For over a decade, Suffolk County law enforcement disregarded a crucial tip in the gruesome Gilgo Beach murders case, neglecting to act upon a general description of the suspect and the make and model of the car he drove.
According to the New York Post, when a new task force reexamined the evidence and “reinterviewed a pimp,” it led to Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect arrested on July 13 for murder. The pimp reportedly provided the vital tip regarding Amber Lynn Costello, one of the three women believed to have been killed by Heuermann in 2010.
In 2022, former NYPD Chief Rodney Harrison took became the Suffolk County police commissioner and re-opened the case. Within a month, the task force was created to focus on the case.
According to LongIsland.com, the pimp described the suspect as a bulky “ogre” who had been driving a Chevrolet Avalanche. Harrison’s reopening of the case and the reviewing of the tip subsequently led to Heuremann, who had a distinctive Chevrolet Avalanche and stands 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighing over 250 pounds
“This was the first time Rex Heuermann’s name had come up, and the first time that he had been identified as a potential suspect,” State Police Major Stephen Udice, commander of Troop L, said during a press conference on Monday.
“The task force worked as a team to move forward with that information, and the investigation ultimately confirmed that Rex Heuermann was, in fact, the individual responsible for, at minimum, the deaths of three women.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Heuermann was arrested in Manhattan and charged with the death of three of the four women known collectively as the Gilgo 4. The bodies were found within days of each other on Gilgo Beach in December 2010. All four women were buried in burlap sacks.
Heuerman has been charged with six counts of murder in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Megan Waterman, 22; and Amber Lynn Costello, 27; and is the prime suspect in the death of 25-year-old Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
Now, advocates are pushing for accountability after Suffolk County cops failed to initially act on the tip, hoping that the reported mistake doesn’t happen again. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said Monday that investigators continue to look for tips and are trying to determine whether there are additional victims.
“We don’t know if these are the only ones that he killed, and we want to just make sure that if there are other bodies out there that we have to address, that we attach it to him and hold him accountable,” Harrison said.
Heuremann remains behind bars without bail. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Rex Heuermann/Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office via AP]
