Gilgo Beach murder suspect Rex Heuermann has reportedly told officials at his jail that he intends to stay out of trouble.
Mr Heuermann, 59, is being held at the maximum-security Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverhead following his arrest on murder charges on 13 July. He is accused of killing Amber Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy, whose bodies were found along the stretch of a roadway in Gilgo Beach.
The arrest has been the biggest development in the case since law enforcement discovered the remains in 2010. Mr Heuermann is also the prime suspect in a fourth murder and is being looked at in connection with at least six other bodies linked to the Gilgo Beach murders investigation.
Mr Heuermann has pleaded not guilty and reportedly broke down in tears as he insisted on his innocence, according to his attorneys. But shocking arrest records released by Suffolk County prosecutors point at a trove of evidence allegedly linking him to the murders, including DNA, cellphone records and witness testimony.
Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon told 1010 WINS that the alleged murderer is in a cell by himself and has reportedly had no visitors in the nearly six days he’s been in jail. Mr Heuermann is on suicide watch per the jail’s standard protocol but his mental state will be reassessed in the following days, Mr Toulon said.
“It seems like he’s very comfortable in his cell and his surroundings,” Mr Toulon said. “He’s indicated to my staff that he would not be any issue to us and would be extremely compliant, so we’ll see how that plays out in the days and weeks ahead.”
Mr Heuermann’s wife Asa Ellerup is said to have been “disgusted” when she learned that her husband had been arrested and charged with three of the string of unsolved killings that have haunted Long Island for more than a decade, according to CNN.
Authorities work outside as they search the home of suspect Rex Heuermann, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Massapequa Park, NY— (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Online court records show that Ms Ellerup, who has been married to the accused serial killer’s wife for more than two decades, filed a matrimonial complaint in Suffolk County Supreme Court on Wednesday. The filing – titled Asa Ellerup v Rex Heuermann – states that the divorce is “uncontested”.
Over the weekend, a trove of 200 to 300 firearms was seized from the suspect’s home – a home he has lived in his whole life and which is located just a 20-minute drive from Gilgo Beach where the killer dumped the bodies of his victims. He had legal permits for 92 guns, police previously said.
Rex Heuermann, 59, was arrested last week in connection with the brutal murders of Melissa Barthelemy (upper left), Amber Costello (upper rigth), Megan Waterman (bottom left). He is also the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes (bottom right)— (AP)
An NYPD official told ABC News that authorities in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are now probing potential links between Mr Heuermann and other missing person cases and murders. Investigators further afield are also exploring possible ties between the serial killer suspect in Las Vegas, local authorities confirmed to The Independent earlier this week.
The married father-of-two’s DNA has been entered into a statewide database and his alleged MO is being compared to other cases – including those during the period he was allegedly active in Gilgo Beach.
