Gilgo Beach Murders: Suffolk County ends search of serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann’s home

MASSAPEQUA PARK, Long Island (WABC) — Suffolk County has ended the intense search of Gilgo Beach murder suspect Rex Heuermann’s house and will be leaving Massapequa Park “shortly.”

The 12-day hunt for evidence involved ripping up the yard and the discovery of a basement vault containing hundreds of weapons kept by the man accused of killing at least three women more than a decade ago.

At a press conference outside the home where Heuermann lived with his wife and two kids, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said police had found a “tremendous amount of information” during their search.

He declined to describe the bulk of the material, but said there was not a “singular piece of evidence” that jumped out to him.

During the search, police used a scanning technology to identify “disturbances” in the ground outside Heuermann’s property, Tierney said. An excavator dug up the yard, and investigators with shovels could be seen scraping through freshly upturned earth.

Analysts will now sift through “a massive amount of material, all of which has to be catalogued and analyzed, it’s going to take quite some time.”

Authorities said Heuermann’s house and vault were “very cluttered” with “a lot of boxes.” Officials say 297 guns were recovered from the vault that was large enough for people to enter.

Heuermann was arrested a little over a week ago in Manhattan and charged with murder in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello. DNA evidence has tied him to the killings, but Heuermann has pleaded not guilty.

Officials say he is the main suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, as well, whose remains were also found along a short stretch of Gilgo Beach in 2010.

WATCH | Rodney Harrison delves deeper into Gilgo Beach murder investigation

Investigators believe some of the victims may have been killed in the 59-year-old architect’s home, but Suffolk Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said it cannot be confirmed at this time if someone was killed inside the house.

During the thorough search of the house so far, Harrison said, “there have been items that we have taken into our possession. That makes it fruitful.”

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman also vowed Tuesday to bring the Massapequa Park neighborhood back to normal “as quickly as possible.”


“We don’t want people to think of this as some kind of gruesome tourist attraction, we are not going to tolerate that,” Blakeman said.

Over the weekend, police dismantled a wooden deck at the house. On Monday morning, NewsCopter 7 video showed Heuermann’s backyard completely turned over.

WATCH: NewsCopter 7 over Rex Heuermann’s backyard

Officials say the Gilgo Beach murder victims disappeared when Heuermann’s family was out of town, suggesting he could have lured the women. Investigators have found tape and burlap bags at the crime scene.

Meanwhile, unsolved murders and missing persons cases “around the nation” are getting a second look.

That includes the 2006 killings of four women working as prostitutes in Atlantic City. Their bodies were found in a watery ditch along Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.
Police in Las Vegas, where Heuermann owned a timeshare, said this week they are also looking at possible connections to unsolved cases.

Until his arrest last week, prosecutors say Heuermann was living a double life — using burner phones and anonymous email accounts to arrange sex and search for child pornography while raising a daughter and step-son and commuting into New York City for work.

Last week, Heuermann’s wife filed for divorce in Suffolk County Supreme Court. The docket states that the divorce will be “uncontested.”

Investigators have been talking to the sex workers about possible interactions with the suspect as authorities work to develop a more complete picture of his movements and methods.

Heuermann, who worked as an architect in Manhattan, has denied the charges through his lawyer. Since his arrest, Heuermann has been on suicide watch at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility.

The charges against Heuermann were a remarkable development in one of New York’s most notorious mysteries.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

MORE: Who are the ‘Gilgo Four?’

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