Nightline Full Broadcast — Wednesday, April 8, 2025

[0:04] This is Nightline. [0:06] Tonight, nightmare in paradise. [0:08] The verdict just in in the trial of the Hawaii doctor [0:11] charged with trying to murder his wife on a cliffside [0:14] while on a birthday hike. [0:16] In my mind, he's trying to knock me unconscious [0:18] to be able to drag me over the edge. [0:20] Now learning his fate. [0:22] Plus, confessions of a killer. [0:25] The dramatic reversal for the man [0:26] known as the Gilgo Beach serial killer, Rex Heuermann, [0:30] previously denying all charges, now pleading guilty. [0:33] Do you understand that by pleading guilty to a charge, [0:36] that is the same as if you had gone to trial [0:38] and been found guilty of that charge? [0:39] Yes, Your Honor. [0:40] Admitting to the murders of eight women. [0:42] Today, he was exposed for exactly what he is. [0:46] A sadistic, soulless, murderous monster. [0:50] To Maureen, the promise I made to you so long ago is simple. [0:54] Sorry. [0:57] I would never stop searching for justice for you. [0:59] Why he's now agreed to cooperate with the FBI. [1:02] Plus, we're back inside the world of body flight, [1:06] competitive indoor skydiving. [1:08] Where athletes perform feats of aerial gymnastics [1:12] at air speeds of up to 160 miles an hour. [1:16] Find out whether the rookie 13-year-old with big dreams [1:19] won at the Nationals. [1:22] And the connection that caught these two style icons [1:25] by surprise. [1:26] From ABC News headquarters in New York, [1:31] this is Night Live. [1:34] Thanks for joining us. [1:35] The stunning reversal in the Gilgo Beach murder trial. [1:39] It was a mystery that haunted residents [1:40] of Long Island, New York for decades. [1:43] Now, Rex Heuerman, the man who prosecutors say [1:46] went on a 17-year killing spree, [1:48] leaving at least eight women dead, [1:50] admitting in a hushed courtroom what he did. [1:53] Here's ABC's chief investigative correspondent, [1:55] Aaron Kaczorski. [1:57] After discussions with your lawyer, [1:59] you feel it's in your best interest [2:00] to plead guilty rather than go to trial. [2:02] Yes, Your Honor. [2:03] A stunning admission in a decades-long saga. [2:06] Notorious serial killer Rex Heuerman stood in court, [2:09] often bearing a small smile, [2:11] pleading guilty over and over, [2:13] seven times for the murders of seven women [2:15] and confessing to an aide. [2:18] Do you understand that by pleading guilty to a charge, [2:20] that is the same as you've gone to trial [2:22] and been found guilty of that charge? [2:24] Yes, Your Honor. [2:24] When the judge is asking questions, [2:26] did you do this? [2:27] Did you kill these women in the same manner [2:29] as you did this previous woman? [2:31] You could hear some of the victim's family [2:33] crying quietly, wiping their tears away. [2:37] And one thing that was noted [2:38] was that Rex Heuerman never turned to them. [2:41] Several family members present [2:42] to ensure their loved ones aren't forgotten, [2:44] like Melissa Kahn, [2:46] whose sister Maureen Brainerd-Barnes [2:47] was killed in 2007. [2:49] To Maureen, the promise I made to you [2:52] so long ago was simple. [2:54] Sorry. [2:56] I would never stop searching for justice for you. [2:59] The 62-year-old's ex-wife, Azza, [3:01] and daughter, Victoria, [3:02] offered condolences to the victims. [3:04] Their loss is immeasurable. [3:07] I ask that you give some privacy to my family [3:14] as they navigate through this very difficult time. [3:18] Heuerman's killing spree spanned from 1993 to 2010, [3:23] beginning with Sondra Castilla, [3:24] Valerie Mack in 2000, [3:26] Jessica Taylor in 2003, [3:29] Maureen Brainerd-Barnes in 2007, [3:31] Melissa Bartholome in 2009, [3:33] Megan Waterman in 2010, [3:35] and Amber Costello in 2010. [3:37] In court, he admitted to strangling all of them [3:39] and dismembering many of them, [3:41] including an eighth victim, [3:43] 34-year-old Karen Vergata. [3:44] We know that in 96, [3:46] Karen Vergata went missing, [3:47] and that in April of 96, [3:49] it was just her legs that were found on Fire Island, [3:52] an island in Long Island, New York. [3:54] And it wasn't until 15 years later [3:56] that her skull was found some 20 miles away. [4:00] Gilgo Beach on the south shore of Long Island [4:06] had once been synonymous with summer [4:08] until police started finding body after body [4:11] beginning in late 2010. [4:12] Could four murders on Long Island [4:16] be the work of a serial killer? [4:18] We want to bring to justice this animal [4:20] that has obviously taken the lives [4:22] of a number of people. [4:25] At least 11 bodies, [4:26] most of them women, [4:27] many of them dismembered. [4:28] Their remains strewn across a half-mile stretch [4:30] of Gilgo Beach [4:31] and in woods beyond farther east. [4:35] Rex, did you do it? [4:36] Hureman now taking responsibility [4:38] for most of those monstrous crimes. [4:41] An architect, husband, and father by day, [4:44] and a killer by night. [4:47] Rex! [4:47] Hello! [4:48] How are you doing? [4:49] Good to see you. [4:49] This is the seemingly mild-mannered father of two [4:52] profiled in an online video [4:54] about New York real estate. [4:55] Can you spy him? [4:57] It's around that time investigators [4:58] formed a new task force [5:00] and began to suspect he could be a killer, [5:02] saying they zeroed in on him [5:04] from his car and cell phone data [5:06] and then DNA. [5:08] Hureman was arrested in 2023 [5:09] by his Fifth Avenue office in Manhattan. [5:12] Plainclothes officers quickly surrounding him. [5:15] Rex Hureman is big. [5:17] Not just kind of big, [5:19] but some of his victims [5:20] have described it as an ogre. [5:22] The district attorney in Suffolk County, [5:24] Ray Tierney, is speaking with me today. [5:26] Part of the plea arrangement with him [5:27] was that he must cooperate [5:29] with the FBI's behavioral analysis unit. [5:32] What do you think they're going to find out [5:34] when they study the mind of this serial killer? [5:37] They're going to hopefully gain insight [5:38] into him, his motivations, [5:41] you know, what created this, [5:43] this, you know, need or desire in him. [5:46] And hopefully we'll gain insight, [5:49] you know, for cases going forward. [5:51] He agreed to serve [5:52] three consecutive life sentences. [5:54] Rex Hureman will be sentenced on June 17th. [5:56] Well, he'll have an opportunity [5:57] to speak not only to the court, [5:59] but the victims in this case. [6:04] Our thanks to Aaron. [6:05] We're going to turn now to the verdict [6:06] in the trial of the brutal [6:08] alleged murder attempt in Paradise. [6:10] A doctor charged with trying to kill his wife [6:13] in a bloody cliffside attack in Hawaii. [6:15] He claimed he was acting in self-defense. [6:19] Today, the jury made their decision. [6:22] The jury in this case [6:23] finds the defendant guilty of... [6:24] After deliberating for more than eight hours, [6:27] a jury found Dr. Gerhard Koenig guilty [6:29] of a lesser charge of attempted manslaughter [6:31] for attacking his wife with a rock [6:34] and attempting to push her off a cliff, [6:36] leaving her badly injured. [6:37] He was spared the more serious charge [6:39] of attempted murder. [6:41] Koenig burying his face in his hands [6:43] as he heard the verdict. [6:45] Thank you very much. [6:46] This case of he said, she said [6:48] ultimately came down to husband versus wife. [6:51] A chilling story from Hawaii. [6:53] A prominent doctor now charged [6:54] with the attempted murder of his wife. [6:56] 46-year-old anesthesiologist Gerhard Koenig [6:59] is in custody this morning. [7:02] Gerhard Koenig and his wife Ariel [7:04] had set off on a hike back in March 2025 [7:06] on Oahu, Hawaii, to celebrate her 36th birthday. [7:11] According to the prosecution, [7:13] this hike was all a ruse to get Ariel alone [7:17] for what they describe as attempted murder. [7:21] Gerhard was charged with second-degree attempted murder, [7:24] the trial constantly making headlines, [7:27] including last week [7:29] when Gerhard testified in his own defense. [7:31] Did you plan this trip on Oahu [7:34] to try and kill your wife? [7:35] No. [7:37] Were you trying to do something nice for her birthday? [7:39] Yes. [7:40] Gerhard said he thought their relationship [7:41] was in a better place [7:43] after learning that Ariel had been communicating [7:45] with a colleague on WhatsApp, [7:47] something Ariel called an emotional affair. [7:50] You mentioned being devastated. [7:52] I mean, prior to this, did you have any, [7:55] you know, aside from we talked about the red flags, [7:57] but marriage-wise, I mean, everything seemed okay? [7:59] Everything seemed fabulous. [8:00] We, yeah, we were very happy together. [8:05] There were no red flags in terms of the marriage itself. [8:11] In his testimony, Gerhard claims a fight broke out, [8:13] and Ariel was the one who shoved him [8:15] as they were taking a selfie by the cliff. [8:18] Right after the selfie, [8:19] I just remember kind of staying at the edge there, [8:25] and then I felt like a shove, [8:31] and I was almost pushed over the edge. [8:34] What did you do right after that? [8:35] I barely caught myself and turned around [8:39] and looked at her and was like, [8:41] what the f*** was that? [8:42] Gerhard claimed Ariel attacked him. [8:45] Why did you hate her? [8:46] Why did you react that way? [8:49] Just on instinct to defend myself. [8:52] He just starts hitting my face and my head with a rock. [8:56] That's a direct contradiction to what Ariel Koenig [8:59] told the court about what happened that fateful day. [9:02] He grabbed me really forcefully by my upper arms, [9:07] and he said, I'm so f***ing sick of this s***. [9:11] Get back over there. [9:12] And he starts pushing me back towards the cliff. [9:15] I'm saying, like, you can't do this. [9:17] Everyone knows we're on a hike. [9:19] They'll know this wasn't an accident, [9:20] and our kids will be orphans. [9:22] You'll go to jail, and I'll be dead. [9:24] Like, you have to stop. [9:25] She says Gerhard then jumped on top of her, [9:28] grabbed a rock, [9:30] and she says that he was bashing her head and her face [9:33] with this rock at least ten times. [9:36] And she's calling for help. [9:39] She's screaming. [9:40] Prosecutors showed jurors the rock he allegedly used. [9:44] The violence, prosecutors say, only stopped [9:46] because two other hikers suddenly came upon the bloody scene. [9:50] She said, help me, he's trying to kill me. [9:52] Police body camera footage shown in court [9:55] revealing the aftermath of the gruesome incident. [9:57] In my mind, he's trying to knock me unconscious [9:59] to get to be able to drag me over there. [10:02] So I just was screaming then as much as I could. [10:06] Last week, in a bombshell moment for the prosecution, [10:09] Gerhard's 19-year-old son, Emil, [10:11] testified that his father called him on FaceTime [10:14] shortly after the incident, [10:16] saying he had tried to kill Ariel. [10:17] He would not be making it back to Maui [10:19] and to take good care of the younger kids [10:23] and that he had that very... [10:27] My stepmom had been cheating on him [10:28] and that he tried to kill him. [10:31] During that call, the next man that he said [10:33] was to jump off the cliff. [10:35] Koenig faces up to 20 years in prison [10:38] and is scheduled to be sentenced later this summer. [10:41] We're going to turn overseas now [10:43] to the latest in the war with Iran, [10:46] pausing for a two-week ceasefire [10:48] announced Tuesday by President Trump. [10:50] The Strait of Hormuz shipping passage, [10:52] vital to the global supply chain, [10:54] is at the center of the agreement. [10:56] So hundreds of ships wait to pass through. [10:59] The president telling ABC's Jonathan Karl [11:01] he's considering what he called [11:03] a joint venture with Iran [11:04] to charge a toll for passage through the waterway. [11:09] Be sure to stay with Nightline and ABC News [11:11] for continuing coverage of the war with Iran. [11:14] And when we come back inside the world [11:16] of competitive indoor skydiving, [11:19] what happens to a 13-year-old [11:22] at her first national championship [11:23] after the break? [11:25] Welcome back. [11:34] If you were with us last night, [11:35] you joined us on our look into body flight, [11:38] the acrobatic adrenaline-charged sport [11:40] of competitive indoor skydiving. [11:43] Now we catch back up with the 13-year-old [11:46] we followed into her first national competition. [11:49] Did she win? [11:50] In our new collaboration with our sister network, [11:52] here's ESPN's Alyssa Roenick. [11:55] I don't think I've ever met a person [12:00] that hasn't dreamt about flying. [12:03] The feeling of freedom. [12:04] Kind of like the Matrix. [12:05] You're riding a rollercoaster, [12:08] but you get to design the ride [12:09] on where you want to go. [12:10] I've been training the past year [12:12] for like 30 seconds. [12:15] If I mess up, I'm screwed. [12:22] Here at the U.S. Body Flight Indoor Nationals [12:24] in Colorado Springs, [12:26] more than 100 athletes from all across the country [12:29] are competing in speed, freestyle, and formation. [12:32] Men can compete against women [12:33] without any age restriction. [12:35] If you hit all the qualifications, you're in. [12:38] She got it. She's in first. [12:40] We've been following 13-year-old Sienna Cece Donahue [12:44] from Brooklyn as she makes her debut [12:46] on a national stage. [12:47] She finished the preliminary round on top [12:49] with a ticket to day two. [12:51] She's first place by six seconds. [12:53] In this event where the edge is measured in fractions, [12:55] that's a cushion. [12:56] We're in the first place. [12:58] For Cece's dad, J.D., [13:02] he's relieved she performed so well. [13:05] I must feel good going into tomorrow. [13:06] Feels great. [13:07] Qualifying is just the beginning. [13:11] Kira Poe is all too familiar [13:13] with the ups and downs of competition. [13:16] At just eight years old, [13:17] she stepped into a wind tunnel for the first time. [13:20] What do you remember feeling [13:22] in that first moment of flight? [13:24] I just remember not knowing [13:26] what the hell was going on. [13:28] So when they brought me in [13:29] and the instructor finally let me go [13:31] and I felt like the wind coming on my face [13:33] as if I was actually floating, [13:34] it was breathtaking, [13:35] and it was something I knew [13:36] like I want to go again [13:38] and again and again. [13:39] Now 23, [13:41] she has become one of the most dominant flyers [13:44] in the world [13:44] and a Red Bull athlete. [13:46] She even has moves named after her. [13:48] Kira competes not only [13:50] in the solo competitions, [13:51] but as part of a team [13:52] flying in the tunnel together. [13:54] So it's kind of like four people [13:55] doing a synchronized routine [13:57] for a minute and a half [13:58] and we go like really fast. [14:00] So a little small like miss up [14:01] could be quite detrimental. [14:03] So you had an injury recently. [14:05] What happened in the tunnel? [14:07] I did a simple move [14:09] and I hit the wall with my ankle. [14:11] I shattered and dislocated my entire ankle. [14:13] I was on the wheelchair [14:14] for around three months [14:16] and it was definitely [14:17] the hardest injury that I had in my career. [14:19] Taking her out of training for six months. [14:22] What did it feel like the first time [14:23] you got back into the tunnel? [14:25] I mean, it's kind of like relearning [14:27] how to walk for the second time. [14:29] I feel way more comfortable actually floating [14:31] than kind of like walking [14:32] and like running on the ground. [14:34] Taking the silver medal [14:36] at this year's World Cup [14:38] for her freestyle performance [14:39] and winning gold [14:40] with her dynamic four-way team. [14:45] Back in Colorado Springs. [14:47] I'm nervous, but I'm also excited. [14:49] Cool. [14:50] Time for the head-to-head battle. [14:52] And it's going to be fun beating him. [14:54] It's Cece versus Nick Dukas [14:56] in the solo speed competition. [14:57] The final consists of two speed rounds. [15:12] Fastest time wins, [15:13] but penalties are also a big factor. [15:15] In round one, Cece finishes faster [15:18] but with one penalty. [15:20] Three seconds is added on to her score, [15:22] putting Nick ahead for now. [15:24] Yeah! [15:27] It becomes a waiting game. [15:33] The two of them visualizing [15:35] their routines over and over [15:36] while the crowd waits for their last run. [15:41] This is it. [15:42] Three penalties for Cece, [15:58] adding precious seconds to her final time. [16:00] Finally, Nick. [16:07] Cece was faster, [16:22] but with those penalties, [16:24] Nick edged her out. [16:29] No, I messed up. [16:36] I don't know. [16:37] Would have loved first, [16:38] but second is dope. [16:40] In a sport built on defying gravity, [16:42] those mistakes bring you back to Earth quickly. [16:45] Congrats. [16:46] Hey, Tom. [16:48] Cece may not be going home with gold this year, [16:56] but it's easy to imagine [16:58] where the wind will take her next. [17:01] We'll keep rooting for Cece. [17:03] Our thanks to Alyssa. [17:04] When we come back, [17:05] Anna Wintour and Meryl Streep, [17:07] the connection that caught them by surprise. [17:09] Cool shoes. [17:10] Hmm. [17:11] Nice boots. [17:20] And finally, [17:21] gird your loins for the new cover of Vogue. [17:24] It's tonight's nightlight. [17:26] Three years after the Devil Wears Prada's [17:29] groundbreaking screen debut, [17:32] Meryl Streep and Anna Wintour, [17:34] who recently discovered through Ancentstreet.com [17:37] they're actually distant cousins, [17:39] striking a playful pose on Vogue's May cover. [17:42] Don't I know you're from somewhere? [17:46] You do look familiar. [17:48] The power players promoting the highly anticipated sequel. [17:52] Can't help but feel we have met before. [17:58] Maybe you've seen my work. [18:00] Maybe. [18:01] Anna Wintour telling Vogue, [18:03] having Meryl Streep portray her on screen [18:05] is an honor and the most extraordinary gift. [18:09] The Devil Wears Prada 2 opens May 1st. [18:12] Get your popcorn ready. [18:15] That's Nightline. [18:15] You can watch all of our full episodes [18:17] on Disney Plus and Hulu. [18:18] We'll see you right back here tomorrow, same time. [18:20] Thanks for staying up with us. [18:22] Good night, America.