a very different version of events, telling the jury that he was the victim. Gerhard, did you have a plan to kill your wife on the mountain that day? No. When you hit her with the rock twice, why did you do it? In self-defense. Here to fill us in and tell us about the final hours of this fascinating trial is Hawaii News Now anchor and reporter Mahealani Richardson.

15:29Welcome back, Mahealani. Aloha, Andrea. The defense went back to the beginning of the couple's relationship. They asked Gerhardt, you know, how he met Ariel, why they moved to Maui. Right. So Gerhardt met Ariel on the dating app eHarmony. They married two years later. They were living on the continent. Then they wanted to move to Maui. He said they wanted to be somewhere safe. He used the word safe. They wanted to slow down and look after their two young children. Emil, who is his son from a previous marriage, also moved in with them. Here's Gerhardt talking about that on the stand. Once we were here and settled in, it was our dream life.

16:12I was spending a lot more time with the kids and with Ari and with Emil. Every weekend we would explore Maui. We went to the beach almost every weekend, snorkeling, surfing, paddleboarding, hiking. So the way Gerhardt tells it, everything seemed great in this new life in Hawaii, But he finds out that Ariel is in this sort of emotional affair with a married co-worker named Jeff Miller. And she's admitted to that, but she says it never got physical. Gerhardt told the jury how he found out about this relationship that was going on. Well, her office, her home office, was in their bedroom. And so Gerhardt said he heard them talking.

16:51He said they sounded very familiar with each other. And then one day she went on a work trip to South Africa and Jeff Miller was there. And Gerhard said she would normally call in and check in every single day, but that there was one day that she didn't check in. And that raised a red flag for him. He said that he really got suspicious when Ariel got home. She was constantly on her phone. She was just constantly on her phone. Was that more so than usual? Yeah, much more than usual. and she would hide the screen from me. When she kept doing it and she kept being defensive, I unlocked her phone while she was sleeping.

17:35He actually logged onto her WhatsApp and discovered all of these messages that were all day long. He'd be texting her good morning, but it wasn't just like a good morning text. It was like a whole like, good morning, I slept great. I'm looking forward to the day. I hope you're sleeping great. She would respond. And then the whole day long until, you know, good night at the end of the day. How did it make you feel? I was devastated. According to both Gerhardt and Ariel, he confronted her about this relationship she was having. She basically said, like, I'm so sorry. I can't believe I did this. And I'll do anything it takes to heal our marriage.

18:13Things clearly sounded tense in this marriage. What was going on the day of the hike? Well, the both of them actually said that around her birthday, which was March 24th, 2025, things seemed to be getting better. She had never been to Honolulu before. And so they planned this birthday hike at the Palipuka Trail. He said that they had done hikes before. And so it wasn't anything unusual or sinister. He says that the day starts out, they grabbed coffee before they set out on the hike and he got an important email. That's right. He got a second part of his life insurance, which had come through. And this was worth$1.5 million.

18:54And he told Ariel about it. And I was like, oh, you know what? The last of my life insurance just went through. They're asking me to docusign it. And so I was doing that. Just want to let her know that I'm not just texting or something because we were out together. And so from that point on, if something happened to you in an accident or whatnot, she would get$1.5 million, correct? That's correct. And in this bit of detail, the defense is trying to plant the seed here that Ariel might have had a reason to do harm to Gerhardt. Wow. So they start arguing on the trail. What are they arguing about?

19:32Are they going back again to this man, Jeff Miller? Right. Ariel brought up again going on another work trip and Gerhardt was upset about it. He told her that she had to move out and he said that he walked up the trail. And then he turned around. Ariel apologized. They started to be nice to each other again. They were taking selfies. Then all of a sudden, he says that she tried to push him over that cliff. I felt like a shove, and I was almost pushed over the edge. Who shoved you? Henry did. What did you do right after that? Barely caught myself and turned around and looked at her and was like, what the f*** was that?

20:17Did you move towards her? Yeah, I did. I started walking towards her. Is she saying anything? Not initially, but I turned around, and as I'm starting to walk towards her, she starts yelling. She starts yelling? Yeah, help me, help me. What happens then? She kind of grabs my wrists and throws herself on the ground and pulls me down with her. Then the defense asked Gerhardt to go into some pretty graphic details about this situation. She grabbed your testicles, is that right? Yes. And you said then you felt you got hit with the rock. Where'd you get hit? On the left side of my face. And then what happens?

20:57And I finally get the rock. What'd you do? I hit her with the rock. Gerhard, did you have any syringes on the mountain that day? No. Did you try to poke her or stab her with any syringes? No. Gerhard said that he never intended to hurt his wife. He said that he felt horrible about those injuries that she sustained, and he insisted that it was out of self-defense. One of the things, Mihailani, that is a really big deal in all of this is Gerhard's son, who you mentioned. He talked about on the stand the emotional FaceTime calls he received from his dad after the incident. He says that his dad said that he was suicidal and that he admitted he tried to kill Ariel.

21:39That's really strong testimony coming from your own son. How did the defense handle that element of all of this? Well, the defense was very careful. one of the most emotional parts of this whole trial is this son Emil, Gerhardt's son. He's now 20 years old. He was 19 at the time of the incident. And Gerhardt got emotional on the stand again when he talked about reaching out to his son. He acknowledged that he was in severe emotional distress and that he contemplated jumping over that cliff. How do you feel about the fact that you put him in that position and made that call to him? So many feelings because

22:31he saved my life that day.

22:36So thank you not to jump. He saved my life that day, but I put him in this position where he is now, where he thinks I tried to kill her. Then it was the prosecution's chance to cross-examine Gerhardt. He really pressed him on a lot of things. He certainly did. The prosecutor did get Gerhardt to concede that there was nothing sexual in the messages between Ariel and Jeff Miller. He also got Gerhardt to admit calling Ariel names when he confronted her about the affair. And in this confrontation, you called Ariel a lying bitch, right? Um, I did call her that at some point, not in the beginning of the disclosure.

23:25You called her a whore, right? I did call her a whore at some point. Gerhardt, for his part, said that he was upset about this relationship, but he repeatedly said he was not mad. How did the prosecution challenge Gerhardt's account of what he said happened on the hike? The last visual thing that the jurors saw were the side-by-side graphic images of Ariel and Gerhardt. On the right was Gerhardt's photo, and he had some scratches on the side of his face. On the left side, they played several images of Ariel's bloody head, her bloody face. She had large bruises around her eye. It was very stark to see the difference between Ariel and Gerhardt in terms of injuries after that alleged attack.

24:18And the prosecution clearly is letting those images speak for themselves. OK, well, after about a month of this trial, the closing arguments are finished. So the jury has started deliberating. And we can expect a verdict any time now. We will keep an eye out for that. Thank you so much for these updates, Maheolani. Andrea, good to see you. Mahalo nui. Thank you. After we taped this conversation on Tuesday afternoon, the jury reached a verdict. Let's listen to some of that. We, the jury in this case, finds the defendant guilty of attempted manslaughter based upon extreme mental or emotional disturbance, dated 4-8-26 by the foreperson.

24:56Dr. Gerhard Koenig was found guilty of attempted manslaughter. We will catch you up on next week's episode.

25:07Up next, it's time for Dateline Roundup. We've got updates in the case of Sandra Birchmore and courtroom drama in the case of murdered Microsoft designer and dad, Jared Bridegan. Plus, they are the two words that can make or break a verdict. Reasonable doubt. What you need to know before heading off for jury duty.