Authorities search alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer’s home in Massapequa Park
MASSAPEQUA PARK, N.Y. (PIX11) — Authorities have descended on the Long Island home of Rex Heuermann, the man accused of killing four women over a decade ago and dumping their bodies near Gilgo Beach.
AIR11 was overhead Monday morning as authorities milled about outside the home, which is located across the bay from where the bodies were found. A Suffolk County Crime Lab vehicle was parked outside the home, video from AIR11 showed.
Timeline of the long-unsolved Gilgo Beach serial murders investigation
It was not immediately clear which law enforcement agency was leading the investigation or whether Heuermann’s relatives were home at the time.
Heuermann is charged with murder in the deaths of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, and Megan Waterman. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and has maintained his innocence since his arrest in July 2023.
More News: Gilgo Beach Killings
During a court appearance in January, prosecutors said Heuermann feared he would get caught in the months leading up to his arrest. They said he obtained data-wiping software in an attempt to destroy evidence on his laptops, phones, and other electronic devices.
Following his arrest last summer, investigators seized hundreds of devices during their lengthy search of Heuermann’s home that prosecutors say contained troves of bondage and torture pornography.
Heuermann also allegedly scoured the internet for phrases that suggested he was afraid of getting caught, including “How does cell site analysis work,” “Gilgo news,” “How cell phone tracking is increasingly being used to solve crimes,” and phrases with the term “Long Island Serial Killer.”
Heuermann’s attorney, Michael Brown, has called into question some of the evidence touted by prosecutors.
Gilgo Beach murder suspect’s wife giving him the ‘benefit of the doubt’
Brainard-Barnes was the first of the four women to disappear. Their remains were found along the same quarter-mile stretch of Ocean Parkway in 2010. Additional searching turned up the remains of six more adults and a toddler who was the child of one of the victims.
Investigators have said Heuermann was probably not responsible for all the deaths. Some of the victims disappeared in the mid-1990s.
Police concluded that an 11th person found dead in a tidal marsh on the same barrier island, Shannan Gilbert, accidentally drowned.
Lauren Cook is a digital journalist who has covered local news in the New York City area for over a decade. She has been with PIX11 since 2020. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter.
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