Amber Costello: The Text Message That Exposed Gilgo Killer Heuermann

This episode of True Crime Today examines the pivotal role Amber Costello played in solving the Gilgo Beach murders, a case that remained cold for over a decade. On September 1, 2010, Amber, a 27-year-old woman battling heroin addiction, was working as an escort when her roommate Dave Schaller staged a fake boyfriend scam to steal money from a client. The man, later identified as Rex Heuermann, responded not with anger but with a chillingly calm text: "That was not nice. So do I get credit for next time?" The next night, Amber met the same man at a prearranged location, walking toward his dark-colored Chevrolet Avalanche—exactly the vehicle described by Schaller. Her disappearance led to the eventual discovery of her body and three others along Gilgo Beach in December 2010. Years later, a re-examination of the case linked Heuermann through cell tower data, vehicle registration, and DNA evidence from a pizza crust. Amber’s case, once just another missing person report, became the critical entry point that unraveled a 17-year pattern of serial killings. Her sister Kimberly Overstreet’s public forgiveness of Heuermann added a haunting layer of grace to the tragedy. The episode underscores how a single text message, a routine scam, and a desperate woman’s final act unknowingly created the evidence trail that brought a notorious killer to justice.