Pizza crust leads to arrest: The shocking real story behind Netflix＊s Gone Girls on the Long Island serial killer
The new docuseries Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer uncovers how investigators used a burner phone, DNA from a pizza crust, and disturbing documents to arrest Rex Heuermann, while victims＊ families still wait for justice after more than a decade.
Rex Heuermann, an architect now accused of killing several sex workers near Gilgo Beach, Long Island, is currently waiting for his trial. As the world watches, Netflix has released a new three-part docuseries Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer on March 31.
Directed by Liz Garbus, the series includes interviews with victims＊ families and the investigators who have been part of the case since 2010, when sex worker Shannan Gilbert first went missing.
From lost girls to Gone Girls: Revisiting the families＊ pain
According to a report by TIME, Garbus had previously spoken with some of these families while working on Lost Girls, a 2020 film inspired by the same case. That film, based on journalist Robert Kolker＊s book, starred Amy Ryan and Lola Kirke.
Back then, Garbus hoped the film would help push authorities toward justice. When Heuermann was arrested in 2023 for the murder of seven women, she reconnected with the families and began creating Gone Girls to explore what led to his arrest
How a task force and a pizza box changed everything
When Rodney Harrison became Suffolk County＊s police commissioner in 2021, he set up the Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force in 2022. This team included local, state, and federal officers who began digitizing old case files to make evidence easier to search.
Gilgo Beach, Long Island | Credit: X
Investigators focused on a tall man〞over 6'4"〞who drove a Chevy Avalanche. They linked burner phone calls to a commuter from Massapequa Park to NYC. The first task force meeting was on February 1, 2022. By March 14, they began tracking Heuermann, a married father of two who worked in Manhattan.
They noticed the burner phone moved everywhere Heuermann did. They also saw him topping up the burner phone＊s balance and using hidden email accounts to contact escorts. To get a DNA sample, police picked up a discarded pizza box and matched his crust to hair found at a crime scene.
What police found behind closed doors
One of Heuermann＊s former employees said he knew Long Island＊s beach areas well. When police searched his house, they found hundreds of guns in his basement and seized his computer. His internet history included searches about the Gilgo Beach case, its victims, and violent pornography.
One disturbing breakthrough came when police recovered a deleted file. It contained detailed instructions for torturing victims, a list of tools, and ways to destroy evidence.
Heuermann has denied all seven murder charges.
A long wait for answers and justice
Garbus said she still doesn＊t fully understand what would drive someone to target sex workers, but she pointed out how vulnerable this group often is. Many escorts were suspicious of Heuermann, but feared reporting him, worried about being arrested themselves.
Amanda Funderburg, sister of victim Melissa Barthelemy, called him a ※monster.§ She added, ※He＊s not as smart as he thought he was.§
Elizabeth Meserve, aunt of victim Megan Waterman, said they are hopeful〞but cautiously so. ※Only when someone is found guilty will we feel like we＊ve found Megan＊s killer,§ she told TIME.
What made the matter so long to get solved?
Gone Girls also looks at how local politics slowed down progress. But Garbus believes a bigger issue is how society treats sex workers.
If you like crime docs, ※Gone Girls§ on Netflix is really good. 3 episodes; 45-55 min each. I learned so much about the Gilgo Beach serial killer investigation and more importantly, the girls who were murdered and the impacts to their families. So sad.
〞 PipsyMomma (@PipsyMomma) April 7, 2025
She hopes the film helps viewers understand the pain of families who have lost loved ones, especially those pushed to the margins because of race or class.
※Documentaries let us walk in someone else＊s shoes,§ Garbus said. ※And the more we do that, the more we can care, understand, and stay connected as a society.§
The docuseries may have helped shine a light on years of ignored clues and delayed justice, but for the families of the victims, true closure is still out of reach. Until a verdict is reached in court, many continue to live with the painful question of "why?"〞one that no documentary or investigation has fully answered yet.
Nancy Jaiswal is a journalist who started her career in reporting and has covered both hard and soft news. From serious city news developments to lighthearted lifestyle pieces, she has written on almost everything hapenning in India (except maybe alien invasions〞yet!). For her, writing isn＊t just work; it＊s a passion, an obsession, and sometimes the reason she forgets to reply to texts.
Read More