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SC District Attorney Ray Tierney speaking
at press conference Suffolk County Sheriff's Office
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Officers with the Gilgo Beach Task Force, a multi-agency team that doggedly pursued the case, arrested Rex Heuermann, 59, of Massapequa Park, 13 years after police started finding bodies in the heavy brush along the desolate Ocean Parkway.
“Rex Heuermann is a demon that walks among us, a predator that ruined families," said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison in announcing the arrest of the architect and father of two.
The haunting murders came to light in the wake of a search for missing escort Shannan Gilbert. A distress call from her on an early 2010 morning marked the beginning of an investigation that would eventually uncover 11 bodies with remains matched to other locations outside the Gilgo Beach area. Gilbert, not associated with the Gilgo murders, was found more than a year later mired in a tidal marsh in Oak Beach, not too far from the other bodies.
The search for Gilbert in the heavy brush dividing the parkway from the waterways to the north led to the discovery of the three victims linked to Heuermann: Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman, and Melissa Barthelemy, all believed to be sex workers. Their ages ranged from 22-27 years. A fourth victim, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, found around the same time, may also be attributable to the 6’4” architect. In 2011, Jessica Taylor's partial remains were found in the area, eight years after parts of her body were discovered in Manorville.
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Police and press staged outside
of Rex Heuermann's home Suffolk County Sheriff's Office
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Further investigations in 2011 led to the discovery of two more sets of partial remains. These belonged to a woman described as "Peaches," for a tattoo on her body, who is suspected of being the mother of the toddler found earlier, and the skull of a woman whose remains were linked to those found on Fire Island in 1996.
Heuermann’s arrest came after the task force pieced together numerous clues, including hairs from both the suspect and his wife found with some of the bodies and burner phone records indicating he had been in contact with them, according to Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney, who personally conducted his arraignment. The team had eyewitness reports of Heuermann’s black Avalanche pickup seen at Costello’s West Babylon residence and was able to secure his DNA from a pizza box he disposed of near his Manhattan office. It matched one of the hairs from the scene. Tierney also noted similarities in how the bodies were secured with belts and duct tape and disposed of in burlap.
Another feature of the case cited by investigators was calls to the victims at times when Heuermann’s wife, Asa Ellerup, and kids were out of town. They also reportedly found disturbing images on his personal computers and search histories involving torture, rape and murder. He made more than 200 internet searches seeking updates on the Gilgo Beach investigation, including how the task force was looking into cell phones related to the case, investigators revealed.
Earlier in the investigation, the FBI used cell phone tower data to identify a “Box” containing four towers where the phones of victims were pinged. The Box contained a tower in Massapequa Park and in midtown Manhattan, where a taunting call to Barthelemy’s sister had been made, according to Tierney. In one of the calls, he "admitted killing and sexually assaulting Ms. Barthelemy," the bail application filed by the DA stated. More than 300 subpoenas were filed in the case. Suffolk Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr., whose office was involved in the investigation, characterized Heuermann as "the guy next door, there was nothing unusual." He added: "This is something that was great police work through multiple agencies to really find this individual."
The alleged Gilgo Beach slayer was in tears after his arrest on three counts of murder and sobbed, “I did not do this,” his lawyer, Michael J. Brown of Central Islip, told the press. He dismissed the charges as “extremely circumstantial,” adding, "We're looking forward to fighting this case in a court of law, not the court of public opinion.” He went on, “Anybody who’s arrested and charged with three murders. Well, I should say obviously – well, he’s destroyed. He’s clearly destroyed about the charges here.” Discussing his client in a later statement, Brown said, “He is a college graduate and is a hardworking licensed architect who has his own NYC firm. He is a loving husband to his wife of over 25 years and an involved and dedicated father to his daughter and stepson. There is nothing about Mr. Heuermann that would suggest that he is involved in these incidents. And while the government has decided to focus on him despite more significant and stronger leads, we are looking forward to defending him in a court of law before a fair and impartial jury of his peers.”
Heuermann only spoke at his arraignment to confirm his name, and pleaded not guilty before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro, who cited the “extreme depravity” of the crimes in ordering him held without bail. Once in confinement, the suspect reportedly asked if the case “was in the news. ”Shortly after his incarceration, he was placed on a suicide watch.
When asked if Heuermann was surprised when placed under arrest, Tierney responded: “I would say he was.” The district attorney said his office started honing in on the suspect only six weeks into the creation of the task force. At one point, Tierney asked former district attorney Timothy Sini to stop speaking about the case after he gave a media interview a few months after leaving office. Tierney wanted to keep the multi-agency effort under wraps for fear of tipping off Heuermann, who they considered a flight risk; they arrested him when they did “for reasons of public safety,” thinking he could flee, or could strike again, the district attorney said, who also noted that he was still patronizing sex workers and using fake IDs and burner phones as the investigation closed in on him. As search warrants were executed at various locations, including storage units associated with the suspect, between 200-300 firearms were found in a vault concealed in a walled-off area of Heuermann’s basement, including pistols, revolvers, and semi-automatic rifles. “It’s concerning, regarding the guns being registered or legal or not,” Police Commissioner Harrison said, noting that Heuermann had legal permits for only 95 of the weapons. “That’s something we’re still taking a look at. Anytime somebody has that type of arsenal, we have some concerns.”
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Rex Heuermann leaving the precinct
Suffolk County Sheriff's Office
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The murders horrified Long Islanders and led to endless speculation about who committed the crimes. Suffolk Police Chief Steve Burke waved off federal assistance in the case, and former district attorney Tom Spota, who’s currently in prison on corruption convictions, could make no headway. He was charged with covering up the beating by Burke of a suspect who stole a duffle bag from his official vehicle that contained sex tapes and other pornographic items. Burke also served time for the beating and the subsequent coverup, along with Chris McPartland, Spota’s chief deputy, currently in prison.
Spota’s successor, Sini, could not break the case either. He was ousted by Tierney, who made solving the crimes a priority for his office. Tierney formed the task force, whose 35 members met secretly away from his office to not attract attention to the case, shortly after his election. He assured the families of the victims that the case would be a priority, promising them he wouldn’t be calling the media and “showing up at the beach with a giant magnifying glass.” Secrecy was paramount, he said. “We knew the person who did the murders would be looking at us.”
John Ray, attorney for the families of Jessica Taylor and Shannan Gilbert, had been a frequent critic of Suffolk’s handling of the case before the task force was assembled. “District Attorney Tierney and Commissioner Harrison made it all happen against the grain of the police and their past record,” the Miller Place attorney said. “They were a fresh set of eyes on the case and it was wise of them to bring in the FBI and the other agencies.” According to Ray, Jersey City, NJ, missing persons investigators were kept away by Spota and Burke in their search for Gilbert, as was Nassau County and New York City law enforcement in running down leads that they had.
Gilgo Task Force members include personnel from the Suffolk Police Department, New York State Police, FBI, Suffolk County Sheriff, and the DA’s office. With only four of the 11 bodies connected to a suspect so far, the team is continuing its investigations full bore. "We're coming to the end of our initial investigation of the so-called Gilgo Four," Tierney said. "We'll prosecute those cases, and while we're doing that, we're going to continue to investigate those other ones. And just like with the initial parts of our investigation, we'll allow the evidence to dictate what we do and will allow the evidence to speak for us. We're not going to engage in conjecture."
With Heuermann’s DNA now in the statewide database, police throughout New York are looking to tie him to unsolved murders, missing person cases, and other possible crimes. He has properties they are investigating in South Carolina and Las Vegas, and have not ruled out if he had an accomplice.