Accused Gilgo Beach Killer Could Have NJ Ties: Reports

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — The investigation into suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has now stretched into New Jersey as authorities discovered he may have ties to the Atlantic City area.

Heuermann, charged with six counts of murder in the deaths of Amber Costello, Melissa Barthelemy and Megan Waterman, may be linked to the deaths of four Atlantic City sex workers, found strangled to death in a drainage ditch behind an Egg Harbor Township motel in 2006, ABC Action News reported.

The identity of the killer of those four, known as the Eastbound Strangler, has been unknown for years. Now, authorities are exploring whether these deaths and the Gilgo Beach deaths are related.

Investigators are also interviewing incarcerated sex workers who interacted with Heuermann, according to Good Morning America.

A possible link between the two cases was studied in 2011, but investigators at the time ruled it out, according to ABC News.

Both cases involved the strangling of female sex workers, though any further details about why police may believe there to be a link were not immediately available.

And authorities are also investigating other links between Heuermann and cold cases, in Las Vegas and South Carolina. Read more: Las Vegas Police Probe Possible Ties To Accused Gilgo Killer

Since 2010, at least 11 sets of remains have been found, believed to be related to the Gilgo Beach killings. Police have searched for a serial killer ever since. At least four of the killings included strangulation, and two showed signs of blunt-force trauma. The cause of death remains inconclusive for some victims.

At a press conference last week, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said that the investigation into the Gilgo Beach killings isn't over.

"Even with this arrest, we're not done," he said. "There's more work to do in this investigation regarding the other victims, the Gilgo Beach bodies that were discovered."

He also encouraged anyone with more information to call the Gilgo Beach hotline: 1-800-220-TIPS or to submit at tip on the Gilgo News website.

With additional reporting by the Patch team in Long Island.