An architect and New York City expeditor was arrested in connection with a series of infamous killings on Long Island.
Rex Heuermann, 59, was taken into custody at 8:30 p.m. Thursday in Manhattan on Fifth Avenue and 35th Street, just outside his office. The Massapequa Park man is considered a suspect in the Gilgo Beach murders.
Heuermann will be charged with first-degree murder for the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, Newsday reported, adding that prosecutors said he is the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes as well.
Heuermann appeared in court in Riverhead Friday and pleaded not guilty. He was ordered held without bail because of “the extreme depravity of the allegations,” a judge said, according to Newsday. A news conference was scheduled for 4 p.m.
Outside the courtroom, the architect’s attorney called the case “very circumstantial” and said his client, in tears, told him, “I didn’t do this.”
Prosecutors said Heuermann used seven burner phones — one of which they recovered — to do more than 200 searches on the Gilgo Beach murders and the victims’ families over 14 months.
There have been 11 bodies found in what are believed to be related killings along Ocean Parkway. The first was discovered in December 2010. Several were found near Gilgo Beach, giving a name to the potential serial killer, who evaded law enforcement for more than a decade.
The remains of nine women — most of whom were young, petite sex workers — were discovered, as well as one man and a toddler. There has been some dispute as to whether one person was responsible for all of the killings.
“This case is not over,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “It’s only the beginning.”
Burner phones were used to arrange liaisons with victims. Investigators found the phone records by following a trail of evidence that began with a witness reporting a Chevrolet Avalanche believed to be driven by the killer of one victim. Heuermann’s Avalanche, which detectives had connected to the crime in March 2022, making him a suspect for the first time, was recovered in South Carolina, where he owns a home.
Authorities also said Heuermann’s wife was out of town when at least three of the murders took place, in 2009 and 2010. But they recovered a strand of what they believe is her hair from materials used to restrain one of the victims, who were typically bound by leather belts, duct tape or burlap bags.
They also recovered hair from one victim that is consistent with DNA found on a pizza box Heuermann discarded in front of his office at 385 Fifth Avenue in Midtown, a block north of where he was arrested.
Neighbors of Heuermann told the New York Times that the architect had lived in Massapequa Park for virtually all of his life. At least one neighbor was shocked by the arrest, though others noted the family was withdrawn from neighbors and their home was sometimes avoided during the holidays.
Heuermann has owned his own architectural firm, RH Consultants & Associates, for about 30 years. According to its website and Department of Buildings records, the firm has worked on numerous projects over the years, representing clients before the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and other entities. It claims clients have included the Department of Environmental Protection, Catholic Charities, American Airlines and other major tenants at JFK International Airport.
His website also says the company provides expediting services in the city. Expeditors typically guide projects through the Department of Buildings bureaucracy, dealing with building codes and various construction issues.
Heuermann’s portfolio includes work on the new Target in Soho at 600 Broadway.
He pursued his career seemingly unfazed by the slayings, even granting an interview last year to Bonjour Realty, according to the New York Post.
A Netflix film titled “Lost Girls” depicts the killings in the case. The Suffolk County district attorney said in court Friday that authorities arrested Heuermann while the probe was continuing because he posed a danger and they feared he would flee. The architect also owns a home in Las Vegas.
“Rex Heuermann is a demon that walks among us,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said. “A predator that ruins families.”
— Holden Walter-Warner and James Van Bramer
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