Gilgo Beach murders: How authorities identified the suspect
On Friday, police in New York arrested Rex Hauermann in connection with a string of unsolved murders that took place on Long Island in 2010 and 2011. Yahoo News explains the evidence that led law enforcement to the suspect now charged with three of the 11 so-called Gilgo Beach murders.
Video Transcript
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- You won't believe how officials caught our suspect in the case of a Long Island serial killer. Back in 2010, the bodies of four former escorts were found strangled and wrapped in burlap along Gilgo Beach in Long Island. Their murders led to the discovery of seven more bodies in the area. Among the clues left behind were strands of hair found in the burlap used by the killer, mysterious calls made to the victims families, and a first generation Chevrolet avalanche that was spotted at the scene of the crime.
Police were able to link that same vehicle to one registered to 59-year-old architect Rex Heuermann, who happened to live across the bay from where the bodies were found. They were also able to link the killer's phone calls to cell phone towers near his home and job. Among the other evidence were 100 of online searches about serial killers.
Police arrested Heuermann after matching his DNA from pizza crusts found in a trash can to the strand of hair left behind on one of the victim's bodies. Heuermann has been charged in the murder of three of the 11 victims of the Gilgo Beach killings, and he's now the prime suspect in the 2007 disappearance of a fourth woman.
