As investigators closed in on Gilgo Beach serial killings suspect Rex Heuermann, they worried he would find out he was the target and flee the country.
The investigation zeroed in on the 59-year-old architect more than a year ago and was brought to a grand jury last week, as CrimeOnline has reported.
“It’s a very good thing that we got this animal off the streets,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison told CNN.
Heuermann, a father of two, has been charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello and is the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. The four women were collectively known as the Gilgo 4, since their bodies were found in close proximity to one another on Gilgo Beach, wrapped in burlap.
Authorities say Heuermann closely followed the investigation, with at least 200 searches for information as well as photographs of the victims. When he was booked into jail last week, a source said he asked deputies, “Is it in the news?”
Harrison said Heuerman’s family was shocked to learn of the charges.
“They were disgusted. They were embarrassed,” he said. “So, if you ask me, I don’t believe they knew about this double life that Heuermann was living.”
Investigators said they found a hoard of 200 to 300 guns in a walled off vault behind a locked metal door at Heuermann’s home, far more than the 92 firearms he had registered in New York. They’re looking through evidence — and sharing it with victims’ families — to determine if anything found at Heuermann’s home or storage units might be a souvenir from the murders.
And they’re considering whether he might be connected to other victims. Seven other bodies — five women, a man, and a toddler — have been found in the area of Gilgo Beach since 2010, but so far, only the Gilgo 4 have been connected with Heuermann via his vehicle, cell phone records, and DNA — which included DNA from Heuermann himself and his wife found on some of the victims.
“This investigation is still in its infancy,” said Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Carter. “We have a long way to go. We have a lot of evidence to process, a lot more witnesses to interview and tips are still coming in.”
Investigators were looking at a second storage facility on Monday, after going through an initial facility on Long Island on Sunday, WABC reported.
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the six counts of murder against him, and his attorney, Michael Brown, says there are “significant and stronger leads” to a suspect than the case against his client, according to The New York Post. Brown did not say what those leads were.
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[Featured image: Rex Heuermann/Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office via AP]
