A former classmate of Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann says the alleged serial killer was very quiet in high school. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office released charging documents on Friday confirming 59-year-old Mr Heuermann, of Massapequa, as the suspected serial killer who targeted women working as sex workers and dumped their bodies along remote Long Island beaches. Mr Heuermann appeared in court in handcuffs and wearing a polo shirt and khaki pants. He pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and three of second-degree murder over the deaths of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello and was held without bail. Maureen Holpit, 59, who attended Berner High School in Massapequa with Mr Heuermann, told The Independent that Mr Heuermann was once a shy teen who would often leave “love notes” in her locker. Ms Holpit said her exchanges with the now suspected serial killer were always pleasant and polite. “I was always nice and friendly to him, you know. Seemed like he kind of got picked on and people would maybe portray him as a little nerdy. He was very quiet, mild-mannered. So I was nice and would say, ‘Hey, Rex, how are you?,’” Ms Holpit, who now lives in Florida, tells The Independent. “I was getting these notes in my locker. As I’m remembering, there were multiple little love notes but they were not signed,” she added. “Then, one day I did see him put it in my locker and so I knew they were from him. I may have said to him that I had a boyfriend or I just liked him as a friend.” Mr Heuermann, 59, was taken into custody outside his Midtown Manhattan office at around 8.30pm on Thursday night in connection with the unsolved murders, sources told News 12 Long Island. The architect and married father-of-two works in Manhattan – where some of the Gilgo Beach victims were last seen alive – as the president of architecture firm RH Consultants & Associates. According to the company website, he founded the company in 1994. It has since worked with the likes of Catholic Charities, NYC-DEP Sewerage Treatment and American Airlines and other major tenants at the JFK International Airport. Mr Heuermann is also the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who is believed to be one of the “Gilgo Four.” Prosecutors noted in the application that records for the burner phones used to contact Brainard-Barnes were not obtained at the time she went missing and no longer exist. Her body and Barthelemy, Waterman and Castello’s were found within one-quarter mile of each other, similarly positioned and bound in a similar fashion by either belts or tape. The unsolved murders sent fear through the shoreline community of Gilgo Beach but for more than a decade, few developments were made in the case. Last year, the Suffolk County Police Department, New York State Police, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI revamped the probe into the killings that ultimately led to Mr Heuermann’s bombshell arrest outside his Midtown office on Thursday. A bail application released by the Suffolk County District Attorney revealed that Mr Heuermann was linked to the serial killings through cellphone evidence and surveillance. Mr Heuermann was first linked to the cold case in March 2022 after investigators discovered that a Chevrolet Avalanche registered to him was possibly the one spotted by a witness in Costello’s disappearance. As law enforcement closed in on him, they served more than 300 subpoenas and search warrants that uncovered cellphone records for burner phones used to arrange meetings with three of the “Gilgo Four” victims before they went missing. Further analysis also allegedly linked Mr Heuermann to taunting calls made to family members of the victims, according to investigators. The calls were made from the Midtown Manhattan area, where the offices of Mr Heuerman’s architecture business are located. Among the evidence linking Mr Heuermann to the murders was a hair found on burlap material used to wrap Waterman’s corpse, according to court documents. DNA analysis had not been possible in the early stages of the investigation, but new technology allowed testing in July 2020. Records also show that several online accounts under fictitious names linked to Mr Heuermann were used for illegal activities. Mr Heuermann allegedly used those accounts and burner phones to contact women for prostitution services, as well as making chilling online searches. The searches reportedly included sadistic, torture-related pornography, child pornography and disturbing content. Mr Heuermann is also accused of searching “why could law enforcement not trace the calls made by the long island serial killer,” “why hasn’t the long island serial killer been caught” and “new phone technology may be key to break in case.” Read More Gilgo Beach murders - live: Rex Heuermann sobs in court hearing over Long Island serial killing Rex Heuermann cries ‘I didn’t do this’ as he appears in court on Gilgo Beach murder charges Rex Heuermann charged with three Gilgo Beach murders as burner phones and truck tie him to serial killings

Ukraine has fired at least 19 “lethal” drones over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula, and three more over other bordering regions of Russia, the Russian defence ministry said on Thursday. The Russian anti-aircraft units intercepted and destroyed over a dozen drones in the region, the ministry said on its Telegram channel. “In the night from 20 to 21 September, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to commit a terrorist attack with lethal drones on sites in the Russian Federation was intercepted,” the ministry said. Russian and Crimea-related Telegram channels reported loud explosions overnight. “In Sevastopol, in the area of ​​​​Kazachya and Kamyshovaya bays, it has been very loud for the last hour,” read a post on Telegram channel Crimean Wind, adding that the explosions set off car alarms. “The Ukrainian Armed Forces are massively trying to attack Crimea using drones. According to military officials, at least seven drones have been shot down in just the last 20 minutes. Residents of Evpatoria, Dzhankoy, Balaklava, Sevastopol, Saki, Novofedorovka and other cities report the sounds of air defence,” said Baza, a prominent Telegram account related to Russia’s security services. It added that the locals have termed the overnight attack as the “largest” drone strike of all time. Three drones were downed over Kursk, Belgorod and Orlov in central and southern Russia. Belgorod, just 40km (25 miles) from Ukraine’s war frontline, has been under continued air assault every day this month. The illegally annexed Crimea is also now heavily targeted in the continuing warfare, with sensitive military infrastructure and sites in the region on Kyiv’s radar. The ministry did not mention if there are any immediate casualties or damage. While Ukraine rarely takes responsibility for these attacks on Russia and Russian-controlled territories, it has recounted the strikes with a sense of achievement as it maintains that targeting these regions aids its military counteroffensive. On Wednesday, Ukraine’s defence ministry made a rare triumphant video and confirmed its forces struck a Russian Black Sea fleet command post near Sevastopol in Crimea, a week after the major naval port was set ablaze in a cruise missile attack. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Zelensky says UN ‘incapable’ of stopping Putin’s ‘criminal aggression’ Two-thirds say nuclear weapons make UK safer as support rises to Cold War levels South Korean leader warns Russia against weapons collaboration with the North UN incapable of stopping aggressors like Putin invading other countries, says Zelensky Zelensky tells UN to not make deals with ‘evil’ Russia: ‘Ask Prigozhin whether Putin can be trusted’

Erik ten Hag expects Marcus Rashford to be ready to face Chelsea on Thursday night but admitted he is not sure whether Manchester United’s top scorer is fully fit. Rashford has missed United’s last two fixtures, first with a leg injury and then through illness, but has returned to training this week. Asked if the 29-goal forward was ready to play, Ten Hag said: “It looks like (it). Yesterday, he returned to training, he looks quite fit but we have to see today what is the outcome of the training, how did we recover and then we will make our choices.” Rashford’s absence against Wolves and Bournemouth – both games United won without him – once again brought into focus United’s lack of depth in the forward positions. Anthony Martial was handed a rare start on the south coast on Sunday, but headed straight down the tunnel when he was withdrawn after an hour before later returning to the bench. Martial’s reaction led to fresh speculation over his United future. The 27-year-old, who finished last season on loan at Sevilla, has scored eight times in 27 appearances for United this season, but has struggled at times with injuries. “If you are not available, you can’t score,” Ten Hag said. “When he was available we played better, the team is winning games, he’s also scoring goals but he has to be available.” And Ten Hag also batted away a question about speculation linking United with Paris St Germain’s Brazil forward Neymar by offering his stock answer on transfer rumours, saying: “When we have news, we will tell you.” United will secure a top-four place and a return to the Champions League for next season if they take at least a point against Frank Lampard’s side. “It’s clear, we want to win every game,” the Dutchman said. “That is what we do all season so tomorrow we want to do the same, we want to win the game, play dominant football and get the job done… “First, we have to win the game tomorrow and get the job done. Then, it’s about judgement from others if it’s a good, bad or normal performance. “We are in a project, we want to go back and win trophies, we win one trophy but we want more trophies, compete with the best, we are still in a journey but we think we are in the right direction but it can always be better. Because good is not good enough.” We are still in a journey but we think we are in the right direction but it can always be better. Because good is not good enough Erik ten Hag With the League Cup trophy already in the cabinet, booking a return to Europe’s premier competition would be another significant marker for Ten Hag in his first season at Old Trafford. “If we want to compete with the best, then you have to be in the Champions League,” he said. “We want to compete with the best and be in the Champions League. In the Premier League, you have to be one of the first four, that’s not easy, many are competing for it, many think they should be in and we are one of them.”

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The Department of Justice is likely to attempt to have former President Donald Trump incarcerated if he’s convicted following the indictment laying out 37 charges against him in relation to his handling of classified national defence information. National security lawyer and George Washington University law professor Kel McClanahan said that the department will probably “want to go for incarceration” in the case of Mr Trump, according to Insider. Mr McClanahan said that the evidence in the indictment that was unsealed on Friday afternoon is intended to show that Mr Trump “is a kingpin who knowingly broke the law, endangered national security, endangered nuclear weapon security, [and] endangered other countries’ national security”. The charges include 31 counts of “willful retention” of documents under the Espionage Act. The consensus among most legal experts commenting on the indictment appears to be that Mr Trump is in serious legal jeopardy. If Mr Trump is convicted, he could be sentenced to decades in prison. A former assistant US attorney in the Southern District of New York, Sarah Krissoff, told Insider that “to the extent that there’s a conviction here, the Department of Justice is going to want to be seeking a real sentence” because of the “nature of the conduct, how long it lasted, his involvement, the involvement of other people, working allegedly at Trump’s direction”. She noted that if Mr Trump is convicted, the sentence would depend on the judge, which seems likely to be Trump-appointee Aileen Cannon in the District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Mr McClanahan noted the novelty of possibly having to find a proper way to put a former president behind bars. He questioned how the authorities would go about imprisoning someone “who has a Secret Service detail and who has national security secrets bouncing around his brain, such that if someone holds a shiv to his neck, he’ll reveal the location of our missile bases”. He added that Mr Trump might become a “foreign intelligence gold mine for most countries on earth” if he’s imprisoned. Mr McClanahan sees it as more likely that if Mr Trump is convicted, he would be sentenced to house arrest with an ankle monitor. But Ms Krissoff told the outlet that “Trump can share that information that is in his head whether he is incarcerated or not incarcerated. So I’m not particularly concerned that, as a citizen, the incarceration will trigger the sharing of information that wouldn’t be shared otherwise”. Fox News legal commentator Jonathan Turley didn’t hold back after the indictment was unsealed. Mr Trump showed classified documents to others twice in 2021, the legal filing states. Mr Turley, the Shapiro Chair of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, said on Fox News on Friday afternoon that “it is an extremely damning indictment”. “There are indictments that are sometimes called narrative or speaking indictments. These are indictments that are really meant to make a point as to the depth of the evidence, there are some indictments that are just bare bones,” he added. This is not one of those indictments, Mr Turley said. “The Special Counsel knew that there would be a lot of people who were going to allege that the Department of Justice was acting in a biased or politically motivated way. This is clearly an indictment that was drafted to answer those questions. It’s overwhelming in detail,” he continued. “The Trump team should not fool itself. These are hits below the waterline. These are witnesses who apparently testified under oath [and] gave statements to federal investigators, both of which can be criminally charged, if they’re false.” “Those witnesses are directly quoting the president in encouraging others not to look for documents or allegedly to conceal them. It’s damaging,” Mr Turley said. “This is not an indictment that you can dismiss. There are a lot of people who are testifying under oath, and they’re saying highly incriminating things,” the attorney added. Speaking about the images from Mar-a-Lago of the boxes of documents found in a ballroom and a bathroom, in addition to other less-than-ideal places, Mr Turley said, “It’s really breathtaking. Obviously, this is mishandling. Putting the classified documents into ballrooms and bathrooms borders on the bizarre. And these are the types of pictures that hit you below the waterline in a trial. “It’s hard to show a picture of these boxes surrounding a toilet and saying ‘we really acted responsibly,’” he added, going on to note that “the government is bringing dozens of counts – they only have to land one of those punches”. “Keep in mind that every one of these counts is coming with a substantial potential sentence,” Mr Turley said. The lawyer said that the Trump legal team has “to run the table, they have to take out every single count, or you’ve got a 76-year-old man looking at a potentially terminal sentence”. Read More Trump news – latest: Trump ‘plotted to hide documents from FBI after showing military docs to visitors’ Trump kept classified documents from seven agencies including CIA, DoD, and NSA Jonathan Turley tells Fox News the Trump indictment is ‘extremely damning’ and a ‘hit below the waterline’

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