LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK: Police removed a freezer from Gilgo Beach serial killings suspect's Long Island home on Friday morning, July 14. Rex Heuermann's home on 1st Avenue in Massapequa Park was swarmed by the State and Suffolk County authorities following his arrest.
The 59-year-old is an architect who is the president of the New York City-based company, RH Consultants and Associates he founded in 1994, six years before the murders. In a 2022 interview with a French YouTuber, he spoke of his consulting and furniture making saying, "I have one tool that’s pretty much used in every job — a cabinet maker’s hammer." Heuermann is expected to appear before a judge in Long Island on Friday noon, according to New York Post.
What links Rex Heuermann to Gilgo Beach murders?
At least eight investigators in forensic gear went through objects in and around Heuermann's home in Long Island, a few hours after he was taken into custody in the early hours on Friday. He was finally arrested a year after he had been on the radar of the special Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force. Heuermann was busted after he was linked to the murders of the 'Gilgo Four' who were later identified as Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello through DNA. According to his bail application, he was linked to one of the victims through the DNA found on a tossed pizza crust.
However, it remains unclear whether the freezer removed from his home is tied to the serial killing or if it has possible connections to other crimes. A "significant development" in the case will be announced by Suffolk County officials and the FBI at a press conference scheduled to be held at 4 pm on Friday.
In the brief press conference on Friday morning following Heuermann's arrest, Suffolk County Executive Stephen Bellone spoke of the long-unsolved multiple-homicide case saying, "This is my 12th year as county executive. I've lived with the Gilgo Beach investigation for my entire tenure as county executive, and I can tell you that during that time the focus for me and members of our team has been on bringing justice to these victims and closure to these families who have suffered." Thanking the investigators, he further added, "The work is not done here, but this is a major step forward in achieving a goal we've had from the beginning to bring closure to the families in this case."
Shocked neighbors say they 'never thought he was anything but a businessman'
In late 2010, the bodies of the four young women likely in their 20s were found wrapped in burlap sacks scattered along Ocean Parkway. Additional six bodies were eventually found nearby, however, Heuermann has not been linked to these deaths.
Barry Auslander, 72, who was shocked to learn of his neighbor Heuermann's arrest in connection to the string of killings said, "He grew up here. I never thought he was anything but a businessman. An average guy who had a family and went to work," while another added, "You don’t expect something like this to happen in a town like Massapequa. This is as suburban as it gets."
