1 day agoUSA UpdateComments Off on EastEnders legend Adam Woodyatt reveals ‘bonkers’ 40th anniversary plans and that it has already been filmed
EASTENDERS legend Adam Woodyatt has revealed ‘bonkers’ 40th anniversary plans – and that it has already been filmed.
The BBC soap is gearing up for its milestone year in February 2025.
BBC Press HandoutAdam Woodyatt has teased a ‘bonkers’ 40th anniversary on EastEnders[/caption]
BBCAdam has played Ian Beale since the show began[/caption]
BBCAdam was surprised when he read the scripts for the 40th anniversary[/caption]
EastEnders fans have already been treated to a number of returns from former characters in recent weeks as part of the celebrations.
And now Adam – who has played Ian Beale since the very first episode – has revealed more on what fans can expect from the 40th anniversary.
He said: “Expect everything and a lot more! The anniversary week is just bonkers!
“I think I can safely say for all of us, we picked up the scripts and was like ‘what the f***’ how the hell are we going to do this? And we have!
“Obviously we haven’t done the live element yet but we’ve done all the bits leading up to it and it’s honestly brilliant.”
Meanwhile show boss Chris Clenshaw added: “I can’t say too much. It’s explosive, and we’ve pretty much shot most of it and it’s looking brilliant. Expect everything.”
And speaking about the upcoming Christmas episode which centres around the Beales and the Knights, he added: “I’m thrilled. I think it was important for us, after last year we did a flash forward episode – a format-breaking idea – with the flash forward and The Six.
“I think this year because we are entering our 40th year it was really important to us that it was a classic EastEnders.”
Adam also spoke about being one of the few original cast members still on the show, saying he felt “old”.
But he added: “It’s been really nice actually. We’ve got a lot of building work going on and some of us have had to move dressing rooms and I’ve got moved from near where the sets are to probably about the furthest point away, but I was really, really chuffed because I’m now in Gretchen Franklin’s old dressing room.
“When I started out there was me, Dave Scarboro and Paul Medford, all crammed into a dressing room that isn’t big enough for one person and the dressing rooms upstairs were for the stars.
“That’s where Wendy, and Anna and Gretchen were, so I’ve made it. 40 years it took!”
BBCIan will be at the centre of the Christmas episodes alongside the rest of the Beales and Knights[/caption]
EastEnders airs on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.
Prince Naseem Hamed beamed from ringside and was met with a huge reception.
GettyWladimir Klitschko sits down next to Lennox Lewis[/caption]
PAParis Fury watching from ringside[/caption]
GettyNaseem Hamed sat next to son Sami[/caption]
1 day agoUSA UpdateComments Off on I visited the hotel where Wham! Last Christmas video was filmed which has best snow in Europe & George Michael cocktails
GEORGE Michael’s heartbreak aside, the holiday in the music video for Last Christmas by Wham! looks like the best festive fun, with skiing, wine, friends and snowball fights.
So as the festive hit celebrates its 40th anniversary by returning to the top of the UK charts, what better time to experience the very spot where the footage was shot — Saas-Fee in Switzerland.
amarcster media, STAGTake a trip to Saas-Fee in Switzerland, where Wham! shot the music video for Last Christmas[/caption]
Walliserhof Grand-Hotel & SpaLabrynth-like Walliserhof Grand Hotel & Spa is where the band and crew stayed during filming[/caption]
SuppliedThe food is plentiful and gluttonously satisfying, whether in resort or up among the snowy peaks[/caption]
If you want, you can even, like me and my group, go the extra mile and recreate the video as most of the original locations are still there.
There’s even a lifesize cut-out of Wham! icon Andrew Ridgeley, as well as model Kathy Hill, who played the object of Andrew and George’s affections in the video, next to a ski lift you can pose with.
So armed with guyliner, clip-on hoop earrings, blusher, lip gloss and a dodgy wig I’d hacked into an extremely rough approximation of George’s Eighties bouffant, we checked in to the Walliserhof Grand Hotel & Spa where the band and crew stayed during filming.
The first thing to note about Saas-Fee is the main reason it was chosen for the video — it can lay claim to having the best and most consistent snow in Europe thanks to its glacier location.
It really is the stuff of dreams — a blanket of soft powder that you can sink up to your knees in, which makes for great skiing or snowboarding.
Ski-wise, the set-up of the slopes means the resort is best suited to either beginners or experts.
There are 100km of slopes in Saas-Fee itself, with an extra 50km easily accessible.
But, as my instructor Megan put it, the blues are easy blues and the reds are hard reds, so it can be a stretch if you’re somewhere in the middle like me.
For good skiers, the snow quality is unsurpassed and more than makes up for the piste map not being as sprawling as elsewhere.
Back at the labyrinthine Walliserhof, with its stunning, seemingly endless spa and sauna complex, we threw ourselves into the Wham! festive spirit.
There was an augmented-reality scavenger hunt, ending in George’s suite filled with band memorabilia, a signature George Michael cocktail at the hotel bar, and a nearby Wham! exhibition at the surprisingly absorbing Saas-Fee museum.
The very next day, we went on a guided tour to see the chalet from the video, and staged our own snowball fight and chase.
By this point, my George wig was getting rather battered and tatty, and the resulting video looked more like Worzel Gummidge or Rod Stewart starring in The Shining than Wham!
But it was tremendous fun, nonetheless, and we were all helpless with giggling for most of the trip.
Even if you’re not a skier or a connoisseur of cheesy Eighties Christmas classics, Saas-Fee has a lot to offer. It’s a car-free, eco-sustainable resort, and quite compact.
So it’s refreshing to walk around the many quaint Alpine bars, with the only danger being from one of the electric milk floats that help ferry you around.
George Michael in the 1984 Last Christmas music videoKathy Hill featured in the video alongside Andrew RidgeleyAlamyLast Christmas celebrates its 40th anniversary by returning to the top of the UK chart[/caption]
The food is plentiful and gluttonously satisfying, whether in resort or up among the snowy peaks.
There, you’ll find The Allalin, the world’s highest revolving restaurant.
It is 3,500 metres above sea level and accessible via a Bond-like Metro Alpin underground funicular, which also counts as the world’s highest subway.
Down in the resort, we also enjoyed a brief diversion at the Capra hotel, run by a former London financier called George and his gracious family.
They’ve put so much love and attention to detail into each part of the luxury set-up that it’s almost overwhelming, from the Fun Lab games room to the high-end spa and two Michelin key-winning food and wine.
Back in the Walliserhof hotel, we had a choice of three restaurants, which I would summarise in turn as Italian, posh and cheese fondue heaven.
Winter wonderland
Before I could gorge myself comatose on the fondue, however, I had another gorge on the agenda, namely the Alpine Canyon, which would have a markedly different impact on my stomach.
This was a three-hour trek through a snowy paradise, using zipwires and the “via ferrata” system of iron rungs hammered into the side of the mountain.
I started off quite confident but, by the halfway stage — despite being clipped on by two carabiners on my harness — I was trembling while trying to fumble my way around the sheer cliffs as our mountain guide looked on with bemusement.
It hardly helped when he told me that, in the past few years alone, a few adventurers had died because they’d foolishly ignored the warnings and chanced it without a guide.
Whether it was the rickety, snow-covered wooden bridges, the bonkers abseil from a wobbly metal ladder protruding into the abyss past a waterfall of spectacular icy stalactites, or swinging across the canyon as a river gushed a frighteningly long drop below, I’ve never felt so much like a cut-price Indiana Jones.
SuppliedThere is a choice of three restaurants, which can be summarised in turn as Italian, posh and cheese fondue heaven[/caption]
SuppliedThe Sun’s Jayme Bryla joins the celebrations as singer George Michael[/caption]
Thank God there was no giant boulder rolling down the path or I would have missed my pressing appointment with the fondue.
Once my knees had stopped knocking, there was time for a final dose of Christmas cheer with a town centre karaoke box — which, this month, is specifically set for one song only (you’ll never guess what . . . ).
In summary, Saas-Fee (as with Switzerland in general) may require you to cover your eyes and gulp as you hand your credit card over.
But it is an experience that, even 40 years on, leaps straight out of the music video, and would be a chocolate-box winter wonderland even without the Wham! connection.
I can’t imagine a more faithful way to experience a snapshot of life as the late, great George Michael.
And if, like me, you have ever dreamed of having a Wham! Christmas, you won’t get better than in snowy Saas-Fee.
Next year, to save me from tears, I hope to go somewhere just as special.
GO: SAAS-FEE
GETTING THERE: Swiss fly to Zurich from Heathrow with fares from £72 one way and to Geneva with fares from £54. See swiss.com. A Swiss Travel Pass is from £229 for three days. See switzerland.com/travel.
STAYING THERE: Rooms at the Walliserhof Grand Hotel & Spa in Saas-Fee from £286pp, per night including breakfast. See walliserhof-saasfee.ch.
1 day agoUSA UpdateComments Off on New festive chocolate dessert spotted in bargain supermarket days before Christmas as shoppers rave ‘it’s the best yet’
CHRISTMAS is just days away and shoppers are suddenly rushing to stores to bag the latest viral dessert for the big day.
Shoppers have raved that the Lidl product is “the best yet” as people desperately try to get their hands on it.
LidlThe Lidl Deluxe Christmas Express dessert has sent shoppers racing to stores[/caption]
LidlThe chocolate train is filled with mousse and salted caramel and has a brownie base[/caption]
RexSome shoppers have slammed Lidl for leaving it so late to reveal the latest festive dessert[/caption]
On the Facebook page NewFoodsUK, one shopper wrote: “Best Christmas fresh dessert we’ve spotted yet!
“We spotted this today at Lidl! It looks and sounds amazing!”
Accompanying the post was a picture of Lidl’s Deluxe Christmas Express dessert in the shape of a steam train.
The green and gold dessert is a different version of the traditional chocolate yule log.
The train itself is made out of Belgian chocolate which is filled with chocolate mousse and salted caramel.
It has a brownie base and the train’s steam is made from marshmallows.
The image of the luxurious dessert had Facebook users salivating.
“Never seen a dessert like this before,” one wrote in the comments.
“This one for the winner going to track it down,” another said.
The indulgent pudding is £9.99 or can be bought for just £6.99 with a Lidl Plus card and serves eight people.
But, those who have fallen in love with the pudding are struggling to get it in time for the big day due to its late appearance on shelves and huge popularity.
One disappointed shopper said: “Been trying to get but sold out.”
“It’s ridiculous! Don’t understand why they’ve put this in stores so late in the month knowing most people won’t actually get the chance to get one,” another fumed.
“Got mine they sold out with[in] an hour of opening,” a third added as others planned their early morning visits to local stores to get their hands on the train dessert.
AldiFor some, the train may rival Aldi’s Christmas version of Cuthbert the Caterpillar[/caption]
GettyOthers may want a more traditional dessert for the big day (stock)[/caption]
But, not everyone is excited about the new Christmas offering with many saying that one element ruined the entire dessert for them.
One commented: “Why [has] everything got salted caramel in?”
“Everything as salted caramel we don’t like it so won’t be buying this one either,” another said.
One simply said that the addition “ruined it.”
Those who are still struggling with last-minute gifts could get a top-tier hamper on a budget from Lidl’s rival.
1 day agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Fiery Luke Littler, 17, in four-word scream at World Darts Championship crowd as he copies Ronaldo celebration
LUKE LITTLER channeled his inner Cristiano Ronaldo after winning his first set of the PDC World Darts Championship.
The teenager got off to a shaky start in the opening exchanges against Ryan Meikle before pulling it back to win the leg, celebrating using Ronaldo’s famous “Calma” celebration.
https://twitter.com/SkySportsDarts/status/1870586198437081150
SKY SPORTSLuke Littler let out a huge celebration after winning his first leg at the World Darts Championship[/caption]
SKY SPORTSThe teenager pointed at himself as he copied Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebration[/caption]
SKY SPORTSHe appeared to urge the crowd to calm down[/caption]
Littler, 17, had fallen 2-1 behind in the opening set and needed to pull himself back into contention.
And after some strong throwing he managed to win the first set 3-2, bursting into fiery celebrations immediately afterwards.
“I sincerely hope he continues in this sphere and is successful for as long as he wants, he really is a superstar”.
And a third commented: “Luke Littler saying ‘I’m here… relax’ at 17 years old on national television is the best thing I’ve ever seen”
Others felt that Littler needed to keep his cool until the match was won and then let out his celebrations, reminding the breakout star that the match isn’t won until it’s over.
MORE TO FOLLOW…
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Sky SportsFans moaned after Raymond van Barneveld’s walk-on was ‘massacred’[/caption]
Sky SportsThe incident occurred as he lost 3-1 to Nick Kenny[/caption]
The lights were dimmed low as Barney prepared to make his famous walkout.
Each darts star chooses a special song to come out to.
1 day agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Europe has imported the lethal discord of the Middle East…reaping the bloody price of mass, unfettered immigration
AFTER years of denial, delusion and deceit, Europe’s political establishment can no longer conceal the savagely destructive impact of mass immigration.
Across much of the continent, the public is paying a brutal price for the systematic collapse of proper border controls and the wholesale import of cultures that are utterly alien to our democratic, liberal traditions.
ReutersShocked crowds pay their respects in Magdeburg last night[/caption]
EPAThe Magdeburg market was left in tatters following the deadly drive[/caption]
The bonds of mutual trust that once held our societies together are weakening.
Solidarity is giving way to segregation. Unity is being corroded by toxic identity politics.
That grim reality has been exposed by Friday night’s terrible atrocity in the German town of Magdeburg, where a Saudi Arabian national — who had been granted asylum eight years ago — drove a BMW at high speed into a large crowd of innocent shoppers and revellers at a Christmas market.
Cherished symbol
At least five people, including a nine-year-old, were killed. More than 200 were injured, many of them seriously.
The only massacre in modern Germany that exceeds its death toll was perpetrated in Berlin in 2016, when Anis Amri, a failed asylum seeker, drug abuser and Islamist from Tunisia, drove a lorry into a packed Christmas market in Berlin, killing 13 people.
But the Magdeburg horror does not appear to fit the usual template of a jihadist assault on European civilisation.
For, the man detained by the German police, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, presents himself as the very opposite of an Islamist, using social media to trumpet his support for Israel, his hatred of Muslim fundamentalism and his belief that the German authorities had failed to tackle the hardliners.
Nor was he a lone wolf operating in the shadows.
On the contrary. He revelled in his self-made image as “the most aggressive critic of Islam in history.”
His pose as a warrior against jihadism may be an elaborate cover to disguise his real motivations.
If he was really so anti-Islamic, why did he choose as his target a Christmas market, an enduring and cherished symbol of Europe’s Christian heritage?
Yet there is a danger in becoming too bogged down in the minutiae of Taleb’s often contradictory self-justifications.
The bigger, more urgent question is why did the German authorities approve Taleb al-Abdulmohsen’s asylum application when he was wanted in his native Saudi Arabia?
This weekend Europe’s politicians, led by the ineffectual German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, shed their tears over Magdeburg and offered their “thoughts and prayers” for the families of the victims.
But they should hang their heads in shame rather than sorrow, because their border anarchy has replicated in Europe the lethal discord of the Middle East, with its alphabet soup of terror groups, its anti-semitism, its intolerance for normal, pluralistic democracy, and its rampant misogyny.
This revolution was imposed without any mandate from voters.
Between 2015 and 2016, after Scholz’s predecessor Angela Merkel opened the floodgates in response to the refugee crises in Syria, Libya and Iraq, more than 1.2 million new arrivals settled in Germany.
AFPSuspect Taleb al-Abdulmohsen[/caption]
AFPRescue workers hug following Friday’s Christmas market atrocity in Magdeburg[/caption]
EPAFirefighters attending memorial service in the cathedral yesterday[/caption]
Berlin’s rulers were so enamoured of this policy because they felt it offered an escape from the nightmarish legacy of Hitler’s Third Reich.
By turning their country into a safe haven for refugees they felt they could achieve a form of redemption from the Holocaust by parading their anti-racism credentials.
A pariah after the war, Germany under Merkel became a moral leader.
In globalist circles, her slogan “Wir Schaffen Das” — translated as “we can do this” — appeared to capture a mood of optimistic generosity.
Open door failure
But this was just wishful thinking. In truth, there is nothing compassionate about the migration free for all.
Instead, across Europe, citizens no longer feel safe as the dark catalogue of terrorist incidents lengthens.
It is a bitter irony that the soft-touch stance, which was meant to boost tolerance, has achieved the exact opposite by fuelling hostility to migrants.
“When will this lunacy end,” said AFD’s leader Alice Weidel after Magdeburg — words echoed by many Germans.
Britons will be asking the same question.
Fortunately we have yet to endure any incident as complex as the Magdeburg atrocity, but immigration here is certainly out of control, reflected in the record-breaking numbers crossing the English Channel and in the rise of net legal migration to over 900,000 a year.
1 day agoUSA UpdateComments Off on ‘Embarrassing’ – Stunned boxing fans fume at ‘FIX’ on Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk undercard
BOXING fans were left stunned after the result of Dave Allen’s heavyweight showdown with Johnny Fisher.
The Brit duo took part in a ten-round war on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night.
REUTERSDave Allen went to war with Johnny Fisher on the Fury vs Usyk 2 undercard[/caption]
PABoth men hurt each other in the ten round slobberknocker[/caption]
REUTERSDoncaster destroyer Allen knocked Fisher down in the fifth round[/caption]
REUTERSThe judges sensationally awarded Fisher the win courtesy of a split decision verdict[/caption]
PAAllen couldn’t quite believe the result and cut a dejected figure[/caption]
Underdog Allen turned in one of his best performances in recent years, hurting Fisher on multiple occasions in the Saudi slugfest.
And he floored the Matchroom Boxing prospect in the fifth round, a knockdown many thought would see him get the nod.
Follow all the action from Fury Usyk 2 LIVE as it happens with SunSport’s blog
But the judges sensationally awarded ‘The Romford Bull’ a split decision victory, a result which was met with a chorus of BOOS from the fans in attendance.
And boxing fans worldwide flocked to social media to express their anger at the result.
One wrote on X: “How the f**k has Dave Allen lost that. Absolute scandal. Fix?
Another said: “Absolute fix! Dave Allen has been robbed there!”
And another said: “Dave Allen has clearly won this Fisher simply ain’t been good enough since he got dropped.”
Follow all the action from Fury Usyk 2 LIVE as it happens with SunSport’s blog
PADave Allen and Johnny Fisher embraced after the result was read out[/caption]
PAAllen voiced his frustrations to former promoter Eddie Hearn[/caption]
One remarked: “F**K boxing- such a fix. Dave Allen won that hands down.”
Another chimed in: “Dave Allen has been absolutely done over there.”
Doncaster destroyer Allen couldn’t believe his ears when Michael Buffer revealed the judges had returned a split-decision verdict.
And he couldn’t hide his devastation as the veteran announcer revealed that Fisher had retained his unbeaten record.
He showed his class, however, by embracing his conqueror and having a quick chat with him before they headed backstage.
1 day agoUSA UpdateComments Off on ‘Suspicious’ family of Gilgo serial killer suspect must be investigated after their hair found on corpse, expert claims
THE wife of suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann should be investigated after her family was linked to yet another murdered sex worker, a forensic expert outside the case has claimed.
GettySuspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann, seen in June, was accused of murdering a seventh woman on Tuesday[/caption]
APValerie Mack, 24, was killed by Heuermann in 2000, and her body was cut up and strewn across Long Island, New York, prosecutors allege[/caption]
Prosecutors linked the sex worker’s death to Heuermann after finding his daughter Victoria’s hair on her remainsThe Mega AgencyThe Mega AgencyHair belonging to his wife, Asa Ellerup, has also been found on other victims, prosecutors claim[/caption]
The fresh charges were announced in a bombshell indictment released Tuesday that gave gruesome details on how 24-year-old Mack’s remains were discovered.
In November 2000, hunters found some of her body parts wrapped in black plastic bags and ditched in New York‘s Long Island Pine Barrens.
She had been decapitated, and her hands were chopped off at the wrists. Her right leg was also missing the bottom half.
At the time, Mack was only known as Manorville Jane Doe. Later on, in 2020, genetic testing revealed her identity.
Detectives discovered a hair stuck to Mack’s left wrist that didn’t match her DNA. After Heuermann was arrested in July 2023, they allegedly determined the source – his daughter Victoria.
Victoria would have been just three and a half at the time, but her DNA has played a key role in linking Heuermann to seven victims.
Heuermann has boldly defended himself from all seven murder charges and told the judge he was innocent in court on Tuesday despite the haunting alleged evidence.
Many of the murdered sex workers were chopped up and hidden along Gilgo Beach in Long Island, where eleven people’s remains have been uncovered since 1996.
Mack’s body parts were pulled on April 4, 2011, and Victoria’s hair was allegedly found stuck to the burlap bag hiding her skeletal remains.
Speaking exclusively to The U.S. Sun, famed forensic psychiatrist Carole Lieberman suggested that Victoria and Ellerup’s hairs warrant a second look at the case.
“I was saying from the beginning that I thought his wife had something to do with it,” Lieberman speculated.
“Of course [Heuermann’s] gonna have hair on him because they’re living in the same house.
“It could just be contact DNA. However, I think the wife has seemed suspicious from the beginning.”
Who was Valerie Mack?
VALERIE Mack was a foster child, mother, and sex worker, who was allegedly murdered by the Long Island serial killer around 2000, cops said in a bombshell indictment.
On December 17, 2024, prosecutors officially linked her death to suspect Rex Heuermann.
Mack was working as a sex worker in Philadelphia when she disappeared in 2000. Her family last saw her in New Jersey that same year.
She was born in Atlantic City and was placed in foster care at an early age. She moved around from several families before she was adopted by the Mack family.
In 1994, when she was 17, she gave birth to a son and moved in with her baby’s father in Wildwood, New Jersey. Soon after, she started traveling frequently to Philadelphia.
Police believe that Mack was a sex worker in Philadelphia and Atlantic City between 1996 and 2000.
She had a few run-ins with the law for prostitution charges at that time and was last arrested around June 2000.
Mack went by the alias Melissa Taylor and advertised her escort services online. She also walked the streets to pick up work.
On November 19, 2000, Mack’s partial remains were discovered in Manorville, New York, on Long Island, by hunters. At that time, she was just known as Manorville Jane Doe.
Her remains were decapitated, and she was missing both of her hands and part of her right leg, prosecutors said in an indictment. Her torso, legs, and arms were all bound with rope.
On April 4, 2011, the rest of Mack’s body was uncovered near Gilgo Beach, where 11 people’s remains have been found since 1996.
In 2020, genetic testing revealed Mack’s identity.
In December 2024, Mack was named as the seventh alleged victim of Heuermann – a disgraced architect who was first hit with murder charges on July 13, 2023.
Ellerup hasn’t been hit with any charges since Heuermann’s arrest and swiftly filed for divorce when he was put behind bars.
However, she’s been present throughout his hearings.
When asked about Lieberman’s analysis, Ellerup’s lawyer acknowledged that Victoria’s hair was found at the scene but didn’t have any other comments.
APHeuermann declared his innocence to the fresh charge in a court hearing Tuesday[/caption]
GettyEllerup, seen with Victoria in July 2023, quickly filed for divorce after Heuermann was arrested, but she’s been attending his court hearings[/caption]
Supreme Court of Suffolk CountyProsecutors made a chart unpacking all the DNA evidence that allegedly tied the victims to the Heuermann family[/caption]
SICK ‘PLAN’
Suffolk County prosecutors released a graph laying out all the DNA evidence linking Heuermann to murder cases.
Brainard-Barnes, who was killed on July 6, 2007, allegedly had one of Ellerup’s hairs on her skeletal remains found north of Gilgo Beach.
Costello, who disappeared in September 2010, allegedly had Victoria’s hair stuck to her scalp when she was found later in December.
Heuermann’s hair was allegedly found on Waterman’s remains when her body was also discovered in December 2010.
And Waterman’s corpse allegedly had both Ellerup’s and Heuermann’s hairs on it.
DNA evidence belonging to the family has also been discovered on other Long Island serial killer victims’ Sandra Costilla and Jessica Taylor.
After reviewing this evidence, Lieberman claimed Ellerup “could have known” about Heuermann’s alleged actions.
“I don’t think anything is off the table,” she said.
Murder victims linked to the Long Island Serial Killer
The sleepy seaside community of Gilgo Beach in Long Island, NY, was horrified after the arrest of Rex Heuermann last year for a series of gruesome murders. Here is what we know about his alleged victims:
Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25 – Brainard-Barnes was believed to be a sex worker based in Norwich, Connecticut. She went by the names “Juliana” or “Marie” and advertised her services on various platforms, including Craigslist and Backpage. She mostly worked out of hotels in Manhattan. On the day of her death on July 6, 2007, she took an Amtrak train from New London to Grand Central Terminal. She was reported missing eight days later, but it wasn’t until 2010 that her remains were found on the north side of Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach.
Melissa Barthelemy, 24 – Barthelemy was an aspiring hairstylist who was last seen alive on July 12, 2009. She worked as an online escort and lived in the Bronx, NYC, but primarily worked out of hotels in Manhattan. She used sites such as Adult Friend Finder and went by either “Chloe” or “VerySexyChloe” online. After she disappeared, her sister revealed she had received calls from a stranger who admitted to killing her. Her body was found on Gilgo Beach on Dec 11, 2010.
Megan Waterman, 22 – Waterman was a single mother living in Scarborough, Maine, when she went missing. A sex worker who advertised her services on Craigslist and Backpage used the aliases “Lexxy” and “Sexy Lexi.” She vanished on June 6, 2010, after leaving a Holiday Inn hotel located in Hauppauge, Long Island. Two days later she was reported missing, and her body was found on December 13 of that same year.
Amber Lynn Costello, 27 – Costello lived in West Babylon, Long Island, at the time of her disappearance. She advertised on Craigslist and Backpage, reportedly to support her heroin addiction. She had entered a detox program shortly before his disappearance before relapsing. She was last seen alive on September 2, 2010, and her body was discovered on Ocean Parkway on December 13, 2010.
Jessica Taylor, 20 – Taylor was an escort working in Midtown, New York when she was reported missing on July 19, 2003. She was reportedly spotted at the Port Authority bus terminal in Manhattan between July 18 and 21. On July 26, 2003, parts of her body were found in Manorville. More of her remains were discovered on March 29, 2011, during the search for Shannan Gilbert.
Sandra Costilla, 28 – Costilla was a native of Trinidad and Tobago living in New York at the time of her disappearance. Investigators called Costilla a “drifter” and her last known address was in Queens. Costilla’s remains were uncovered in the woods in Southampton on November 20, 1993. Costilla had numerous sharp force injuries to her face, torso, breasts, left thigh, and vaginal area.
Valerie Mack, 24 – At the time of her disappearance, Mack was working as an escort under the alias “Melissa Taylor.” She was last seen alive in the spring of 2000 in New Jersey, but her family didn’t report her missing. Parts of her body were discovered by hikers in September 2000 in the Long Island Pine Barrens, but she was not identified and was instead given the nickname “Jane Doe No. 6.” The rest of her remains were recovered on April 4, 2011, near Gilgo Beach.
There have been several other murder victims tied to a Long Island Serial Killer, but no connection has been found to Rex Heuermann, and he is not a suspect in their deaths.
Karen Vergata, 34 – Vergata was a sex worker living on West 45th St. in Manhattan at the time of her disappearance on Valentine’s Day, 1996. She had called her father that day to wish him a happy birthday. Parts of her body were found at Davis Park on Fire Island’s Blue Point Beach on April 20 that year, but at the time, she wasn’t identified and was known as “Jane Doe No. 7.” Her skull was found on Ocean Parkway on April 11, 2011.
Additional victims – Four other remains of possible victims were also recovered but have not been officially named.
LIFE AFTER LISK
Ellerup’s lawyers have vehemently proclaimed that she and their children had no clue about the architect’s twisted second life.
After his arrest, Ellerup and her children were left destitute. News crews filmed them living outside in a car and grilling to keep themselves fed as investigators combed through their family home.
The sight was so tear-jerking that some onlookers started raising money to get them into a better living situation.
Now, Ellerup is enjoying a windfall of money, as Heuermann signed over sole ownership of his Long Island home in November 2023, The U.S. Sun exclusively confirmed.
That home was purchased by the suspect from his parents in 1994 for $170,000, and property records show that it was most recently valued at around $530,000 as of 2023.
Ellerup also signed an eye-watering $1 million deal with NBC’s Peacock for a documentary, sparking an outcry of disgust from the families of the victims.
Peacock has insisted that Ellerup “was not paid for her participation, but was paid a licensing fee for use of her archive materials,” which cannot go to Heuermann or his defense.
Either way, The U.S. Sun pictured a newly rich Ellerup taking a trip to the bank after sinking the life-changing deal.
Heuermann is being kept in isolation in jail, and a trial date has not been set.
A timeline of the Gilgo Beach murders
A community on Long Island, New York, was left looking for answers after the remains of numerous people were found in Gilgo Beach. This is a timeline of events that led to the arrest of suspect Rex Heuermann.
April 1996: The first remains are found in connection to the Gilgo Beach murders. Authorities referred to the victim as “Fire Island Jane Doe.”
May 2010:Shannan Gilbert vanishes. She called the police before she went missing.
June 2010: Megan Waterman goes missing. Security footage showed her leaving a Holiday Inn Express hotel in Hauppauge, Long Island.
September 2010: Amber Lynn Costello disappears. She left her home in West Babylon, New York, without her cell phone. But, she was never reported missing.
September 2010: Hikers in the Long Island Pine Barrens discover more remains of the Manorville woman.
December 2010: The remains of Barthelemy are found by investigators in Gilgo Beach. The investigators were searching for Gilbert at the time. Later, investigators found three other bodies which were wrapped in burlap at Gilgo Beach. Authorities announced a serial killer may have murdered the females.
January 2011: The remains of Waterman, Barthelemy, Costello, and Brainard-Barnes are formally identified. They are known as the Gilgo Four.
March 2011: Human remains are found near Gilgo Beach.
April 2011: The bodies of three other victims are found near Gilgo Beach. Two other victims were found near Jones Beach, about five miles from where the other bodies were found near Gilgo Beach.
May 2011: Cops announce six more sets of human remains were found.
November 2011: The Suffolk County Police Department announces the victims found near Gilgo Beach were most likely sex workers. They believe one person may be responsible for the murders.
December 2011: The remains of Shannan Gilbert are found in Gilgo Beach. Cops at the time didn’t believe she had been murdered. Gilbert’s remains were discovered around a year and a half after vanishing.
December 2015: The FBI joins the probe into the murders.
May 2020: The remains of Manorville Jane Doe are identified as Valerie Mack. Mack was working as an escort in Philadelphia when she disappeared. She was last seen by her family in New Jersey in 2000.
January 2022: A new task force is created to investigate the murders.
May 2022: Cops release a 22-minute phone call from the night Gilbert disappeared.
July 13, 2023: Authorities announce the arrest of Rex Heuermann. The suspect was arrested in Manhattan. He was charged with the deaths of Costello, Barthelemy, and Waterman. He was named the prime suspect in the murder of Brainard-Barnes, but cops did not charge him.
August 4, 2023: The woman, known as Fire Island Jane Doe, formally identified as Karen Vergata, 34.
October 18, 2023: Attorney John Ray says new evidence has connected Heuermann to victims Gilbert and Vergata.
January 16, 2024: Heuermann is charged with murdering Brainard-Barnes. He pleaded not guilty.
December 17, 2024: Heuermann is charged with murdering Valerie Mack.
