Topline
Police in New York on Friday arrested Rex Heuermann, a suspect in connection with a spree of killings of nearly a dozen people on Long Island, multiple outlets reported, during a short period of time beginning in 2010 that police believed was at least partially the work of a serial killer.
Gilgo Beach, New York: Police reportedly took a suspect in custody for a string of murders on Long … [+]
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Key Facts
Senior law enforcement officials told NBC News and CBS New York the suspect arrested was 59-year-old Rex Heuermann, though police have not disclosed the reason for their arrest.
A LinkedIn page for a man matching Heuermann lists his profession as owner of architecture and interior design firm RH Consultants & Associates, Inc.
On its website, the New York City-based RH Consultants & Associates states Heuermann founded the firm in 1994, and has more than 30 years of “extensive experience” working in the city, providing services to city agencies, non-profit organizations, developers and building owners, including the city’s Department of Environmental Protection and American Airlines.
Heuermann lived most of his life in the Long Island suburb of Massapequa, between the site where the bodies were found and New York City, driving or taking the train in and out of his office in Midtown Manhattan, the New York Times reported.
In a 2020 interview with New York City-based YouTube channel “Bonjour Realty,” Heuermann described himself as an “architect” and “architectural consultant,” and said he’s worked in New York City since 1987.
A man who claimed to be a high school classmate of Heuermann’s said in a Twitter post they graduated together from Massapequa’s Berner High School, in 1981, adding Heuermann is married with two children.
What To Watch For
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney is scheduled to hold a press conference with the so-called Gilgo Beach Homicide Task Force at 4 p.m. Friday—13 years after the first sets of human remains were found in Long Island.
Key Background
The mystery of Gilgo Beach started in 2010, when a body was found wrapped in a burlap sack on a remote stretch of marshland off Long Island’s Ocean Parkway, in the town of Oak Beach, roughly 40 miles east of Manhattan, after local police opened a search for another missing woman: Shannan Gilbert. During that search, police found the remains of three more bodies within a one-mile radius, sparking speculation the killings could be related and that a potential serial killer could be involved. The bodies of the four women were identified as Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costella and Megan Waterman. Gilbert’s remains, along with the remains of six more bodies, were found over a two-month period the following spring in Long Island’s Nassau and Suffolk counties. In a 2020 press conference, investigators revealed a photo of what they said was a key piece of evidence in the case: a black leather belt with the initials “WH or HM”
What We Don’t Know
The victims’ cause of death. Although the cause of Gilbert’s death remains unknown, police believe the so-called Gilgo Four were all murdered. Attorney John Ray, who represents Gilbert’s family, told NBC News he feels “very strongly” that Heuermann was not responsible for the deaths of all 11 people found on Long Island, saying he believes there is “undoubtedly” another suspect.
Further Reading
LI Serial Killer Case: Newly Released Details Offer Fresh Insight Into the ‘Gilgo Four’ (NBC New York)