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Jan 16, 2024 · A slew of new evidence was released by prosecutors on Tuesday in the case of alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann, including travel records showing Heuermann's family leaving town ...
- 16 sec
- Aaron Katersky,Emily Shapiro
- Overview
- Who is Rex Heuermann?
- How did police allegedly connect Heuermann?
The suspect charged Friday in connection with a string of long-unsolved slayings of women on Long Island, New York, lived in a cozy South Shore suburb not far from the beach highway where human remains were first found more than a decade ago.
The suspect was identified in court documents as Rex Heuermann, 59, of Massapequa Park, a village in Nassau County. His arrest sent shock waves through his quiet bedroom community as neighbors described a well-dressed man who would commute to work in Manhattan as an architect, with no reason to believe he could be involved in a series of killings that have stumped investigators and drawn national attention.
If he is found guilty, "he was living a double life," said Rosemarie Kafka, 56, a former neighbor who had lived near the Heuermann family before moving last year. "You know, the regular guy who goes to work, has kids in the local school and in a good neighborhood, but he's killing people on the side."
Heuermann was arrested in midtown Manhattan on Thursday night and transported to Suffolk County. He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of three women. He is also suspected in the disappearance and death of a fourth woman, but that investigation remains ongoing, according to a bail application. A judge remanded him without bail.
During a news conference Friday afternoon, local prosecutors and police praised a multiagency task force brought together early last year for identifying Heuermann as their main suspect and ultimately using cellphone evidence and DNA taken from a pizza crust to build their case.
"Fresh eyes in this case and the resiliency of our investigators allowed us to identify Rex Heuermann," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said. "Rex Heuermann is a demon who walks among us."
Authorities blocked off Heuermann's Massapequa Park home Friday. Officials in hazmat suits could be seen entering the modest single-story house, located on a block of larger well-kept residences. Investigators were searching the property in addition to Heuermann's office in midtown Manhattan.
Some neighbors said that they had short interactions with Heuermann and his family over the years, but that they typically kept to themselves.
Heuermann stood out as a "tall, big, big guy. Always well dressed," said Patrica Maressa, 64, who has lived next door to his house for more than two decades.
"I'm still shocked that this is going on," she said, adding, "It's a very quiet neighborhood. At night, you could hear a pin drop."
Heuermann's home is also listed in connection with his business, RH Consultants & Associates. He received his architecture license in 1996, and New York state records show he does not have any enforcement actions listed.
Among his clients have been Catholic Charities, New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, American Airlines and other major tenants at John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to an online biography.
In December 2010, a Suffolk County police officer conducting a training exercise with his K-9 partner discovered a first set of human remains along Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach, according to court documents.
The remains were later identified as Melissa Barthelemy, a 24-year-old who had been reported missing in 2009 after she was last seen at her basement apartment in the Bronx.
Police would go on to find three additional sets of remains, later identified as Maureen Brainard-Barnes, a 25-year-old who went missing in 2007; Megan Waterman, a 22-year-old who went missing in 2010; and Amber Costello, a 27-year-old who also was reported missing in 2010. The women were all believed to be sex workers who advertised on online sites, according to police.
After years of an investigation that had gone cold, a joint law enforcement review jumpstarted in 2022, which included local and state police and the FBI, brought attention to a Chevrolet Avalanche registered to Heuermann. Such a vehicle had been on investigators' radar during Costello's disappearance from a witness' tip.
An investigation into Heuermann led to the discovery of cellphone billing records corresponding to cell site locations for burner phones used to arrange meetings with three of the four victims, as well as a phone used to make "taunting calls" to a sister of Barthelemy. Heuermann is also believed to have used Brainard-Barnes' and Barthelemy's cellphones after their deaths, police said.
"A review of these records, as well as Heuermann's American Express records, showed numerous instances where Heuermann was located in the same general locations as the burner cellphones used to contact victims Barthelemy, Waterman, and Costello, as well as the use of Brainard-Barnes and Barthelemy's cellphones when they were used to check voicemail and make taunting phone calls after the women disappeared," Suffolk County prosecutors said in court documents. "Significantly, investigators could find no instance where Heuermann was in a separate location from these other cellphones when such a communication event occurred."
- 3 min
- Erik Ortiz,Jonathan Dienst,Daniella Silva,Uwa Ede-Osifo
Jul 15, 2023 · They accused Mr. Heuermann, 59, of leaving a quarter-mile trail of young women’s bodies on the South Shore of Long Island in what came to be known as the Gilgo Beach Killings.
Jul 16, 2023 · Rex Heuermann left his office near the Empire State Building and strolled down a still-bustling Fifth Avenue as the sun set on a hot Thursday evening in Manhattan.
Nov 10, 2023 · Rex Heuermann is accused of killing at least three women in cases that remained unsolved for more than a decade after human remains were found on Long Island.
Jul 14, 2023 · Suffolk County, N.Y., prosecutors argued against bail for Mr. Heuermann in a 32-page document that explicitly details the investigation into the Gilgo Beach killings. The New York Times has...
Aug 1, 2023 · RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — The evidence against Rex Heuermann, the 59-year-old architect charged in the Gilgo Beach serial killings, includes 2,500 pages of documents, crime scene photographs, autopsy...
