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Thursday, June 18, 2026 ~ Volume 138 ~ Issue Number 31 ~ $1.00
Heuermann Receives 3 Life Sentences in Gilgo Beach Case By Matt Meduri The historic and revolting Gilgo Beach serial killing case that has gripped Long Island for over three decades has reached its denouement - at least for now. Rex Heuermann, 62, of Massapequa Park, was sentenced on Wednesday morning to three life sentences plus 100 years without the possibility of parole. He pleaded guilty to three counts of First Degree Murder and four counts of Second Degree Murder. The case started in July 2023, when District Attorney Ray Tierney (R) announced a suspect had been apprehended in the cold case, one in which former Police Chief James Burke and other Suffolk officials had prevented FBI cooperation in the mid-2010s. Avant garde DNA technology linked Heuermann’s DNA left on the bodies found on Gilgo Beach to discarded pizza crusts, and investigators had been tracking cell phone movements for years.
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Rex Heuermann in Riverhead on Wednesday morning during his sentencing (Credit - James Carbone, Newsday)
Smithtown Unveils 250 Plans, Display in Kings Park By Matt Meduri The 250th anniversary of the independence of the U.S. - otherwise known as the semiquincentennial - is merely weeks away and preparations are afoot. Long Island is no stranger to its Revolutionary War history, and neither is the Town of Smithtown. Founded in 1664, Smithtown is home to rich cultural and Revolutionary history. The Arthur House, built in 1752, was occupied by Mary Woodhull Arthur, the daughter of Abraham Woodhull, one of George Washington’s spies who went by the alias “Samuel Culper.” Situated on the corner of New York Avenue and Main Street (NY-25), it appropriately sits directly across from Town Hall. The Town is now in talks with the Smithtown Central School District (CSD) to partner in restoring the house. Blydenburgh County Park was known as a fishing spot, reportedly of Daniel Webster, and the Ruth Smith Homestead, now part of the Village Green, was used as an inn during the Revolutionary War. The First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, located on the corner of NY-111 and NY-25 in Village of the Branch, saw its pastor, Rev. Joshua Hartt, fired upon by British soldiers while preaching from the pulpit during the war.
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The Town’s largest 250 Display at Building & Grounds in Kings Park (Credit - Matt Meduri)
FULL STORIES ON:
Third Annual Hangerfest at ISP Page 5
Animal Control Officer Honored Page 10
Pickleball Facility Opens in Commack Page 15