Gilgo Beach serial killings suspect in police custody on Long Island

[Kamaji]

Gilgo Beach serial killings suspect in police custody on Long Island

By Craig McCarthy, Lee Brown and Amanda Woods
July 14, 2023

A suspected serial killer has been arrested over the notorious Gilgo Beach murders on Long Island, The Post can confirm.

The suspect — who has yet to be identified — is due in court in hours, according to a source close to the investigation.

He is being looked at over the so-called “Gilgo Four,” women found wrapped in burlap within days of each other from late 2010, and not the other six who were later eyed as possibly being connected, the source said.

Multiple sources first confirmed the arrest to News 12 Long Island, which said that First Avenue in Massapequa Park was “just flooded with police.”

State and Suffolk County police — both at the scene since the early hours — did not officially confirm the arrest Friday.

*  *  *

Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/07/14/gilgo-beach-lisk-serial-killings-suspect-in-police-custody-report/

[Kamaji]

Now they've named the suspect:  Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann boasted about career 11 years after alleged killings: clip

[mystery-ak]

 Gilgo Beach serial killings suspect in police custody on Long Island, ID’d as architect Rex Heuermann
By Joe Marino,
Larry Celona,
Tina Moore,
Craig McCarthy and
Lee Brown   
July 14, 2023 6:41am

A suspected serial killer has been arrested over the notorious Gilgo Beach murders in Long Island, The Post can confirm.

Rex Heuermann, 59, a married architect at a New York City firm, was arrested after being matched to DNA, sources told The Post Friday as cops swarmed his home on 1st Avenue in Massapequa Park.

The suspect is due in court later today, according to another source who did not confirm the identity.

The arrest is tied to the so-called “Gilgo Four,” women found wrapped in burlap within days of each other in late 2010, and not the other six who were later eyed as possibly being connected, the source said.


Rex Heuermann, 59, was arrested in connection to the Gilgo Beach murders in Long Island.

more
https://nypost.com/2023/07/14/gilgo-beach-lisk-serial-killings-suspect-in-police-custody-report/

[mountaineer]

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

So many boomer serial killers out there...

[mystery-ak]

Fox

Long Island Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann pleads not guilty to six counts

Rex Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the six counts of first and second degree murder filed against him.

He is charged with first and second degree murder for the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello - amounting to six counts.

The three victims were found at Gilgo Beach in December 2010.

Posted by Adam Sabes

[mystery-ak]

 Gilgo Beach serial killings suspect is architect, married dad of two busted after DNA found on pizza crust

Rex Heuermann, 59, a married architect at a New York City firm, was caught after DNA from a hair of victim Megan Waterman matched that of his, taken by investigators from a discarded pizza crust in January.



more
https://nypost.com/2023/07/14/gilgo-beach-lisk-serial-killings-suspect-in-police-custody-report/

[mystery-ak]

Some of these murders are 20yo...why did the authorities suspect Heuermann to begin with???

[PeteS in CA]

Rex Heuermann, architect and married dad of two, busted in Gilgo Beach serial killings after DNA found on pizza box

https://nypost.com/2023/07/14/gilgo-beach-lisk-serial-killings-suspect-in-police-custody-report/

A suspected serial killer has been arrested over the notorious Gilgo Beach murders in Long Island, The Post can confirm.

Rex Heuermann, 59, a married architect at a New York City firm, was caught after DNA from the hair of victim Megan Waterman matched that of his, taken by investigators from a discarded pizza crust in January.

The father-of-two — a former classmate of Hollywood actor Billy Baldwin — was arrested Thursday after cops had staked out his home on 1st Avenue in Massapequa Park, Long Island, and office in midtown Manhattan.

His arrest is tied to the so-called “Gilgo Four,” women found wrapped in burlap within days of each other in late 2010, and not the other six who were later eyed as possibly being connected, the source said.

The article includes a long list of circumstantial evidence tying Heuermann to the victims and case.

[Kamaji]

Rex Heuermann, architect and married dad of two, busted in Gilgo Beach serial killings after DNA found on pizza box

https://nypost.com/2023/07/14/gilgo-beach-lisk-serial-killings-suspect-in-police-custody-report/

The article includes a long list of circumstantial evidence tying Heuermann to the victims and case.

That's a lot of circumstantial evidence:

Ahead of his court appearance, a bail application revealed several shocking details about his crimes:

Cellphone bills linked to Heuermann revealed that he used a burner phone to meet up with three of the four victims. He was also linked to one of the cell phones on a surveillance video that showed him purchasing the device at a store in Midtown Manhattan

A burner phone allegedly used by Heuermann placed a menacing call to victim Melissa Barthelemy’s relative after her death

Heuermann’s wife was traveling out of state during the murders of Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello

Records obtained from Tinder revealed the burner phone was linked to a fictitious account for “Andrew Roberts” using an email that Heuermann also accessed from his personal cellphone

Selfies that appeared to have been taken by Heuermann were sent to solicit sex on the email account associated with his dating profile

Two of the burner cellphones were used “extensively” between 2021 and 2023 to contact sex workers and massage parlors

An email address linked to one of the burner phones was used to conduct thousands of searches related to sex workers, child pornography and sadistic, torture-related sex acts such as “girl begging for rape porn,” “pretty girl with bruised face porn” and “tied up and raped porn”

Numerous searches about the Gilgo Beach murders were also linked to the email address associated with the burner phone, including “why hasn’t the long island serial killer been caught,” “why could law enforcement not trace the calls made by the long island serial killer” and for the task force investigating him. There were also queries relating to specific victims and their relatives, as well as podcasts and documentaries relating to the case

An IP address used to book flights for Heuermann and his wife on JetBlue also accessed Gilgonews.com, a website maintained by authorities to share updates on the murder case

Heuermann’s wife’s DNA was believed to be found on three of the victims’ bodies. DNA testing on a water bottle from outside Heuermann’s home was determined to be a match to a sample of a woman’s hair found on tape used to tie up Costello and Waterman, as well as the belt used to bind victim Maureen Brainard-Barnes’ feet.

Authorities believe that heavy-set Heuermann matches the description of the “ogre”-like john seen with one of the victims before she vanished

Taken together, that would certainly justify a search warrant, and the DNA sample, together with this evidence, would justify an arrest warrant.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

He reused the burner phones? Big mistake..

[mystery-ak]

How did the victims have his wife's hairs on them?

and how did the investigators know what kind of truck he drove...was their a witness?

[Kamaji]

How did the victims have his wife's hairs on them?

and how did the investigators know what kind of truck he drove...was their a witness?

Transferred from him when he attacked them. He lived with his wife, so strands of her hair could have been on his clothes. 

[mystery-ak]

 Who were victims of Gilgo Beach serial killer?
By Snejana Farberov   
July 14, 2023 10:45am



more
https://nypost.com/2023/07/14/who-were-victims-of-gilgo-beach-serial-killer/

[Kamaji]

Rex Heuermann’s family ‘shocked,’ ‘embarrassed’ and ‘disgusted’ as FBI raids their homes

By Lee Brown
July 18, 2023

Rex Heuermann’s family is “shocked,” “embarrassed’ and “disgusted” of the “animal” he’s accused of being, the top cop in the Long Island serial killer case said — as the FBI has helped raid relatives’ homes as far as South Carolina.

The accused Gilgo Beach killer lived in Massapequa Park with his two kids and second wife, Asa Ellerup, who police said had been away from home at the time of each of the four murders he’s so far suspected of committing.

“When we initially informed them about their husband, their father, they were shocked,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison told CNN Monday.

“They were disgusted — they were embarrassed.

“So, if you ask me, I don’t believe they knew about this double life that Mr. Heuermann was living,” he said.

*  *  *

Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/07/18/rex-heuermanns-family-embarrassed-and-disgusted/

[PeteS in CA]

How police caught the Gilgo Beach serial killer

https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2023/07/17/how-police-caught-the-gilgo-beach-serial-killer-n565298

Last week police arrested 59-year-old Rex Heuermann in connection with a string of bodies which were found on a barrier island off Long Island a decade ago. At the time, we didn’t know anything about what had tipped off authorities to the possibility that Heuermann was their suspect. Since then Heuermann was charged with three murders and we’ve learned a lot more about the evidence in the case. It turns out police have been looking at him for a full year.
...
When the bodies were originally found buried along the beach, they were too degraded for DNA testing that existed at the time. But testing has improved since then and eventually hairs found on the victims were connect to Heuermann’s wife.

A single female hair had been found on Brainard-Barnes and two each on Waterman and Costello. Investigators sent them to an outside lab, which determined in July 2022 that those hairs belonged to a woman who was not any of the victims, according to court papers.

On July 21, 2022, detectives retrieved 11 bottles from a garbage can outside Heuermann’s home. Further testing at a lab specializing in mitochondrial analysis linked the hairs to Heuermann’s wife. Yet she couldn’t have been near the women because travel records showed she was out of state when Barthelemy, Waterman and Costello disappeared, according to court papers.

The lab then examined a male hair found in the burlap around Waterman’s remains. After comparing the DNA on that strand of hair to the DNA on a discarded pizza crust that investigators pulled from the garbage on Jan. 26, they had a match: It belonged to Heuermann, according to court papers.

There are more details in the article.

[Kamaji]

I believe that one of the initial pieces of evidence that caused them to consider Heuermann a person of interest is that the pimp for one of the victims reported that the victim had gotten into a black or dark-colored Chevy Avalanche just before her death, and Heuermann owns a black Avalanche that he parked on the street near his house, or in the driveway of his house.

[Kamaji]

Gilgo Beach investigators remove creepy portrait of battered woman from Rex Heuermann’s home

By Allie Griffin
July 17, 2023

Investigators removed dozens of bizarre items from the Long Island home of suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann Monday, including what appeared to be a creepy portrait of a woman with a battered face.

Heuermann was arrested Thursday for the murders of three women whose bodies were found dumped near Gilgo Beach 13 years ago. Police continue to search for clues to link him to more unsolved killings in the area.

Gloved officers were spotted by The Post at the Massapequa Park house of the suspect on Monday while removing a Playboy magazine, film negatives, a poster from the TV show “M*A*S*H,” and the macabre painting.

The disturbing artwork taken by police features a blond woman’s face with dark pupils and bruising below the eyes.

Earlier in the day and over the weekend, authorities removed a massive trove of up to 300 firearms from a locked vault in the basement of the home. Heuermann — a 59-year-old married father and New York City architect — had permits for just 92 and was known to be an avid hunter, according to CNN.

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/07/17/gilgo-beach-investigators-remove-portrait-of-battered-woman-from-rex-heuermanns-home/

[Kamaji]

Long Island cops ignored vital lead that could have led to Rex Heuermann 13 years ago

By Larry Celona and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon
July 18, 2023

Suffolk County cops ignored a key tip in the grisly Gilgo Beach murders case for over a decade — and had a general description of the suspect and a make and model of car he drove which they failed to act upon for 13 years.

It was only when a new task force went back over evidence in the case and reinterviewed a pimp that the clues pointed to Rex Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect who is now charged with three counts of murder.

The crucial tip came from the pimp for Amber Lynn Costello, one of three women allegedly killed by Heuermann in 2010.

He was interviewed by cops soon after the murders and identified the killer as a bulky “ogre” who drove a distinctive Chevrolet Avalanche when last seen with the victim.

It was only when ex-NYPD Chief Rodney Harrison took over as Suffolk County police commissioner last year and reopened the case that the dots started to get connected.

*  *  *

Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/07/18/cops-ignored-lead-on-rex-heuermann-for-13-years/

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

I saw video, the guy is freakishly big huh?

[Kamaji]

Rex Heuermann was ‘traumatized’ after arrest for Gilgo Beach murders, lawyer says

By Lee Brown
July 19, 2023

Accused Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann was “traumatized” after his bust for the depraved Gilgo Beach murders, according to his attorney.

Suffolk County criminal defense attorney Michael Brown told ABC News Tuesday that he noticed the 59-year-old father of two’s distress when he met him to enter not-guilty pleas at his arraignment Friday.

Other than that, “nothing struck me as unusual about him,” the attorney said of the 6-foot-4 suspect who has been likened to an “ogre.”

“He was articulate, he was intelligent, he was soft-spoken,” Brown said of the 59-year-old architect who had up to 300 guns stashed in his Massapequa Park home, where he allegedly exhaustively read articles about the killing spree and searched for brutal child pornography videos.

The attorney met his client again later in the county jail, he said of the suspect, who’s been kept under suicide watch.

*  *  *

Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/07/19/rex-heuermann-traumatized-by-arrest-lawyer-says/

[Kamaji]

Gilgo Beach murders suspect being investigated over ‘similar’ NJ killings of sex workers in Atlantic City: police

By Lee Brown
July 21, 2023

Suspected Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann is being investigated over a series of “similar” unsolved murders of sex workers around Atlantic City, the top cop in his case has confirmed.

Detectives had already long looked at possible ties between the Gilgo Beach murders and New Jersey’s Black Horse Pike serial killer even before the 59-year-old architect’s arrest last week, Suffolk Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison told WABC.

Although it initially suggested there was “not a connection,” the commissioner said: “We want to revisit that investigation.”

It makes it at least the fourth state where the “ogre”-looking Heuermann is being eyed in connection to unsolved crimes.

His DNA is already being used to search a database of cold cases across New York, and investigations have already been launched in South Carolina and Sin City in Nevada, both where Heuermann has property.

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/07/21/rex-heuerman-looked-at-over-similar-atlantic-city-murders/

[Kamaji]

Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann may have killed victim in soundproof room, cops using cadaver dogs to search yard

By Kevin Sheehan and
Jorge Fitz-Gibbon   
July 23, 2023

Cops have reportedly found a soundproof room in the basement of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann’s home where they believe at least one woman may have been killed — and brought in cadaver dogs, a backhoe and ground-penetrating radar to try to locate possible bodies and “trophies” in his back yard.

New York State troopers and Suffolk County police have been scouring the accused killer’s family home, yard and storage sites for the 11 days since the hulking architect was charged in the deaths of three women and publicly named a prime suspect in the fourth — all part of the infamous 13-year-old “Gilgo Four” slayings.

“This guy is a wacko,” said Robert Musto, 64, a retired Long Island Rail Road worker and longtime Massapequa Park neighbor, to The Post on Sunday, referring to the 59-year-old suspect.

“He’s got a soundproof room in his basement,” Musto said he was told by cops at the scene. “What do you think that was for?

“They’re saying there’s evidence he killed at least one of the girls down there,” the Long Island neighbor said. “The cops are going to dig all that out. Said they’re focused on the soundproof room in the basement but they’re going to look at everything.”

*  *  *

Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/07/23/chilling-new-details-in-case-of-gilgo-beach-suspect-rex-heuermann/

[berdie]

If all this turns out to be true...I swear I saw an episode of Criminal Minds just like it.

[Kamaji]

Massive walk-in vault uncovered in ‘fruitful’ search of Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann’s home

By Rthvika Suvarna, Kevin Sheehan and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon
July 24, 2023

Investigators uncovered a massive walk-in vault — but no soundproof room — during their ongoing search of suspected Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann’s Long Island property, police said Monday.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison called the 12-day search of Heuermann’s Massapequa Park property “fruitful,” saying he hoped cops will be able to wind down their work either Tuesday or later in the week.

“There have been some things that we’ve had to take into custody … That makes it fruitful,” he told reporters.

Harrison said earlier reports of a soundproof room being found in the basement were “misconstrued.”

“There’s not a soundproof room. There is a vault where he secured numerous amounts of guns,” Harrison said, referring to Heuermann.

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/07/24/cops-find-walk-in-vault-in-fruitful-search-of-gilgo-beach-suspects-long-island-home/