What was Rex Heuermann's big mistake? Criminal profiler weighs in on one of Gilgo Beach murder suspect's biggest flaws
LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK: The accused Long Island Serial Killer, Rex Heuermann, 59, was recently arrested and charged with the murders of three women whose remains were found dumped and wrapped in burlap on Long Island, New York, back in late 2010. A veteran criminal profiler, John Kelly, has labeled Heuermann an "evil chameleon" who seemed to lead a double life and expertly hide his violent urges and fantasies from his family.
Arrest and charges
On July 13, Heuermann was detained by a swarm of officers moments after leaving his midtown Manhattan office at around 8.30 pm. He was charged the following morning with three counts of first and second-degree murder in connection to the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. All three victims were sex workers in their 20s, collectively known as the "Gilgo Four," whose remains were found wrapped in burlap and dumped within a quarter-mile of each other near Gilgo Beach on Long Island in late 2010.
What was Rex Heuermann's fatal mistake?
Kelly, a seasoned criminal profiler, believes Heuermann was completely blindsided by his arrest, and like many serial killers before him, Heuermann considered himself smarter than everyone else, leading to his downfall. "We see that with these guys and we see that here as well," Kelly told The Sun. "They always do think they're smarter than everyone else and really that's what gets them tripped up in a crime. With Heuermann it was the burlap bags. He was putting these bodies in these camouflage bags to try and hide them, but as he's doing that there's DNA and other things on it, for instance, his wife's hair, which was found on three of the victims, and his hair [which was found on one]. And by using those burlap bags, he actually protected that DNA from the environment. And that's one piece that led to his downfall. He really outsmarted himself there, because if that hair wasn't in a protected environment, it would've just disintegrated long, long ago. With the wind, and the rain, and everything else, that DNA would've been destroyed if not for that bag."
Moreover, Heuermann's alleged criminal activities may not be limited to the Gilgo Four. Numerous police departments across the country, including Las Vegas, South Carolina, and New Jersey, are actively investigating cold cases to ascertain if Heuermann could be linked to other killings.
Rex Heuermann's psychological profile
According to Kelly, Heuermann fits the archetypal mold of a serial killer, being a "sexual sadist" and a narcissist. Kelly described him as an "evil chameleon," adept at projecting a normal and charming facade while harboring sinister urges. Heuermann's family, residing in a seemingly dilapidated home, reportedly had no inkling of his alleged criminal activities. Kelly said: "I call it the evil chameleon complex because they are chameleons. I mean, they can come across like they have it all together, they're charming certainly. Rarely friends and family will think they're serial killers or capable of anything like it. The house his family lives in - bearing in mind he's an architect and it looks dilapidated and run-down - is interesting, and you can interpret the psychology of that in a lot of ways. We know he has a lot of unpaid taxes, his business isn't supposedly doing so well. But he has 200 guns in his basement? That's a lot of money. He has property in Vegas and South Carolina."
Kelly delved into Heuermann's apparent social personality disorder and narcissism, emphasizing that the killer prioritized his own gratification over societal norms. "To me, he doesn't care what society thinks of him," he continued. "So what gives him self-gratification is the guns, owning properties, being on the hunt [for more victims], violent pornos, torture, and murder, that's what matters to him - not what his home looks like. He doesn't care what society thinks about him and that's a social personality disorder that pretty much all these guys have: they don't care what you think. And with narcissism as well, all that's important is what they want and what's going to make them feel good or give them a high. That's all they care about."
Potential for more victims
Kelly expressed his concern that Heuermann's body count may rise as investigators comb through unsolved murders in search of possible links to the Gilgo case. He believes that Heuermann may have other victims predating the Gilgo Four, challenging the common notion that serial killers typically start murdering in their early 20s to early 30s.
"I don't believe someone just starts in their 40s. That's just not the MO. I have never really seen that," Kelly offered. "Unfortunately, when you do catch a serial killer and you can tie in some victims, but you never have them all. Usually, there are other victims, earlier victims and you have no clue about. I believe that could be the case here. He would've started early, especially for someone that has the fantasies he has. We can see he has a sexual addiction to a violent kind of porn, so he's been entertaining these fantasies for a long, long time - and at some point, he started to move on them. And I'm sure he wasn't waiting until he was in his 40s to move on them." Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is scheduled to appear in court on August 1.