Two outlets, one sentencing, and no one else showed up
Rex Heuermann, the Long Island architect convicted in the Gilgo Beach murders, is scheduled for sentencing Wednesday after a case spanning three decades. Only two right-leaning outlets are in the coverage. The most substantive addition either brought is a jailhouse letter from Keith Jesperson, the 'Happy Face' killer, speculating that Heuermann may have more victims. That's the full picture this cluster offers.
Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Rex Heuermann to Be Sentenced
2 sources · hover a dot to see coverage
What happened
Rex Heuermann, a Long Island architect, is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday, June 17, 2026, for the Gilgo Beach serial killings, a case authorities have described as spanning roughly three decades. Heuermann was arrested in 2023 after DNA evidence linked him to the murders of at least four women whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway on Long Island beginning in 2010. He has since pleaded guilty to multiple counts of murder. The sentencing is expected to close the main criminal proceeding, though investigators have indicated the case may involve additional victims. Two outlets have coverage ahead of the hearing.
Fox News went to a different serial killer for comment
Fox News sourced its pre-sentencing piece not from prosecutors, defense attorneys, or surviving family members, but from Keith Jesperson, the convicted killer known as the 'Happy Face' killer, via prison letters. Jesperson's claim: Heuermann could be 'tossed to the wolves' in prison, and may have more victims. The NY Post framed the sentencing as 'the final chapter' in one of the most notorious serial-killing cases in the New York metro area, with no comparable sourcing. Neither outlet quoted a prosecutor, a victim's family member, or a law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the case.
What one side told you that the other didn't
No left-leaning or national outlet filed anything.
The New York Times, NBC News, ABC News, CNN, and every other national outlet are absent from this coverage entirely. A sentencing in one of the most prominent serial murder cases in the northeastern United States in a generation is happening Wednesday, and the pre-sentencing record here is two right-leaning outlets. Whether that gap closes by end of day Wednesday is the only open question the coverage itself raises.
Victims' families have no voice in either piece.
Neither the NY Post nor Fox News quoted a family member of any of Heuermann's victims in their pre-sentencing coverage. The Post described the case's historical weight; Fox News quoted a different convicted killer's speculation about prison dynamics. The people most directly affected by Wednesday's proceeding are not in the record as it stands.
What to watch
If national outlets file sentencing-day coverage Wednesday, watch whether they lead with victim impact statements or with the 'additional victims' thread investigators have left open. If the additional-victims angle surfaces in court, outlets that ignored the pre-sentencing coverage will have to catch up fast.
This kind of gap — where one side reports a fact and the other doesn’t mention it — shows up in about 40% of major stories.