From 2010 to 2011, the remains of 11 people were discovered near Gilgo Beach in Long Island’s remote South Shore. The grisly discoveries sent waves of terror and grief through the community, and for more than a decade, the murders went unsolved. Then, in July 2023, there was a break in the case — and for the first time in 13 years, there was a clear suspect of who may have been responsible.

In the untitled three-part documentary series from Story Syndicate and director Liz Garbus (Harry and Meghan, Take Care of Maya, Unknown), the conclusion to the multi-decade quest for justice unfolds in real time. The series will tell the stories of the victims’ lives via exclusive interviews with their families, and will review how police were finally able to identify Rex Heuermann, a prolific NYC architect living in Nassau County, as a suspect. In July 2023, Heuermann was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder in the killings of Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman, and Melissa Barthelemy. On January 17, 2024, a fourth charge was added for the second-degree murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. 

“With the arrest of suspect Rex Heuermann on July 13 of this year, a new chapter began in the decades-old investigation of the missing and murdered women found in Gilgo Beach and beyond,” director Liz Garbus told Netflix. “And yet, just as some questions start being answered, new ones emerge.”

The two-time Academy Award nominee and Emmy-award winning Garbus directed the 2020 narrative film Lost Girls, which shed light on the stories of the missing Gilgo Beach women before their alleged killer was arrested. For the documentary series, Garbus is joined by Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin, and Mala Chapple of Story Syndicate; Anne Carey (Lost Girls, Dead Ringers, Can You Ever Forgive Me?) of Archer Gray, and producers Elizabeth Wolff and Kate Barry. 

Release date for the series has not yet been announced.