Gilgo Beach Killings.
Long Island has been haunted by the brutal murders of four young women for over a decade. Finally, Rex Heuermann has been arrested as the prime suspect in the Gilgo Beach killings.
In December 2010, Officer John Malia and a trained dog, Blue, discovered human remains while scanning Gilgo Beach on the South Shore of Long Island. Police announced they belonged to Melissa Barthelemy, a petite 24-year-old from the Bronx. She was a prostitute and last seen in July 2009 by a friend. Soon, police found the remains of three more women. They were the remains of Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Similarly to Barthelemy, they were small-statured, in their 20s, and sex-workers.
The discovery of bodies on Gilgo Beach horrified Long Island residents.
The ankles or feet were bound, and then the bodies were wrapped in burlap. Six more bodies were discovered in following weeks, including four women, an unidentified man, and a two-year-old girl.
Internal corruption delayed the investigation.
The investigation was drawn-out, spanning over a decade. Then Commissioner James Burke for the Suffolk County Police led it. He refused F.B.I. assistance and eventually it was revealed that he was being investigated himself for obstruction of justice in another, unrelated case. In February 2022 the Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force was announced by authorities.
Rex Heuermann is a 59-year-old architect with a keen eye for detail.
He worked at his office in Midtown Manhattan on Fifth Avenue. He’s described as intelligent and detail-oriented by peers. According to his website, some lucrative clientele were American Airlines, Catholic charities, and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Steve Kramberg, a property manager in Brooklyn, has worked with him for 30 years and said “he is a gem to deal with, highly knowledgeable.”
While co-workers’ descriptions are more favorable, his neighbors’ are anything but.
Heuermann’s lived in Massapequa Park in Long Island his entire life. He has a wife and two children. His frame is large and hulking. Their house fell into disrepair and is dilapidated. Neighbors of his describe Heuermann as cold and dressing in grungy clothing. There is a disturbing claim that he would menacingly glare at a neighbor if they said hi as he chopped wood. Some were so scared, they would cross the street to avoid him.
Rex Heuermann was arrested last Thursday evening at his office in Midtown Manhattan.
On Friday, July 14, police announced the arrest of Rex Heuermann. He received three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. Heuermann was charged without bail. He sobbed to his court-appointed attorney, Michael Brown, telling him “I did not do this.”
Investigators have thus far been unable to connect Maureen Brainard-Barnes’ murder with Heuermann, so he received only three murder charges. He pleads not guilty to the charges, but evidence overwhelmingly indicates he is guilty.
What is the evidence in the Gilgo Beach killings?
A major breakthrough in the case came from, of all things, a pizza crust. In June, investigators took a swab from a crust Heuermann discarded in a trash receptacle outside of his Manhattan office. The swab was analyzed in a forensics lab, and DNA results indicated a 99.96 percent match. Investigators stated that it “is significant that Defendant Heuermann cannot be excluded from the male hair recovered near the ‘bottom of the burlap’ utilized to restrain and transport Megan Waterman’s naked and deceased body.”
Other troubling hints in the Gilgo Beach killings case.
A witness noticed one of Heuermann’s victims go into a Chevrolet Avalanche truck. When investigators saw he was registered to one, this opened possibilities for DNA sampling and subpoenas. Heuerman’s wife’s hair was transferred to three of the victims’ bodies. His own hair was found on one of the bodies. Additionally, cell calls made from a burner phone to the victims’ were traced to his office. A call placed to one of the victims’ sisters after the murder was traced back to his office. Investigators looked at his search history and there were all sort sordid things he was looking up about torture. He was also researching news regarding the Gilgo Beach killings’ victims. Lastly, all of the victims were found at Gilgo Beach, which is a short drive from his home in Massapequa. All of this was detailed in a 32-page letter from the Suffolk County DA’s Office.
Sadly, there is little we can glean from all of this.
The observations of Heuermann’s colleagues largely contradict what his neighbors observed. Not everyone with a gruff, impolite personality is a killer, and there are some killers that are quite charming. Hollywood stereotypes of psychopaths don’t make things any easier.
What is a psychopath?
A psychopath is someone with extremely impaired empathy. Most psychopaths have never been to jail or murdered anyone, but they will inflict pain in their lives, likely intentionally. There are signs of psychopathic behavior though. They are highly intelligent and manipulative. Obviously, they lack empathy. They have a higher proclivity toward violence than many. They are dishonest and superficial. Unfortunately, if you are a prostitute you might overlook glaring red flags because you need money.
There is so much we don’t understand about this condition. It is estimated that one percent of the American population falls all the way at the psychopathic end of the spectrum, with upwards of 30 percent of people having some psychopathic traits. No therapies yet have shown improvement in behavior or empathy of psychopaths.
This is not a diagnosis of Heurmann. However, his behavior is indicative of psychopathy. People need to be aware of red flags so they can avoid calamity.
A disturbing trend in the Gilgo Beach killings is that all of Heuermann’s victims were prostitutes.
According to the National Library of Medicine, it’s estimated that women involved with prostitution are 60 to 100 times more likely to be murdered than non-prostitute females. Is there something about prostitution that attracts violent patrons, or do prostitutes have a reduced ability to spot psychopathic traits? In either case, sex work is becoming a less taboo practice, and is even being normalized across large swaths of society. Will violence against prostitutes increase as a consequence? Is there anything the sex work industry can do to mitigate violence against prostitutes?
As always I, and the team at Brooklynites, thank you for reading this tragic story. Stay safe and click back soon. <3
The statistics on murder of female sex workers:
Read about the rise of the Brooklyn mailbots:
https://172-234-236-52.ip.linodeusercontent.com/brooklyn-is-co-developing-mail-robots/