Who is Rex Heuermann, How he has been named as a suspect in the Gilgo Beach homicides

Rex Heuermann: Who is he?

Rex Heuermann, a 59-year-old Massapequa Park architect, has been named as a suspect in the Gilgo Beach Murders, a series of deaths on Long Island that have gone unsolved for many years. Six counts of murder, including three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder, have been brought against Heuermann. He works at his company, RH Consultants & Associates, in Manhattan and is a married father of two. He has pleaded innocent to the accusations.

How are police supposed to have connected Heuermann?

According to court records, a Suffolk County police officer and his K-9 companion discovered the first set of human remains along Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach in December 2010.

Later, it was determined that the bones belonged to 24-year-old Melissa Barthelemy, who had gone missing in 2009 after being last seen at her Bronx basement apartment.

Police later discovered three further sets of remains that were later confirmed as those of Amber Costello, 27, who was also reported missing in 2010, Megan Waterman, 22, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, all of whom had disappeared in 2010. According to investigators, the women were all thought to be sex workers who advertised on websites.

A combined law enforcement review launched in 2022 by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies drew light to a Chevrolet Avalanche registered to Heuermann after an investigation had lain dormant for years. On the basis of a witness' report, this car had been on detectives' radar throughout Costello's disappearance.

As a result of an inquiry into Heuermann, billing records for burner phones that were used to set up meetings with three of the four victims and a phone that was used to place "taunting calls" to a sister of Barthelemy were found. Additionally, according to authorities, Heuermann is suspected of using Barthelemy's and Brainard-Barnes' smartphones after they passed away.

"A study of these documents, along with Heuermann's American Express records, revealed multiple instances where Heuermann was situated around the burner telephones used to contact victims Barthelemy, 

In court papers, Suffolk County prosecutors alleged that Waterman, Costello, and the usage of Brainard-Barnes, and Barthelemy's telephones were being used to check voicemail and make taunting phone calls after the women vanished. Significantly, the investigators were unable to locate any instances in which Heuermann was using a different mobile from the others at the time that a communication event like this took place.

The use of Heuermann's mobile, according to the investigators, was also connected to an AOL account that was accessible through a burner phone.

Investigators claimed they discovered more burner phones were "used to conduct thousands of searches related to sex workers, sadistic, torture-related, and child pornography." The phone was linked to Massapequa Park and midtown Manhattan through cell sites, they added. The phones were also connected to an email that was the subject of over 200 online searches mentioning the victims and developments in the "Long Island serial killer" case.

Additionally, hairs discovered on the victims were examined under a microscope and proved to be those of a different female. In July 2022, DNA was extracted from bottles that had been placed outside for trash pickup in front of Heuermann's house. According to court filings, detectives discovered hair on Waterman that matched DNA thought to belong to Heuermann's wife.

According to the police inquiry, Heuermann's wife was away at the time of the different murders.

Therefore, it is conceivable that the hessian, tape, vehicle(s), or other instrumentalities used in carrying out these murders originated at the home of the defendant Heuermann, where his wife also dwells, or was transferred from his clothing, according to the prosecution.

Investigators claim that a male hair was also discovered on the hessian that Waterman was wrapped in. Police gathered a pizza that Heuermann had thrown away and tested the DNA of the crust.

According to test findings from June, the investigators concluded that "Defendant Heuermann cannot be excluded from the male hair recovered near the 'bottom of the hessian' used to restrain and transport Megan Waterman's naked and dead body."

Heuermann was accused of being responsible for Barthelemy, Waterman, and Costello's deaths. He continues to be the main suspect in the death of Brainard-Barnes, according to prosecutors in court filings, but no charges have been filed because the investigation "is continuing and is expected to be resolved soon."

Authorities requested additional assistance from the public on Friday in order to solve the cases of additional human remains discovered on Gilgo Beach in recent years that are not thought to be connected to Heuermann.