Gilgo Beach murders: Rex Heuermann’s potential ties to Atlantic City probed as sister-in-law speaks out
Law enforcement in Atlantic City, New Jersey, is investigating potential ties between local unsolved cases and Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison told ABC News that his task force is looking into possible connections between Mr Heuermann and the murders of four female sex workers whose bodies were found in a ditch just over the Atlantic City border in 2006.
“Shame on us if we don’t look into Las Vegas, South Carolina, even Atlantic City, we’ve got to make sure if anyone has any information,” Mr Harrison said.
It comes amid comments from Mr Heuermann’s sister-in-law that she is in complete disbelief following his arrest over the deaths of Amber Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy.
“I vacillate between desperately wanting my niece and nephew’s life returned to its previous state, intact, without a father accused of being a serial killer to being pleased and secure in knowing that someone is in custody,” Dr Johanna Ellerup told NBC News.
“My ego has great difficulty processing the idea that I looked Rex in the eye and was unable to discern any murderous intentions.”
Key points
Investigators believe suspect Rex Heuermann killed victims in family home
Suspect’s wife files for divorce from accused serial killer
Gilgo Beach murder suspect’s company was hired for work at Trump Building
Las Vegas and South Carolina police probe suspect’s possible ties to unsolved cases
Evidence that led Long Island police to catch suspect
Police ‘confident’ Heuermann will soon be charged with fourth murder
Officials are ‘confident’ that Mr Heuermann will soon be charged with the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes
Wednesday 19 July 2023 21:59 , Andrea Blanco
Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann is now expected to be charged with a fourth murder – as tips and evidence pour in following his shock arrest last week.
The 59-year-old married father-of-two – who has lived on Long Island his entire life and runs an architecture firm in Manhattan – was arrested on 13 July and charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello.
He is also the prime suspect in the murder of a fourth woman Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who was last seen alive in New York City in early June 2007.
All four women – known as the “Gilgo Beach Four” – worked as sex workers and vanished after going to meet clients.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said on Monday that officials are “confident” that Mr Heuermann will soon be charged with the murder of Brainard-Barnes.
“We feel we can prove these three murders,” Mr Tierney told CNN.
“We’re also confident that we’re going to be able to eventually charge that fourth murder.”
Gilgo Beach murder suspect’s company was hired to do work at Trump Building in Manhattan
Wednesday 19 July 2023 23:35 , Andrea Blanco
New York City Department of Buildings records unearthed by The Real Deal on Wednesday show that Mr Heuermann’s firm RH Architecture was hired by a tenant at the Trump Building on 40 Wall Street.
The job was completed in 2018 and Mr Heuermann’s firm was paid $200,000 to complete it.
The Trump Organization said in a statement that it has never hired Mr Heuermann’s services and it was a third-party tenant who employed the now suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer.
“Mr Heuermann has never worked for the Trump Organization in any capacity,” a spokesperson told TRD. “According to our records, he was hired by a third-party tenant, who vacated years ago, to perform minor architectural work in their individual space.”
It’s unclear whether Mr Heuermann ever visited the building as part of the job he was hired to do. The Independent has reached out for comment.
Attorney John Ray says he hopes new task force reviews evidence in Shannan Gilbert’s case
Thursday 20 July 2023 00:00 , Andrea Blanco
Gilbert’s body was found in December 2011. Suffolk County authorities have previously said that they don’t believe Gilbert was a victim of the Gilgo Beach serial killer, or even that she was a victim of homicide.
However, an independent autopsy commissioned by her family ruled that she died by strangulation.
“We’ve insisted that she was murdered. We have overwhelming evidence that that is true,” John Ray, an attorney for the Gilbert family, told The Independent. “The police had taken bizarre position that she died of natural causes.”
He added: “We’re hoping now with the new task force with these great guys and new brains and excellent work of the District Attorney and the new Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison.
“We’re hoping that they’re going to give it a look, a new look at the evidence with Shannan and investigate it as a murder.”
Rex Heuermann is ‘traumatised’ by Gilgo Beach murders arrest, attorney says
Thursday 20 July 2023 01:00 , Andrea Blanco
Attorney Michael Brown told ABC News that he met the accused serial killer for the first time on Friday when he was arraigned on charges for murdering three women and dumping their bodies along the shores of Long Island.
He said that Mr Heuermann seemed normal in the meeting but was “traumatised” by the fact he had been taken into custody over the unsolved killings.
Read more:
Rex Heuermann is ‘traumatised’ by Gilgo Beach murders arrest, attorney says
Murder probes expands to Las Vegas, officials confirm
Thursday 20 July 2023 02:00 , Andrea Blanco
Mr Heuermann, 59, is now being looked at in connection to missing person cases and murders far beyond the shores of Long Island, where he stands accused of murdering three women before dumping their bodies across the community of Gilgo Beach more than a decade ago.
His bombshell arrest on Friday was a major breakthrough after a 2010 investigation led to the gruesome discovery of at least 10 bodies now linked to the Gilgo Beach murders case.
In the aftermath of his arrest, it has emerged that Mr Heuermann, who has pleaded not guilty to the crimes, has ties to both South Carolina and Las Vegas, owning properties in both locations.
In a statement to The Independent on Tuesday, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed that the department is probing a link between Mr Heuermann and unsolved cases in the area.
“We are aware of Rex Heuermann’s connection to Las Vegas. We are currently reviewing our unsolved cases to see if he has any involvement,” a spokesperson said.
Gilgo Beach murders arrest renews hopes for Shannan Gilbert and Jessica Taylor’s families
Thursday 20 July 2023 03:00 , Andrea Blanco
Attorney John Ray represents the families of Shannan Gilbert, whose case led to the discovery of 10 bodies, and Jessica Taylor, whose remains were among those found during the 2010 probe.
Mr Ray said his clients have welcomed news of the arrest and now hope their loved ones’ killer or killers will also face the criminal system.
“Both families are very happy that this man was caught and they’re happy for the other family members of the other victims,” Mr Ray said. “But the murderer of their loved ones has not been found. And even if it turns out to be this Tyrannosaurus Rex monster, there’s no solace in the end. Justice is an idea, but it’s not a feeling in a sense, and their feelings and their senses are still hurt and this resurrected those feelings. So it’s a bittersweet condition.”
Mr Ray said that his law firm is joining efforts with the Suffolk County Police Department’s investigating team.
Commissioner Harris has said in the aftermath that they’re probing any links Mr Heuermann may have with the Gilgo Beach bodies.
How the Gilgo Beach serial killer turned the Long Island shore into a graveyard
Thursday 20 July 2023 04:00 , Andrea Blanco
More than a decade after 11 bodies were found dumped in Long Beach, married father of two and Manhattan-based architect Rex Heuermann is under arrest. Does this mean the hunt for the Gilgo Beach serial killer is finally over?
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:
How the Gilgo Beach serial killer turned the Long Island shore into a graveyard
Gilgo Beach murder suspect Rex Heuermann’s neighbors describe him as ‘reclusive’
Thursday 20 July 2023 05:00 , Andrea Blanco
Speaking to The New York Times, Massapequa Park resident Frankie Musto said the Heuermanns were “reclusive” and kept to themselves. Ms Musto said her daughter grew up with Mr Heuermann’s daughter, who would often ask her friend to come over.
“I didn’t want her in that house,” Ms Musto told the Times.
The evidence that sealed Rex Heuermann’s arrest: Pizza crust, burner phones and his wife’s hair
Thursday 20 July 2023 06:00 , Andrea Blanco
It’s taken 13 years but Suffolk County Police finally say they’ve caught the serial killer who dumped his victims along the shores of Gilgo Beach – thanks to a pimp’s tip about his pickup truck, a stash of burner phones, his wife’s hair and a pizza crust.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:
How pizza crust, burner phones and wife’s hairs led police to Gilgo Beach suspect
Woman describes eerie Rex Heuermann ‘date’
Thursday 20 July 2023 07:00 , Andrea Blanco
Long Island resident and former escort Nicole Brass has since come forward with claims that she went on a date with Mr Heuermann sometime between 2014 and 2016.
Ms Brass, 34, first claimed in a TikTok video that she had met Mr Heuermann at a seafood restaurant in Port Jefferson and he then decided to bring up the Gilgo Beach murders while trying “to make it look just like someone who was very interested in the case”.
“It didn’t seem like somebody who feels bad when he talked about the victims. It seemed like somebody who really wanted to brag about what they did, but couldn’t,” Ms Brass told the Daily Beast.
“His body language shifted, and it seemed like he was having fun ... It was almost like he was visualising it in his head and getting off to what he was saying.”
Did ‘serial killer’ Rex Heuermann strike beyond Gilgo Beach? Police probe links to unsolved cases across US
Thursday 20 July 2023 08:00 , Andrea Blanco
Investigators are exploring the possibility that suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann could be responsible for other murders all across America, following his sudden arrest last week.
Former NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told ABC’s Good Morning America on Tuesday that the 59-year-old suspect is now being looked at in connection to missing persons cases and murders far beyond the shores of Long Island – across the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and even nationwide.
“I made some phone calls yesterday to see what they were doing. They’re looking at all missing persons who have never been found and see if they can put those together,” he said.
“Not just in Suffolk, but throughout the tri-state area to see what they can put together. There’s also the FBI looking at national issues as well.”
Mr Boyce pointed out that Mr Heuermann had been “free” for many years – as the accused killer continued his daily life for 13 years after the bodies were first discovered in 2010.
Read more:
Did serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann strike beyond Gilgo Beach?
Long Island police reveal how Rex Heuermann’s family reacted to his arrest for Gilgo Beach murders
Thursday 20 July 2023 09:00 , Andrea Blanco
Mr Heuermann’s bombshell arrest last sent shockwaves across the shoreline community of Gilgo Beach in Long Island following 13 years of unanswered questions over a trail of bodies found in the area.
The married father-of-two is facing six charges over the murders of Amber Castello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy — all sex workers in their 20s whose bodies were found during a missing persons investigation in 2010.
He is also the prime suspect in the murder of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard- Barnes, with authorities saying more charges are expected. The Suffolk County Police Department is also probing potential ties to the other six bodies linked to the Gilgo Beach case, as well as other murders nationwide.
Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison told CNN that Mr Heuermann’s family reacted with shock to his arrest and are now cooperating with the investigation. Before being taken into custody, Mr Heuermann, 59, had outwardly led a normal life, working as an architect in Midtown Manhattan and making very little impression on his neighbours in Massapequa Park.
“They were disgusted. They were embarrassed,” Mr Harrison said. “So, if you ask me, I don’t believe they knew about this double life that Heuermann was living.”
Rex Heuermann’s wife files for divorce
Thursday 20 July 2023 09:30 , Rachel Sharp
Rex Heuermann’s wife has filed for divorce just six days after New York police arrested her husband over the notorious Gilgo Beach murders.
Court records show that Asa Ellerup – the accused serial killer’s wife of two decades and mother of his children – filed a matrimonial complaint in Suffolk County Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The case – Asa Ellerup v Rex Heuermann – is listed as “uncontested”.
His family are said to have been left “shocked” and “disgusted” after the Long Island native, 59, was arrested on Thursday and charged with the murders of three women.
Manhattan architect, family man and accused serial killer: Who is Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann?
Thursday 20 July 2023 10:00 , Andrea Blanco
A Manhattan architect and father-of-two has been arrested in connection to one of the most infamous unsolved serial killer cases along the East Coast.
So who really is Rex Heuermann?
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:
Rex Heuermann: Who is serial killer suspect in Gilgo Beach murders
Gilgo Beach murder suspect’s company was hired to do work at Trump Building in Manhattan
Thursday 20 July 2023 10:30 , Rachel Sharp
New York City Department of Buildings records unearthed by The Real Deal on Wednesday show that Mr Heuermann’s firm RH Architecture was hired by a tenant at the Trump Building on 40 Wall Street.
The job was completed in 2018 and Mr Heuermann’s firm was paid $200,000 to complete it.
The Trump Organization said in a statement that it has never hired Mr Heuermann’s services and it was a third-party tenant who employed the now suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer.
“Mr Heuermann has never worked for the Trump Organization in any capacity,” a spokesperson told TRD. “According to our records, he was hired by a third-party tenant, who vacated years ago, to perform minor architectural work in their individual space.”
It’s unclear whether Mr Heuermann ever visited the building as part of the job he was hired to do. The Independent has reached out for comment.
WATCH: Neighbour claims he confronted suspected killer for leering at his wife
Thursday 20 July 2023 11:00 , Andrea Blanco
WATCH: Former escort recounts chilling date with accused Gilgo Beach serial killer
Thursday 20 July 2023 11:30 , Rachel Sharp
Attorney for victims’ families shares suspicions of an accomplice in murders
Thursday 20 July 2023 12:00 , Andrea Blanco
Attorney John Ray represents the families of Gilbert and Jessica Taylor, whose remains were among those found during the 2010 probe. Mr Ray told The Independent on Tuesday that he has long suspected that a woman may have helped the killer lure the victims.
“We have a number of reasons to think a woman may have been involved. Nothing is certain here, [I want] to emphasise that, but there was some evidence that a woman was involved,” Mr Ray said.
The attorney said that some of the evidence that could suggest a woman was involved in the killings is the way a “baby Doe’s” body was found.
The child’s mother, dubbed “Peaches” for a tattoo on her torso, was found in Nassau County in 1997. Additional remains and those of her child were found years later, and the murders have been linked to the Gilgo Beach case.
“The baby was wrapped in a blanket of some kind. And that’s something, you know, if you’re a depraved murderer, as a man ... Would you take the time to do that?” Mr Ray said. “But a mother might do that. That’s just one I use that as one of several reasons why we think that, but we don’t have any dispositive evidence that it was so.”
What have Long Island police found at Rex Heuermann’s home?
Thursday 20 July 2023 12:30 , Rachel Sharp
Reporters on the scene of Rex Heuermann’s home on Wednesday revealed that investigators tried to block their view as some items were being seized.
This has raised speculation as to what evidence may have been found inside his family home in Massapequa Park.
Right now at #RexHeuermann's home, police are beginning to reposition their vehicles, I believe in an attempt to obstruct our view. It tells me they have found something big and have been waiting to bring it out. I asked a detective, he told me, "no comment." #LISK pic.twitter.com/bUUbAZZF7k
— Alex Caprariello (@alcaprari23) July 19, 2023
ICYMI: Everything we know about the Gilgo Beach murders
Thursday 20 July 2023 13:00 , Andrea Blanco
While Rex Heuermann has pleaded not guilty and broke down in tears while protesting his innocence, investigators have painted him as a warped individual who systematically preyed on his victims, obsessively following police efforts to catch him online and potentially posing a threat of striking again.
But who are his alleged victims?
The Independent’s Joe Sommerlad reports:
What we know about the Gilgo Beach murder victims
‘Large doll in a glass case and portrait of a woman with a bruised face’ seized from Mr Heuermann’s home
Thursday 20 July 2023 14:00 , Andrea Blanco
Police carted more boxes of potential evidence Tuesday out of the Long Island home of Rex Heuermann, who has been charged with killing at least three women and leaving their remains alongside a remote stretch of beach highway.
Items pulled out of Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park in recent days have included more than 200 firearms, a large doll in a glass case, a large portrait of a woman with a bruised face and a filing cabinet, according to the Associated Press.
Investigators, some dressed in “crime lab” T-shirts and protective suits, were seen Tuesday carting away a desktop computer, a large picture frame, a mirror and many other household items.
It remains to be seen whether any of those items will help authorities build their case against Mr Heuermann, an architect who was charged with murdering three women and was said by a prosecutor to be a suspect in a fourth slaying.
Mr Heuermann pleaded not guilty to the crimes on Friday.
Gilgo Beach murders suspect’s firm carried out work at Trump Building
Thursday 20 July 2023 15:00 , Rachel Sharp
The Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect’s architecture business was hired for a 2018 project at the Trump Building in New York City, according to unearthed records.
Rex Heuermann, 59, was arrested last week and charged with the murders of Amber Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy, who vanished between 2007 and 2010 before their bodies were found dumped in Gilgo Beach.
The suspect lived in Massapequa Park, Long Island, with his wife and two adult children and ran architecture firm RH Consultants & Associatess in Midtown Manhattan.
Now, New York City Department of Buildings records obtained by real state publication The Real Deal have revealed that Mr Heuermann’s firm was hired in 2018 by a third party for a plumbing job at the Trump Building on 40 Wall Street.
Read the full story:
Gilgo Beach murders suspect’s firm carried out work at Trump Building
Victim’s sister says Rex Heuermann’s arrest means she can finally ‘move on’
Thursday 20 July 2023 16:00 , Rachel Sharp
The sister of one of Rex Heuermann’s alleged victims has spoken out to say that his arrest means she can finally “move on”.
Mr Heuermann has been charged with the murder of Amber Costello, a 27-year-old sex worker who vanished in September 2010.
Her body was found dumped along Gilgo Beach later that year.
Costello’s sister Kimberly Overstreet told News 12 Long Island that she will forgive her killer because it’s what her sibling would do.
“It brings me peace to know that my sister is laying with my family,” she said.
“And that if my parents were here, if my sister was here, she would say ‘Thank you, and I forgive him.’ I forgive him and she would too. I don’t know if it makes a difference to him, but it makes a difference to me, and I can move on.”
Now, she hopes that the families of other victims whose bodies were found dumped along the Long Island shores will also get answers soon.
Rex Heuermann’s wife files for divorce six days after he’s arrested for Gilgo Beach serial killings
Thursday 20 July 2023 17:00 , Rachel Sharp
The wife of accused Gilgo Beach serial killerRex Heuermann has filed for divorce just six days after New York police arrested him on suspicion of murdering at least three women and dumping their bodies along Long Island.
Online court records show that Asa Ellerup – the accused serial killer’s wife of two decades and mother of his children – filed a matrimonial complaint in Suffolk County Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The filing – titled Asa Ellerup v Rex Heuermann – states that the divorce is “uncontested”.
The case records include a complaint, summons and a “notice concerning continuation of health care coverage” all filed on Wednesday, though the contents have not been made public.
Read the full story here:
Rex Heuermann’s wife files for divorce six days after arrest for Gilgo Beach killings
WATCH: Moment Gilgo Beach suspect arrested in crowded New York street
Thursday 20 July 2023 18:00 , Rachel Sharp
How Rex Heuermann’s wife helped lead police to the accused killer
Thursday 20 July 2023 19:00 , Rachel Sharp
Court documents, filed as part of prosecutors’ request that bail be denied, revealed that hair belonging to Mr Heuermann’s wife was allegedly found on the bodies of three of the four victims.
Prosecutors say that two female hairs had been found on Waterman, one of them on the tape which the killer wrapped around her head. One female hair was found on tape used to wrap burlap around Costello and one hair was found in a belt buckle used to bind Brainard-Barnes – who Mr Heuermann is yet to be charged over.
To identify the female who the hair belonged to, investigators trawled through the trash at the Heuermann home in Long Island.
In July 2022, they recovered 11 bottles from the trash and they were swabbed for DNA.
Forensic testing found that the DNA on the bottles matched the female hair found at the crime scene, concluding that the hair belonged to Mr Heuermann’s wife.
The accuracy is such that more than 99 per cent of the North American female population can be ruled out, according to the court documents.
Prosecutors found that the suspect’s wife was out of town at the time of the three murders for which he has been charged but that her hair could have transferred to the crime scene through her husband’s clothing or through him using items such as tape taken from the family home.
She has not been named as a suspect and there is no suggestion that she was involved – or knew about – the murders.
What we know about Gilgo Beach murder victims:
Thursday 20 July 2023 20:00 , Rachel Sharp
Rex Heuermann, a New York City architect and “family man”, was dramatically arrested outside of his office in Midtown Manhattan on Thursday 13 July and charged with the murders of three women whose remains were found on Gilgo Beach, Long Island, a decade ago.
The 59-year-old was formally accused of killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello, all of whom were working as sex workers, and is also the prime suspect in the homicide of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, with Suffolk County district attorney Ray Tierney saying on Monday he is “confident” Mr Heuermann will be charged with her murder too.
In all, 11 sets of human remains were found dumped along the four-lane Ocean Parkway route running alongside the Atlantic-facing beachfront between 2010 and 2011, nine of which belonged to women, one to a man and one to a toddler. Some have still not been identified.
This is what we know about the four victims Mr Heuermann has been connected to by investigators:
What we know about the Gilgo Beach murder victims
Victim’s family fears someone else could be involved in killings
Thursday 20 July 2023 21:00 , Rachel Sharp
Attorney John Ray represents the families of Shannan Gilbert and Jessica Taylor. Mr Ray told The Independent on Tuesday that he has long suspected that a woman may have helped the killer lure the victims.
“We have a number of reasons to think a woman may have been involved. Nothing is certain here, [I want] to emphasize that, but there was some evidence that a woman was involved,” Mr Ray said.
The attorney said that some of the evidence that could suggest a woman was involved in the killings is the way a baby Doe’s body was found.
The child’s mother, dubbed “Peaches” for a tattoo on her torso, was found in Nassau County in 1997. Additional remains and those of her child were found years later, and the murders have been linked to the Gilgo Beach case.
“The baby was wrapped in a blanket of some kind. And that’s something, you know, if you’re a depraved murderer, as a man ... Would you take the time to do that?” Mr Ray said. “But a mother might do that. That’s just one I use that as one of several reasons why we think that, but we don’t have any dispositive evidence that it was so.”
Former escort describes eerie Rex Heuermann ‘date’ where he obsessed over Gilgo Beach murders
Thursday 20 July 2023 22:00 , Rachel Sharp
A former escort who claims she once went on a date with suspected Gilgo Beach serial killerRex Heuermann has described chilling comments that he allegedly made about the then-unsolved murder case.
Thirteen years after a trail of bodies were discovered in the shoreline community of Gilgo Beach, the Suffolk County Police Department made a long-awaited arrest in the case last week. Rex Heuermann, 59, was taken into custody and charged with the murders of Amber Costello, Melissa Barthelemy and Megan Waterman.
Long Island resident and former escort Nicole Brass has since come forward with claims that she went on a date with Mr Heuermann sometime between 2014 and 2016. Ms Brass, 34, first claimed in a TikTok video that she had met Mr Heuermann at a seafood restaurant in Port Jefferson and he then decided to bring up the Gilgo Beach murders while trying “to make it look just like someone who was very interested in the case”.
Read the story here:
Former escort claims Rex Heuermann obsessed over Gilgo Beach murders on ‘date’
Shannan Gilbert’s family react to news of Rex Heuermann’s arrest
Thursday 20 July 2023 23:00 , Andrea Blanco
The sister of Shannan Gilbert, whose disappearance in May 2010 led to the discovery of a string of human remains, also spoke out about the arrest.
“I am overwhelmed but relieved that they finally caught him. It’s been a long time coming and I never gave up hope that one day justice would be served,” Sherre Gilbert said in a statement to NBC News.
“The suspect (Rex) deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life. He destroyed many lives so while it won’t bring our loved ones back, it does help that one less monster is off the streets and he can’t ever hurt anyone else!”
What we know about Gilgo Beach murder victims
Friday 21 July 2023 00:00 , Andrea Blanco
New York architect Rex Heuermann has pleaded not guilty after being charged with killing of three women found dead near Long Island seafront a decade ago.
The Independent’s Joe Sommerlad reports:
What we know about the Gilgo Beach murder victims
Rex Heuermann’s client reveals his ‘chilling’ comments about Gilgo Beach serial killings
01:00 , Andrea Blanco
A woman who worked with the Gilgo Beach murders suspect has revealed a chilling interaction she had with him last year.
Rex Heuermann, 59, was arrested last week in connection with the murders of Amber Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy, whose remains were found along with seven other bodies in the shoreline community of Gilgo Beach in December 2010.
He is also the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, with authorities saying they’re confident more charges loom ahead.
Mr Heuermann lived in Massapequa Park, near the sites where some of the victims were last seen, and has an architecture business in Midtown Manhattan.
Real state agent Jeffrey St Arromand, who worked with Mr Heuermann on a Brooklyn brownstone project last year, told The New York Post that the now alleged serial killer had a bizarre conversation with one of their shared clients.
The female client, who spoke to the Post under the condition of anonymity, said that Mr Heuermann was in charge of renovations to her Crown Heights home, which she was looking to sell at the time.
During one of those exchanges, the woman claims Mr Heuermann brought up the Gilgo Beach slayings.
“I was only with him in my home to review the scope of work,” she said. “I even gave him a ride to his home in Long Island from Brooklyn. At one point on the drive, we talked about the Gilgo Beach murders — we even discussed the burlap and why someone would use that. In retrospect, thinking about that conversation, it’s just bone-chilling.”
Costello, Waterman, Barthelemy and Brainard-Barnes were found within one-quarter mile of each other.
They were bound by belts or tape and some of them were wrapped in burlap.
Where exactly were the Gilgo Beach murder victims found?
02:00 , Andrea Blanco
How the Gilgo Beach serial killer turned the Long Island shore into a graveyard
03:00 , Andrea Blanco
More than a decade after 11 bodies were found dumped in Long Beach, married father of two and Manhattan-based architect Rex Heuermann is under arrest. Does this mean the hunt for the Gilgo Beach serial killer is finally over?
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:
How the Gilgo Beach serial killer turned the Long Island shore into a graveyard
Rex Heuermann’s wife had bizarre response to Gilgo Beach murders arrest as divorce filing revealed
04:00 , Andrea Blanco
The bizarre response of Rex Heuermann’s wife to news of his arrest in the Gilgo Beach murders has been revealed amid reports that she has filed for divorce.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said during a sit-down interview with Fox News that Mr Heuermann’s wife Asa Ellerup had initially been shocked after learning her husband was linked to the murders of three women whose bodies were discovered in Gilgo Beach back in 2010.
“When we told the wife, she was shocked, she was embarrassed. But there was a point where we showed her certain pictures and she said, ‘OK, it is what it is,’” Mr Harrison said in the interview that aired on Thursday.
It comes as online court records show that Ms Ellerup, who has been married to the accused serial killer’s wife for two decades, filed a matrimonial complaint in Suffolk County Supreme Court. The filing – titled Asa Ellerup v Rex Heuermann – states that the divorce is “uncontested”.
Rex Heuermann’s wife Asa Ellerup files for divorce
05:00 , Andrea Blanco
Rex Heuermann’s wife has filed for divorce just six days after New York police arrested her husband over the notorious Gilgo Beach murders.
Court records show that Asa Ellerup – the accused serial killer’s wife of two decades and mother of his children – filed a matrimonial complaint in Suffolk County Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The case – Asa Ellerup v Rex Heuermann – is listed as “uncontested”.
His family are said to have been left “shocked” and “disgusted” after the Long Island native, 59, was arrested on Thursday and charged with the murders of three women.
Attorney John Ray says he hopes new task force reviews evidence in Shannan Gilbert’s case
06:00 , Andrea Blanco
Gilbert’s body was found in December 2011. Suffolk County authorities have previously said that they don’t believe Gilbert was a victim of the Gilgo Beach serial killer, or even that she was a victim of homicide.
However, an independent autopsy commissioned by her family ruled that she died by strangulation.
“We’ve insisted that she was murdered. We have overwhelming evidence that that is true,” John Ray, an attorney for the Gilbert family, told The Independent. “The police had taken bizarre position that she died of natural causes.”
He added: “We’re hoping now with the new task force with these great guys and new brains and excellent work of the District Attorney and the new Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison.
“We’re hoping that they’re going to give it a look, a new look at the evidence with Shannan and investigate it as a murder.”
Rex Heuermann is ‘traumatised’ by Gilgo Beach murders arrest, attorney says
07:00 , Andrea Blanco
Attorney Michael Brown told ABC News that he met the accused serial killer for the first time on Friday when he was arraigned on charges for murdering three women and dumping their bodies along the shores of Long Island.
He said that Mr Heuermann seemed normal in the meeting but was “traumatised” by the fact he had been taken into custody over the unsolved killings.
Read more:
Rex Heuermann is ‘traumatised’ by Gilgo Beach murders arrest, attorney says
The evidence that sealed Rex Heuermann’s arrest: Pizza crust, burner phones and his wife’s hair
08:00 , Andrea Blanco
It’s taken 13 years but Suffolk County Police finally say they’ve caught the serial killer who dumped his victims along the shores of Gilgo Beach – thanks to a pimp’s tip about his pickup truck, a stash of burner phones, his wife’s hair and a pizza crust.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:
How pizza crust, burner phones and wife’s hairs led police to Gilgo Beach suspect
Woman describes eerie Rex Heuermann ‘date’
09:00 , Andrea Blanco
Long Island resident and former escort Nicole Brass has since come forward with claims that she went on a date with Mr Heuermann sometime between 2014 and 2016.
Ms Brass, 34, first claimed in a TikTok video that she had met Mr Heuermann at a seafood restaurant in Port Jefferson and he then decided to bring up the Gilgo Beach murders while trying “to make it look just like someone who was very interested in the case”.
“It didn’t seem like somebody who feels bad when he talked about the victims. It seemed like somebody who really wanted to brag about what they did, but couldn’t,” Ms Brass told the Daily Beast.
“His body language shifted, and it seemed like he was having fun ... It was almost like he was visualising it in his head and getting off to what he was saying.”
Gilgo Beach murders suspect’s firm carried out work at Trump Building
10:00 , Andrea Blanco
The Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect’s architecture business was hired for a 2018 project at the Trump Building in New York City, according to unearthed records.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp and Andrea Blanco report:
Gilgo Beach murders suspect’s firm carried out work at Trump Building
Officials are ‘confident’ that Mr Heuermann will soon be charged with the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes
11:00 , Andrea Blanco
Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann is now expected to be charged with a fourth murder – as tips and evidence pour in following his shock arrest last week.
The 59-year-old married father-of-two – who has lived on Long Island his entire life and runs an architecture firm in Manhattan – was arrested on 13 July and charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello.
He is also the prime suspect in the murder of a fourth woman Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who was last seen alive in New York City in early June 2007.
All four women – known as the “Gilgo Beach Four” – worked as sex workers and vanished after going to meet clients.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said on Monday that officials are “confident” that Mr Heuermann will soon be charged with the murder of Brainard-Barnes.
“We feel we can prove these three murders,” Mr Tierney told CNN.
“We’re also confident that we’re going to be able to eventually charge that fourth murder.”
Investigators believe suspect Rex Heuermann killed victims in family home
12:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Law enforcement sources investigating the Long Island serial killings have told CNN and CBS that they believe at least one of the murders took place at the family home of suspect Rex Heuermann in Massapequa Park, where he lived with his wife - who has just filed for divorce - and two adult children.
They note that the disappearances of the victims coincide with periods when Heurmann’s family were out of town, which would have given the alleged killer a controlled environment in which to carry out his atrocities.
South Carolina police probe potential ties between Rex Heuermann and teen who vanished in 2014
13:00 , Andrea Blanco
Aaliyah Hill, 18, was reported missing in 2014 in Rock Hill, South Carolina, near an area where Mr Heuermann bought a plot of land.
The Independent reports:
South Carolina police review Rex Heuermann link in missing teen case
‘Large doll in a glass case and portrait of a woman with a bruised face’ seized from Mr Heuermann’s home
14:00 , Andrea Blanco
Police carted more boxes of potential evidence Tuesday out of the Long Island home of Rex Heuermann, who has been charged with killing at least three women and leaving their remains alongside a remote stretch of beach highway.
Items pulled out of Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park in recent days have included more than 200 firearms, a large doll in a glass case, a large portrait of a woman with a bruised face and a filing cabinet, according to the Associated Press.
Investigators, some dressed in “crime lab” T-shirts and protective suits, were seen Tuesday carting away a desktop computer, a large picture frame, a mirror and many other household items.
It remains to be seen whether any of those items will help authorities build their case against Mr Heuermann, an architect who was charged with murdering three women and was said by a prosecutor to be a suspect in a fourth slaying.
Mr Heuermann pleaded not guilty to the crimes on Friday.
‘They’re going through utter hell:’ BTK Killer’s daughter sympathises with Gilgo Beach suspect’s family
15:00 , Andrea Blanco
Kerri Rawson was just 26 when her father was unmasked in 2005 as the BTK predator who’d terrorised Kansas for more than three decades. Now a victim advocate and 45-year-old mother, she tells The Independent’s Sheila Flynn that she’s ‘heartbroken’ as another family comes to terms with a loved one’s arrest in the Long Island serial killer case.
BTK Killer’s daughter sympathises with Gilgo Beach suspect’s family: ‘Utter hell’
Manhattan architect, family man and accused serial killer: Who is Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann?
16:00 , Andrea Blanco
A Manhattan architect and father-of-two has been arrested in connection to one of the most infamous unsolved serial killer cases along the East Coast.
So who really is Rex Heuermann?
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:
Rex Heuermann: Who is serial killer suspect in Gilgo Beach murders
‘Hundreds’ of true crime enthusiasts visit home of alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann
17:00 , Joe Sommerlad
True crime fans have clustered outside the modest Massapequa Park home in Long Island, New York, where alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann lived until his bombshell arrest last week.
Rex Heuermann, 59, was charged on 13 July with the murders of Amber Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy, who vanished between 2007 and 2010 before their bodies were found dumped in Gilgo Beach.
The suspect lived in Massapequa Park, Long Island, with his wife of 25 years, who has since filed for divorce, and two adult children. He also ran the architecture firm RH Consultants & Associates in Midtown Manhattan.
In the aftermath of the breakthrough arrest, hundreds of crime enthusiasts have gathered outside the suspect’s home, The New York Times reports.
“I couldn’t wait to see it. I’m so into this thing,” 51-year-old Long Island teacher Scarlett Fascetti, who made a 30-mile trip to see Mr Heuermann’s home, told the outlet.
Andrea Blanco has more.
‘Hundreds’ of true crime enthusiasts visit home of alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer
More families await answers in Gilgo Beach killings – and the names of other victims
18:00 , Joe Sommerlad
The victim names were there, finally, in black and white on charging documents, immortalised in the justice system as their alleged killer stood before a judge. Melissa Barthelemy. Amber Costello. Megan Waterman. They were names that had before been connected primarily to a cold case and a mystery – a mystery still unravelling – and their appearance on the court documents marked a step towards justice and, just maybe, some semblance of closure for families and investigators.
Long Island architect and married father-of-two Rex Heuermann, 59, was charged last Friday with three counts of first- and second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Ms Barthelemy, who went missing in 2009; Ms Costello, who vanished in June of the following year; and Ms Waterman, 22, who disappeared in September 2010.
Suffolk County district attorney Ray Tierney said this week he was “confident” that Mr Heuermann would also be charged with the murder of Maureen Brainard Barnes, 25, who went missing in 2007. Her body was discovered in December 2010 in the same vicinity and within the same week as the remains of the three other victims.
But there were other names not included in the court documents, and there are other families watching closely as the investigation progresses – wondering if their loved ones’ murders were at the hands of the alleged serial killer.
And there are other victims whose names are still unknown – other bodies found on Long Island that may or may not be linked to the same perpetrator. Their families may not even known they are dead.
Sheila Flynn has more.
Families await answers in Gilgo Beach killings – and other victims’ names
Ten deaths, two arrests and a person of interest: Multiple potential serial killers identified in one week
19:00 , Joe Sommerlad
In 2019, the number of active serial killers in the US was in the single digits, according to crime researchers.
In the last week, US officials believe they may have located at least two different serial killers across New York and Texas, allegedly responsible for at least six deaths.
A third man is a person of interest in four deaths in Oregon.
Josh Marcus has this on the extraordinary developments of the last week.
How multiple potential serial killers were identified in one week across US
Independent Premium: Horror on the shore: the murder spree that has gripped America
20:07 , Andrea Blanco
The Gilgo Beach serial killer case has shocked and captivated America for the past 13 years, writes The Independent’s Rachel Sharp.
The suspect was hiding in plain sight all along.
The murder cold case that has gripped America
Neighbour claims Gilgo Beach suspect dug in his garden late at night as police believe victims killed at house
21:00 , Andrea Blanco
A next-door neighbour of the Gilgo Beach murders suspect claims he heard Rex Heuermann digging in his garden in the early hours of the morning and that he would often burn garbage.
Dominick Cancellieri, who lived next to the Heuermanns for 15 years, told Chris Cuomo on NewsNation that “every few weeks, I would smell garbage burning at his house”, and one night he heard Mr Heuermann digging in his backyard in the early hours of the morning.
The Independent’s Oliver O’Connell reports:
Gilgo Beach suspect’s neighbour claims he dug in his garden late at night
‘Hundreds’ of true crime enthusiasts visit home of alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann
22:00 , Andrea Blanco
True crime fans have clustered outside the modest Massapequa Park home in Long Island, New York, where alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann lived until his bombshell arrest last week.
Rex Heuermann, 59, was charged on 13 July with the murders of Amber Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy, who vanished between 2007 and 2010 before their bodies were found dumped in Gilgo Beach.
The suspect lived in Massapequa Park, Long Island, with his wife of 25 years, who has since filed for divorce, and two adult children. He also ran the architecture firm RH Consultants & Associates in Midtown Manhattan.
In the aftermath of the breakthrough arrest, hundreds of crime enthusiasts have gathered outside the suspect’s home, The New York Times reports.
“I couldn’t wait to see it. I’m so into this thing,” 51-year-old Long Island teacher Scarlett Fascetti, who made a 30-mile trip to see Mr Heuermann’s home, told the outlet.
BTK killer makes chilling comparison between himself and Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann
23:14 , Andrea Blanco
Convicted BTK serial killer Dennis Rader has laid out the similarities between himself and newly-arrested Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann.
Mr Heuermann, a 59-year-old father of two, was taken into custody last week and charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three of second-degree murder over the deaths of slain sex workers Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello and Megan Waterman. He has pleaded not guilty.
The women’s bodies were found in 2010 within one-quarter of a mile of each other in the Long Island community of Gilgo Beach in New York state. Twenty-four-year-old Maureen Brainard-Barnes’ remains were also found in the vicinity — Mr Heuermann has not been charged with Brainard-Barnes’ murder but is the prime suspect in the investigation.
Now Rader, who is serving ten life sentences in a maximum security Kansas prison after he confessed in 2005 to killing 10 people over a span of three decades, has called Mr Heuermann “a clone of me.” Rader gave himself the title of the BTK killer because he bound and tortured his victims before killing them.
“I was arrested age[d] 59. Married, two kids,” Rader wrote in a letter sent to Fox News Digital. “Husband, dad longtime a serial killer, stalker, used electronic devices, lives in a neighbourhood undetected.”
