Gilgo Beach serial killer is expected to face fifth murder charge, according to reports

The man accused of killing four women and dumping their bodies at Gilgo Beach in New York is set to face charges for the murder of a fifth woman, according to multiple reports.

The suspect, whose name was not disclosed by The Daily Wire, is scheduled to go to trial on the new charges on Thursday, NBC New York reported, citing sources familiar with the investigation. The Suffolk District Attorney's Office confirmed the court date to the newspaper but did not name the charges, and the sources did not say which victim was involved.

The suspect's attorney, Michael Brown, declined to comment on the reports to NBC, but said his client maintains his innocence. Vess Mitev, who represents the suspect's two adult children, does not know what the district attorney will say Thursday.

“Just like the rest of us, we are waiting to hear what the district attorney has to say,” Mitev said, according to NBC. “My clients will endure it day by day, minute by minute, hour by hour as the situation changes around them.”

He added that his clients have not returned to the family home since a new police search and that they stand by their father regardless of the charges.

“Whether it is one or 100, they are accusations and they are eager [to] “The trial must play itself out. Not in the court of public opinion, but in the courtroom before a jury, before a judge,” Mitev said. “These are accusations. They are terrible accusations, horrific accusations, and they have to try every day to understand that, the fact of the accusations against their father. But they are accusations nonetheless.”

The suspect was arrested on July 13, 2023. He is accused of the murder of four young women: Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello, who were found on a beach on the south shore of Long Island, New York, in 2010. The suspect has pleaded not guilty.

Six days after his arrest, his wife filed for divorce. She and other family members will reportedly receive $1 million to appear in a documentary series with Peacock. The project will follow the family's lives as they deal with the upcoming trial and how it throws their lives into disarray.

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In investigating the Gilgo Beach serial killings, police believe the suspect committed the murders in his own home, a source told CNN.

The theory is based on the fact that the suspect's family was out of town during the murders, suggesting he may have lured the victims to his home, a source involved in the investigation told the news agency.

Four bodies were found within a few days. Barthelemy's body was found on December 11, 2010, during a police exercise involving a sniffer dog, according to a bail application obtained by The Daily Beast. Two days later, police searched the area and discovered the three other bodies.

If convicted, the defendant faces multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole.