Investigators are looking into unsolved disappearances and murders around the country for possible connections with Long Island serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann, especially in areas where he has known ties — like South Carolina and Las Vegas, where he is known to own property.
They’re also looking for anyone who may have had contact with him outside his job and family life — including two sex workers currently in the Suffolk County Jail who have recordings of their interactions with him when he “reached out to them for sex.”
So far, investigators have found not links between Heuermann and the unsolved cases, including four cases in Atlantic City in 2006.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison told WABC the Atlantic City murders involved four women involved in sex work found dead in a watery ditch in Egg Harbor Township, just ouatside Atlantic City.
“What I’m being told is it’s not a connection, but we want to revisit that investigation as well,” he said. “Shame on us if we don’t look into Las Vegas, South Carolina, even Atlantic City, we’ve got to make sure if anyone has any information.”
Police in Las Vegas, where Heuermann owns a luxury timeshare in sharp contrast to his ramshackle Long Island home, have said they are reviewing unsolved cases in their jurisdiction, and the FBI is said to be looking at missing persons cases as well, particularly during time Heuermann is alleged to have been active, as CrimeOnline has reported.
While it’s not known how much time the 59-year-old architect spent in South Carolina, where he bought property in 2005 next door to his brother with the intention of eventually retiring there, police in at least one small town nearby say they’ve looked for possible connections with an 18-year-old woman who disappeared in 2014.
Rock Hill Police say Aaliyah Bell vanished after leaving her uncle’s house in Rock Hill — about 20 miles from Heuermann’s property in Chester County — two days before Thanksgiving that year. Despite reported sightings in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Columbia, South Carolina, she has not been found.
Rock Hill Police Lt. Michael Chavis told The New York Post that the department was “doing its due diligence” in reviewing the case, but “so far there is no indication that leads us to identify Heuermann as a suspect in this case.”
“We will continue to investigate Bell’s disappearance and follow up on all tips and leads,” he said.
As for the two sex workers currently in the Suffolk County Jail, Sheriff Errol Toulon told WABC they communicated with Heuermann through social media platforms initially.
“He had reached out to them for sex,” Toulon said. “They had took the calls but fortunately, they did not meet with him.”
The two women provided investigators with audio recordings of the phone calls.
Meanwhile, police said, they’ll also be using Heuermann’s DNA to see if he is connected to any other cases.
Heuermann is charged with the murders of three of the Gilgo 4 — four women found dead and wrapped in burlap sacks in December 2010. He has been named the prime suspect in the murder of the fourth.
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[Featured image: Rex Heuermann/Suffolk County Police Department via AP]
