Acclaimed director Liz Garbus, known for her 2020 Netflix film Lost Girls, revisits the infamous Long Island serial killer case in her latest documentary series, Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer. The three-part docuseries, set to premiere on Netflix on March 31, delves into a flawed criminal justice system and the victims’ families’ long struggle for answers.
Garbus’ earlier film, Lost Girls, starred Amy Ryan as a mother searching for her missing daughter, leading to the discovery of four murdered women in a remote wooded area. Her new project, Gone Girls, expands on that tragic case, focusing on a deeply troubled police investigation that left the families of missing women—many of whom were sex workers—without justice for years.
“There were red flags, one after the other, as to what was not looked into by the police,” one commentator states in the documentary’s trailer. The case, which remained unsolved for over a decade, took a dramatic turn in 2023 when Suffolk County police arrested Rex Heuermann, a suspect in the Gilgo Beach serial killings. Heuermann, accused of murdering at least seven women, has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial, with authorities continuing to investigate potential additional victims.
Garbus, who directs and executive produces the series, explains her motivation for returning to the case. “Lost Girls really told that story. We revisit the same case in Gone Girls. Why? Because thanks to a new regime in Suffolk County, we now have the answers the families were looking for over a decade,” she said in a Netflix Q&A. “We got to explore what was going on in the police department and uncover a corruption scandal that made it clear why so little was being done for these women. I think it’s a really powerful companion piece to the scripted film.”
Produced by Story Syndicate, Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer also features executive producers Dan Cogan, Anne Carey, Jon Bardin, Mala Chapple, Elizabeth Wolfe, and Kate Barry, with Joshua Levine serving as producer.
The documentary aims to shed new light on the failures of law enforcement and the perseverance of victims’ families in their relentless fight for justice.
