Rex Heuermann_ How Lengthy Island police caught Gilgo Seaside serial killer

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Did he know that his time was up?

His alleged web searches will surely appear to counsel so.

Over the past 12 months between March 2022 and June 2023, the suspected Gilgo Seaside serial killer Rex Heuermann repeatedly appeared on-line for updates within the investigation police say.

He looked for particulars in regards to the victims and their households.

He googled the usage of new cellphone expertise within the case and appeared for podcasts and documentaries in regards to the murders.

And he even took a eager curiosity within the newly-launched activity pressure – headed up by newly-appointed Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison – that was actively trying to find him.

For as much as 16 years, police say he had gotten away with brutally murdering younger girls and dumping their our bodies alongside the shores of Gilgo Seaside in Lengthy Island.

As physique after physique lay undiscovered, he added extra victims to his graveyard, prosecutors allege.

Then, in late 2010, a seek for one other lacking lady led authorities to the grim discovery.

However the suspect’s time nonetheless wasn’t up.

For greater than a decade, the accused killer continued to go about his each day life – going to work at his structure agency in Manhattan and coming residence to his spouse and two youngsters.

He appeared simply as baffled by his lack of arrest because the native residents and victims’ households who questioned why police had not been in a position to catch the killer.

Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes and Megan Waterman (from clockwise high left) (AP)

He even searched Google for the solutions to questions together with “why may regulation enforcement not hint the calls made by the lengthy island serial killer” and “why hasn’t the lengthy island serial killer been caught”, court docket paperwork state.

Was he wanting over his shoulder? Did he have an inkling that he was underneath surveillance?

Or in spite of everything this time had handed, did he assume that he may by no means get caught?

Then, final Thursday, as he left his workplace in Midtown after a day’s work and walked alongside a busy Manhattan highway, a bunch of suit-clad males approached and surrounded him.

The gig was lastly up.

Rex Heuermann – a 59-year-old married father-of-two, skilled structure, Manhattan enterprise proprietor and Lengthy Island native – was arrested and charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello.

He was additionally named because the prime suspect within the homicide of a fourth lady Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who was final seen alive in New York Metropolis in early June 2007.

Second Gilgo Seaside suspect arrested in crowded New York road

It’s taken 13 years however Suffolk County Police lastly say they’ve caught the serial killer who lured in intercourse employees, brutally murdered them after which dumped their sure and wrapped our bodies alongside the shores of Gilgo Seaside.

What led them to the suspected killer was specified by court docket paperwork as prosecutors requested a choose to disclaim him bail.

It consisted of a pimp’s tip about his pickup truck, a stash of burner telephones, “sadistic” on-line searches, cellphone calls taunting victims’ households, his spouse’s hair – and a pizza crust.

Sighting of pickup truck

The primary piece of the puzzle got here when a witness within the Costello case revealed particulars a couple of car {that a} shopper was driving when she was final seen alive.

Costello, who labored as a intercourse employee, was seen alive on the night of two September 2010 when she left her residence in West Babylon.

One evening earlier, witnesses stated {that a} prostitution shopper had come to her residence however the shopper was subjected to a ruse the place a person posing as Costello’s outraged boyfriend confirmed up and made him go away – in a transfer to swindle the shopper out of money. A witness – Costello’s unidentified pimp – stated that the shopper was driving a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche.

The subsequent day the identical shopper contacted Costello to fulfill her however stated that he wouldn’t come to her residence due to “her boyfriend”, the court docket paperwork state.

Police take away proof from residence of Lengthy Island serial killer suspect (Patrick Reichart)

Costello left her residence and was by no means seen alive once more.

The main points of the car got here to mild final 12 months after a brand new taskforce was assembled in January 2022 to unravel the serial killings as soon as and for all. The taskforce reviewed the proof gathered within the case and investigators interviewed Costello’s pimp within the spring of 2022.

He informed officers in regards to the suspect within the inexperienced Chevrolet Avalanche, telling them he didn’t know the person’s identify however that “you may need to have a look at him”.

In March 2022, a registration search confirmed that native man Mr Heuermann owned a first-generation mannequin of the truck on the time of Costello’s disappearance. He additionally matched the witness’ description of the person believed to be the killer: a big, white “ogre”-like male in his mid-40s, round 6’4’ to six’6” tall, with “darkish bushy hair,” and “huge oval fashion 1970’s kind eyeglasses”.

“As described under, this was important, as a result of a witness to the disappearance of Amber Costello recognized a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche because the car believed to have been pushed by her killer,” the court docket paperwork state.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison informed New York Each day Information this was the “turning level” within the investigation – and the second that authorities zeroed in on Mr Heuermann.

“The turning level was the automobile,” he stated. “As soon as we received that automobile, who it linked to, that’s when the investigation received legs.”

The invention of the automobile led investigators to hone in on Mr Heuermann together with executing 300 subpoenas, search warrants and different authorized processes to acquire proof to find out his potential involvement within the killings.

Trove of burner telephones

Mr Heuermann’s alleged use of burner telephones then led police to make an arrest.

On the time when the three girls went lacking, that they had been in touch with an individual who was utilizing a burner cellphone to rearrange to fulfill them.

Folks usually use burner telephones for illicit or unlawful actions as they’re harder to hint.

However, based on the court docket paperwork, Mr Heuermann nonetheless managed to make a sequence of crucial errors whereas utilizing them.

The burner telephones used to contact the victims at all times pinged off the identical cell towers as Mr Heuermann’s legit cellphone, the paperwork present – indicating that whereas utilizing the burner telephones, he was additionally in possession of his cellphone on the identical time.

The burner telephones additionally pinged off cell towers in two key areas – near Mr Heuermann’s workplace in Midtown Manhattan and near Mr Heuermann’s household residence in Massapequa Park.

Rex Heuermann leaves court docket on Friday (Fox 5/YouTube)

Information present that Mr Heuermann’s private cellphone and the burner telephones have been in the identical areas on the identical time – and within the areas that corresponded with the disappearances and murders of every of the three girls round Massapequa, Lengthy Island and Midtown Manhattan.

“Investigators may discover no occasion the place Heuermann was in a separate location from these different cellphones when such a communication occasion occurred,” the court docket paperwork state.

Within the days main as much as Barthelemy’s disappearance, she had been contacted by the identical burner cellphone a number of occasions.

The final contact from the cellphone got here on 10 July 2009 when she was final seen alive in New York Metropolis.

Cell website information present the burner cellphone traveled from Massapequa Park to Midtown Manhattan that day.

Then, chillingly, Barthelemy’s personal cellphone traveled from Midtown Manhattan to Massapequa Park.

Victims’ cellphones and taunting calls to grieving households

The killer took at the least two of his victims’ cellphones after their murders as a trophy – and, in a sick transfer, referred to as one of many sufferer’s households from her cellphone to taunt them about what he had finished.

Prosecutors say the proof exhibits this individual was Mr Heuermann.

Following Brainard-Barnes and Barthelemy’s murders, the killer took and used their cellphones.

Barthelemy’s final cell website location was within the early hours of 11 July 2009 in Massapequa.

Surveillance footage captures Rex Heuermann including credit score to one of many burner telephones (through REUTERS)

All through the subsequent two months, the killer then used her cellphone to make taunting cellphone calls to Barthelemy’s relations.

In at the least a kind of calls, answered by a devastated member of the family, the male caller gloated about killing and sexually assaulting Barthelemy.

Prosecutors allege that Mr Heuermann made these merciless calls from or within the neighborhood of his Midtown workplace the place his personal daughter is now an worker. Information present that every of the taunting calls pinged off cell towers in Midtown Manhattan.

Mr Heuermann additionally allegedly used Brainard-Barnes’ cellphone to test her voicemail, the court docket paperwork present.

On-line searches for specific photos – and the LISK investigation

Within the years after the murders, Mr Heuermann allegedly continued to slide up in his use of expertise – as he allegedly continued to make use of burner telephones to illicit intercourse from intercourse employees proper up till his arrest.

Whereas it confirmed a sample of behaviour, prosecutors additionally level to different disturbing exercise traced to the cellphone numbers.

Courtroom paperwork present that Mr Heuermann had Tinder profiles and a number of other e mail accounts underneath a sequence of faux names.

He used these accounts – linked to his burner telephones – to seek for graphic photos of younger women and youngsters and “sadistic, torture-related pornography”.

Selfie taken on one in every of his pretend accounts (through REUTERS)

Searches included “lady hog tied torture porn” and “10 12 months old skool lady”.

In addition to the disturbing sexual searches, prosecutors say he additionally appeared up photos of the homicide victims and their kin, and researched podcasts, documentaries and information tales on the case.

These included “why may regulation enforcement not hint the calls made by the lengthy island serial killer”, and “why hasn’t the lengthy island serial killer been caught”, “Lengthy Island killer” and “Lengthy Island serial killer cellphone name”.

He additionally appeared for details about the brand new activity pressure on the case.

Understanding he was maintaining an in depth eye on the investigation, police saved the developments near the vest.

Surveillance footage captured Mr Heuermann including credit score to one of many burner telephones – and he had it on him when he was arrested.

Spouse’s hair

In a bombshell twist, hair belonging to Mr Heuermann’s spouse was allegedly discovered on the our bodies of three of the 4 victims.

Prosecutors say that two feminine hairs had been discovered on Waterman, one in every of them on the tape which the killer wrapped round her head. One feminine hair was discovered on tape used to wrap burlap round Costello and one hair was present in a belt buckle used to bind Brainard-Barnes – who Mr Heuermann is but to be charged over.

To establish the feminine who the belonged to, investigators trawled by way of the trash on the Heuermann residence in Lengthy Island.

New York State cops perform a big merchandise from the house of Rex Heuermann (AP)

In July 2022, they recovered 11 bottles from the trash and so they have been swabbed for DNA.

Forensic testing discovered that the DNA on the bottles matched the feminine hair discovered on the crime scene, concluding that the hair belonged to Mr Heuermann’s spouse.

The accuracy is such that greater than 99 p.c of the North American feminine inhabitants will be dominated out, based on the court docket paperwork.

Prosecutors discovered that the suspect’s spouse was out of city on the time of the three murders for which he has been charged however that her hair may have transferred to the crime scene by way of her husband’s clothes or by way of him utilizing objects reminiscent of tape taken from the household residence.

Pizza crust

In addition to his spouse’s DNA, Mr Heuermann’s DNA was additionally discovered on one of many victims.

Prosecutors stated {that a} male hair had been discovered on the burlap used to wrap Waterman’s physique earlier than the killer dumped her alongside Gilgo Seaside.

When the hair was first retrieved in 2010, it was unsuitable for DNA evaluation, based on the court docket paperwork.

However that hair was saved safely locked away and was submitted for evaluation in 2020. A DNA profile got here again.

A pizza field discarded by Gilgo Seaside suspect Rex Heuermann was used to hyperlink him to the killings by way of DNA (Suffolk County DA)

Now, to test if it matched Mr Heuermann, investigators wanted his DNA to check the samples.

This January, a surveillance crew watching the suspect noticed him chuck a pizza field into the trash near his workplace in Manhattan.

They nabbed the field and located a leftover pizza crust inside.

Final month, court docket information state the forensics got here again: it was Mr Heuermann’s hair discovered on Waterman’s physique.