Terrifying drone footage has captured the moment as cops combed the backyard of suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann.
The search came a day after the 59-year-old Manhattan architect was arrested in New York City, 13 years after the first remains found in his alleged assassination attempt.
A fleet of forensic investigators made their way to Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park on Friday in hopes of finding more evidence in the serial murder case that has baffled investigators for over a decade.
A number of tarpaulins and workers in white suits lay on his spooky property, which appears to have fallen into disrepair despite being shared by his wife and daughter.
A family-sized refrigerator was also among the items seized, and officers said they are still searching for 92 firearms registered with Heuermann but are currently missing.
Despite being accused of three murders linked to notorious serial killer Gilgo Beach, as many as 11 remains – including that of an infant – were found on the shore between 2010 and 2011.
And on Friday night, an expert speculated that Heuermann could be behind an even larger number of murders.
A fleet of forensic investigators have been spotted searching the suspected serial killer’s property
Manhattan architect Rex Heuermann, 59, is charged with three murders attributed to the Gilgo Beach serial killer and is the prime suspect in the murder of a fourth victim
Katherine Ramsland, an expert in forensic psychology, said the alleged killer’s death trail could go far beyond what he was charged with.
She told NewsNation that people “don’t know” if he ever stopped killing, adding, “All we know is what he’s currently suspected of.”
When asked why he may not have already been linked to other remains found in the area, Ramsland said it was possible another serial killer was on the loose.
“The others (murders) don’t seem to have been handled in the same way,” she said. “Serial killers don’t always do the same thing.”
“There’s a lot of disparity in the way some of these victims were treated and then left behind.” So I’m not sure he’s attached to them. I haven’t been able to rule it out, but it doesn’t look like the same things we’re seeing with the four victims we’re talking about.”
A lawyer for two families of girls found on Gilgo Beach shared their fears of another killer, believing there was “undoubtedly” another killer.
She spoke after investigators uncovered a number of disturbing pieces of evidence linking Heuermann to the murders, including the discovery of his and his wife’s DNA in several different human remains.
Forensic investigations on Friday focused on the suspect’s Massapequa Park home, which neighbors had described to as “creepy” and “dungeon-like”.
“He’s an architect but his house looks like junk,” a local said when drone footage of the search showed there was almost no grass or manicure in the yard.
The roof of the family home also seemed to be crumbling at the seams. According to reports, Heuermann may have lived in the house since childhood.
Investigators found a number of red flags in Heuermann’s behavior that eventually led them to his Long Island home, about a 25-minute drive from Gilgo Beach.
This included blatant Google searches asking why police couldn’t trace calls from the serial killer, who was known to mock his victim’s families.
Little did he know, however, that police had monitored the heinous calls to his Fifth Avenue office, where they also picked up a half-eaten pizza in January, to trace his DNA.
The footage shows officers dressed in white and a set of evidence-gathering tools
Evidence reportedly being sought includes 92 firearms that were registered on the suspect but are not currently found
Forensic teams are working at Heuermann’s house on Friday. A freezer was also among the confiscated items
Heuermann’s truck, which was one of the first pieces of evidence allegedly linking him to the murders, was also removed from the home
The suspect’s home is just north of Gilgo Beach across from South Oyster Bay, and it’s about a 25-minute drive between the two areas
Among the evidence the police cited in their investigation:
- His wife’s DNA was found on three of the victims’ bodies
- One of his own hairs was found on one of the victims’ bodies
- Calls made to the victims from a burner phone were traced back to his office
- A call made to one of the victim’s sisters after her death was traced to his office
- His Tinder profile with photos of him was linked to Brenner’s phone number
- His private phones always rang in the same areas as the suspect burners
- His Chevrolet pickup matched the suspect vehicle that a witness spotted
- He fits the physical description of an “ogre,” like a man seen with a victim
- Heuermann conducted graphic research into child pornography and sexual torture
- He also scoured Google for updates on the case and asked, “Why couldn’t law enforcement trace the Long Island serial killer’s calls?”
Police had been monitoring their prime suspect for over a year and said they wanted to systematically build the case as evidence accumulated.
But officers admitted on Friday they had turned on the suspect this week over fears he would strike again and decided it was time to “get him off the streets”.
“As we got closer and closer to the case, the balance suddenly tipped in favor of public safety,” said Ray Tierney, Suffolk County District Attorney.
Tierney cited a troubling body of evidence, saying that Heuermann “continued to patronize sex workers,” used false IDs and burner cell phones, and had permits for a staggering 92 firearms.
The prosecutor added that while officers have permits for the 92 firearms, they are still missing, but he hopes the guns will turn up in a search of his home.
“He has a very large safe that stores guns,” he said. “We’re still conducting search warrants, so I’m sure we’ll get the answer shortly.”
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Heuermann had been under surveillance since last year and police had moved in to arrest him, fearing he would strike again
The search was conducted at the suspect’s run-down home in Massapequa Park, New York (pictured), which neighbors have long told as “creepy”.
Investigators searched the home in Massapequa Park, Long Island, where the alleged serial killer lived with his wife and daughter
Questions have been raised as to why the infamous murders have taken well over a decade to be caught, particularly given advances in law enforcement technology.
He is also considered the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, whose body was tied up and hidden in thick undergrowth along a remote beach road
Also among the victims were Shannan Gilbert (left) and an unidentified Asian man who police believe is a transgender sex worker. Heuermann is suspected in both deaths but has not been charged
According to investigators, Heuermann’s first connection to the unsolved case was through his Chevrolet Avalanche truck, which was seen with at least one of the victims before she went missing.
It also matches the description of a man who visited one of the victims the night before she died, who was said to have “man-eater”-like facial features.
In that case, he allegedly met Amber Costello, one of the women accused of murder, for sex at her home.
Costello and a male friend were known to perform a “trick” in which the male friend pretended to break up their affair and claimed to be an angry boyfriend.
But when they allegedly double-crossed Heuerman, he texted Costello, saying, “That wasn’t very nice,” and demanded a “credit note” toward his next service.
Costello met with the client again the following evening, but she insisted on doing so outside of her home. The witness said the customer was between 1.80 and 1.80 meters tall, had a broad build and wore glasses.
In addition to his disturbing and menacing behavior, the alleged killer displayed a series of disturbing online antics that also led investigators to him.
He used fictitious email accounts and burner phone numbers to create shady Tinder profiles, and has also been linked to a series of grotesque web searches.
Among them were searches for “naked slaves” and “crying teen porn”.
In January of this year, after investigators had been monitoring Heuermann and his family since last March, they confiscated a pizza box he had thrown in the trash outside his Manhattan office.
His DNA from one of the crusts was a 99.6 percent match for a male hair found at the bottom of the burlap sack in which one of the victims was found.
Prosecutors also found unidentified female hair on three of the victims.
The pizza box from a garbage can in front of Heuermann’s downtown office
In January of this year, after investigators had been monitoring Heuermann and his family since last March, they confiscated a pizza box he had thrown in the trash outside his Manhattan office
There are striking similarities between Heuermann, a married father of two, and the unknown suspect described in a 2011 FBI profile of the Gilgo Beach killer.
This profile described a “sadistic but charming average person” who could blend in unnoticed with any environment.
Heuermann was living a seemingly normal, “average Joe” life up until his dramatic arrest.
The profilers told the New York Times that the suspect is likely financially stable and intelligent.
“He may have been treated at a hospital for a poison ivy infection.” “As part of his work or interests, he has access to or a supply of burlap sacks,” the profile reads.
Heuermann grew up in Massapequa Park, attended high school with Billy Baldwin, and began working in Manhattan in 1987.
Heuermann was married once in 1990 and again years later to his current wife Asa Ellerup, who is of Icelandic descent.
He and Asa have an adult daughter, Victoria, who works with Heuermann at his architectural firm, and a stepson, Asa’s son from a previous marriage.
His responsibilities included negotiating between the New York City Building Authority and private architects.