Rex Heuermann's search history gave cops chilling insights into suspect's fascination with Gilgo Beach murders
SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK: Prosecutors on Friday said the man who allegedly killed at least three women out of 11 and dumped their bodies along a Long Island beach was obsessed with the case. Rex Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect, used a burner phone to search for information about the Gilgo murders and the victims' families, according to his bail application.
He also searched for sex workers, child porn and violent rape porn, the document said. It is not yet clear if he will be charged with the murders of other Gilgo murder victims too.
Rex Heuermann's arrest and charges
Heuermann was arrested on Thursday night in Manhattan and pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder on Friday. He is suspected of killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello who were among the so-called 'Gilgo Four' the first found victims of the Gilgo's serial murders, the remains of who were found near Gilgo Beach in 2010 and 2011. He is also the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who disappeared in 2007, however, he is not facing charges on that yet.
L-R) Top Row: Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, and Megan Waterman: (2nd Row L-R) Shannan Gilbert, Jessica Taylor, Valerie Mack, and unidentified Asian male (Suffolk County Police, New York Post)Where is Rex Heuermann's family?
District Attorney Raymond Tierney, as per New York Post, told the court that Heuermann's wife and two children were not at home when he allegedly met and killed the victims. Records reportedly reveal that his wife, Asa Ellerup, was either abroad or out of state when the 'Gilgo Four' vanished in 2009 and 2010, Tierney said as per a report. The majority of the victims, including 'Gilgo Four,' were sex workers on Craigslist. They would work under aliases and were found over three days along Ocean Parkway between Gilgo Beach and Cedar Beach. The bodies were spread over a quarter mile, roughly five hundred feet apart. It took investigators almost three days to collect the four bodies while they were investigating the whereabouts of missing Shannan Gilbert an escort who disappeared on May 1, 2010.
Suspect's online activities and obsession with Gilgo murders
The bail application revealed that Heuermann used an email address linked to his burner phone to do over 200 searches in four months for the Gilgo murders and the victims' relatives. Some of the queries included "Why hasn't the Long Island serial killer been caught or why could law enforcement not trace the calls made by the Long Island serial killer" and other details related to the case. Heuermann also used his burner phone to contact three of the four victims and arrange meetings with them, prosecutors said. He also searched for thousands of sex workers online as well as child pornography and sadistic sex acts such as "girl begging for rape porn," "pretty girl with bruised face porn" and "tied up and raped porn."