How Police Zeroed in on a Suspect in the Long Island Serial KillingsMatt Vespa
July 16, 2023
He was a polarizing figure. Rex Heuermann, 59, of Massapequa Park, NY, won no neighborly awards. Those who lived near him described the man as creepy, with reports of parents telling their children to skip his house on Halloween night. His residence has been described as ramshackle, covered with overgrown plants and other vegetation. To drop a movie reference here, it seems like it was the Klopek house regarding its appearance. It was Mr. Heuermann’s childhood home. Little did people know that an elusive serial killer who allegedly murdered at least ten women over the past 15-plus years might be living next door.
It started with one body in the dunes near a highway on Long Island in December of 2010. The skeletal remains of a woman led to more bodies being found at nearby Gilco Beach, which now seems to be New York’s version of the ‘Texas Killing Fields.’ It was a dumping ground for an unknown serial killer targeting sex workers. As the Associated Press pointed out, the search for this killer lasted over 12 years. It went through five police chiefs, 1,000 tips, and many more theories about the suspect's identity. The investigation didn’t catch a break until a new Suffolk County police commissioner, Rodney Harrison, established a new task force last year to take down the ‘Long Island Serial Killer,’ also known as the Gilgo Beach Killer.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told the AP that the break in the case revolved around a Chevrolet Avalanche that eyewitnesses saw parked outside of the home of one of the victims, Amber Costello. During their investigation, it was discovered that Mr. Heuermann owned such a vehicle and lived in Massapequa Park. That detail led to a sordid discovery of violent pornography searches, burner phones, phony email accounts, and dating site interactions that pieced together the nocturnal activities of Mr. Heuermann and how he allegedly searched for his victims.
Police discovered that Heuermann’s mobile phone location would show up near or around the area where his burner would contact his victims. In a brazen act, he used the phone of one of his victims, Melissa Barthelemy, to taunt her family after she was declared missing. Mr. Heuermann’s phone was pinged near Barthelemy’s device during these menacing calls. It was the body of Melissa Barthelemy, who was discovered in the dunes in December 2010. The remains of the three other women found nearby, dubbed the “Gilco Four,” were Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello.
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Source:
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2023/07/16/have-police-finally-captured-the-elusive-long-island-serial-killer-n2625739
