Authorities are interviewing female inmates who have performed sex work to investigate whether accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann is involved in other unsolved murders, The New York Times reports.
Police have interviewed approximately 120 women in jails on Long Island and have forwarded information gleaned from interviews with 10 inmates who allege they met Heuermann online and in person.
A sex-trafficking unit is leading the interviews. The unit typically works with female inmates who were forced into prostitution and try to provide support, such as drug counseling, employment assistance and housing services.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, two women have said they believe they had sexual encounters with Heuermann while they were working as escorts, and that he was hostile and violent during the meetings.
The women were not injured physically but the experiences reportedly frightened them, according to the Times, citing Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr.
The Times also details Heuermann’s life at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverhead. He is reportedly known to check out books from the jail library, read newspapers and watch television in his cell. He is segregated from other inmates and is monitored around the clock, but he can spend an hour outside in a fenced-off area.
Heuermann was arrested July 14. He faces charges of first- and second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Amber Costello, Melissa Barthelemy and Megan Waterman, whose bodies were found buried on Long Island in 2010. He is also the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the arrest spurred law enforcement agencies across the nation to examine potential links between Heuermann and cold cases.
The accused serial killer has pleaded not guilty to the Long Island murder charges. If convicted, he could be sentenced up to life in prison without parole.
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[Feature Photo: Rex Heuermann/Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office via AP]
