The suspected serial killer arrested over the notorious Gilgo Beach murders in Long Island had been pinned as a person of interest more than a year ago after a DNA match, sources told The Post Friday.
Rex Heuermann, 59, was taken into custody over the slayings of four women who were found wrapped in burlap and dumped within days of each other in late 2010, multiple sources said.
The married father-of-two’s arrest marks the culmination of what appears to be a slow and methodical probe by investigators, which saw them eventually arrest him at his office in New York City on Thursday evening, the police said.
Heuermann was taken into custody at the offices of his company, RH Architecture, in Midtown.
The building was still swarming with police Friday, including a New York State Police box truck, two Suffolk Police Highway Patrol cars, a New York state trooper car and a Suffolk County government van.
Sources at the scene told The Post that Suffolk County crime labs had been searching inside the office building.
Rex Heuermann, 59, was taken into custody late Thursday at his office in Manhattan. Rex Heuermann Consultants & AssociatesInvestigators haven’t yet revealed when, or how, Heuermann first came on their radar amid the long-running murder probe.
It also wasn’t immediately clear where the DNA was obtained to build the suspect’s profile.
Who is Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann?
A suspected serial killer has been arrested over the notorious Gilgo Beach murders in Long Island, The Post can confirm.
Rex Heuermann, 59, a married dad of two and architect at a New York City firm, has a home on 1st Avenue in Massapequa Park, sources told The Post.
His arrest is tied to the “Gilgo Four,” four women — Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, Amber Lynn Costello, 27, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25 — found wrapped in burlap within days of each other in 2010.
The body of Barthelemy was first found along Ocean Parkway on Dec. 11, 2010, sparking fears of a serial killer in the area.
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By spring 2011, the number of bodies had climbed to 10, including eight women as well as an unidentified man and toddler.
Heuermann’s arrest comes after Suffolk County’s new police commissioner created a special Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force in February 2022.
State and Suffolk County police have also been at Heuermann’s home since the early hours Friday. A cooler was seized from Heuermann’s run-down home by authorities in the wake of his arrest, according to one source, though it wasn’t immediately clear how it was linked to the investigation.
The suspect’s vehicle was later towed away as “evidence,” sources at the scene said.
Heuermann’s arrest is believed to only be tied to the so-called “Gilgo Four” women — and not the other six bodies that were found nearby and eyed as possibly being connected, sources said.
Fears of a serial killer first emerged when the body of 24-year-old Melissa Barthelemy was discovered along Ocean Parkway on Dec. 11, 2010.
A cooler was seized from Heuermann’s run-down home by authorities in the wake of his arrest, sources said. AP
His arrest is believed to only be tied to the so-called “Gilgo Four” women: Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, Amber Lynn Costello, 27, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25. REUTERSThe remains of three other women — Megan Waterman, 22, Amber Lynn Costello, 27, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25 — were found in the following days.
They were all found wrapped in burlap about one-tenth of a mile apart from each other on the beach.
By spring 2011, that number had climbed to 10 sets of human remains — those of eight women, one man and one toddler.
In talking about the bodies near Gilgo Beach, investigators have said several times over the years that it is unlikely one person killed all the victims.
Heuermann’s arrest comes after Suffolk County’s new police commissioner created a special Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force in February last year to probe the decade-old case.
It included help from state police, local sheriffs, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI.
“This is a day that is a long time in coming, and hopefully a day that will bring peace to this community and to the families — peace that has been long overdue,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said during an unrelated public appearance on Long Island.
