Married Manhattan architect Rex Heuermann was arrested and charged Friday, accused by authorities on Long Island of allegedly being the infamous Gilgo Beach serial killer.
Heuermann, 59, of Massapequa Park, was arrested late Thursday and charged in the deaths of three women — and is considered prime suspect in a fourth — who were killed more than a decade ago.
Who is Rex Heuermann?
Rex Heuermann is an architect based in New York City.
On July 14, 2023, he was identified by police as the suspect in the Gilgo Beach murders.
Heuermann was taken into custody after police swarmed an address in Massapequa Park the night prior.
An eyewitness told The U.S. Sun that cops were seen “removing a large cooler” from the house.
The reported breakthrough follows what has been described as “one of the most intense, prolific searches for a serial killer ever.”
At this time, additional information on Heuermann’s personal life is unclear.
On July 14, 2023, Rex Heuermann pleaded not guilty to three counts of first degree murder and three counts of second degree murder in the Gilgo Beach deaths case.
What are the Gilgo Beach murders?
Suffolk County was shaken up in the early 2010s after police discovered up to 10 sets of human remains.
The bodies were discovered after authorities began searching for Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old sex worker from New Jersey, who mysteriously vanished in 2010.
On the day she disappeared, she called 911 and said she feared for her life, but the dispatcher was unable to track her call and she was never seen again.
For more than a decade, the case has gone unsolved, and the suspect has only been known as the Long Island Serial Killer, or LISK for short.
Who are the Gilgo Beach murder victims?
During the 2010 search, police were solely focused on finding Gilbert, but nothing could’ve prepared them for what they discovered.
While searching for Gilbert, they found the bodies of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello, who are now known as the Gilgo Four.
By 2011, the body count had climbed to 10 after the remains of four other women, including Gilbert, Jessica Taylor, and Valerie Mack, an unidentified man, and a toddler were found.
Most of the victims were sex workers and it is believed that the Long Island Serial Killer may have justified the kills by falsely believing they had the moral high ground.
“I think for some serial killers, it kind of allows them to pick some kind of moral spin [to] what they’re doing, which I think is completely ridiculous,” forensic psychologist Joni Johnston exclusively told The U.S. Sun.
“And there’s a sense of like: ‘Oh, these are women who are sinning or they’re women who are kind of problems in our society, so I’m going to help clean up.'”
Johnston added: “Of course, none of that is true, but it provides a way to rationalize and justify what they’re doing and the victims that they do choose.”
To read such informative articles on globally trending topics, keep visiting Atinka News regularly. Please also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
