Court Reporter

Yeah, so this week, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office announced that the latest victim is a woman named Valerie Mack, and this happened in 2000. Previously, Heuermann, who was an architectural consultant, he had been accused of six murders in the Gilgo Beach, Long Island area.

And over the years, they've found that there are other unidentified human remains that they've not linked to him until this one.

Really what it came down to was there was a hair found on Valerie Mack's left wrist that was linked to Heuermann's wife or daughter. And neither of them are suspected in this case, but that is definitely a big tie. Also, they found a planning document on Heuermann's computer, which in that document, it lists alleged dump sites.

And one of the things listed was a place called Mill Road, which is actually where Valerie Mack's remains were found.

Yeah, so he was found guilty in November of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder after the prosecution laid out the argument that he strangled Maddie and dumped her body near his parents' home. And this week at sentencing, her sister Megan gave a really powerful victim impact statement.

She focused on how it's been really difficult not just for them, but for Maddie and Adam's two children as well. Our affiliate KTTC was actually in the courtroom and captured some of the sentencing.

So he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, which is the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder in Minnesota.

So he was originally charged with first-degree murder, and... After seven days of deliberating, the jury acquitted him of that charge. They did, however, find him guilty of a lesser charge, which was second-degree murder with enhancement, and that's the use of a deadly weapon. One of our Dateline producers, Brittany Tom, she was actually on the podcast a couple times talking about this case.

She was in the courtroom when the verdict was read, and she said that there was actually a slight gasp when he was found not guilty of first-degree murder, and then when the guilty charge was read later. For second-degree murder, it was silent. According to the sketch artist, Momeni wiped away a few tears after the verdict was read.

So there's a hearing in January. It's on the 10th to set his sentencing date. And he faces anywhere from 16 years to life in prison. All right.

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you.

And I said, what? I was like, there's a mistake. This is not real. This is not right. This is not accurate. My whole world is flipped.

According to the sketch artist, Momeni wiped away a few tears after the verdict was read.

The prosecution's cross-examination of Albert Walker was relentless. Prosecutor Charles Barton portrayed Walker as a pathological liar. The lies are tumbling out, aren't they, Mr. Walker, Barton said, as quickly as you can think of them. No, Walker said, there's no lies there at all.

In a highly charged exchange this afternoon, Barton pressed right to the heart of his argument. Did you not foresee the risk that he might expose you in this country, Barton asked Walker? No, Walker said. And jeopardize your money and your liberty? No. Then Barton snapped, you took the opportunity on the boat to render him unconscious, didn't you? No, I didn't, Walker said.

Then quietly, Barton said, the plan took longer, but it was the work of a moment to consign him to the deep. Walker replied, I did not murder Ron Platt. He was a friend of mine.

Platt's former girlfriend, Elaine Boyce, could not contain her delight at the verdict.

Albert Walker's eyes were fixed on his daughter throughout her testimony, but the young woman who once masqueraded as her father's wife never even looked in his direction.

Tomorrow, Sheena Walker will take the stand once more, this time to answer questions put by her father's defence team.

Walker talked without any obvious embarrassment about the process of taking Platt's identity.