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Prosecutors say suspected serial killer Rex Heurman kept meticulous notes on how to kill and get away with it, and that his methods changed over the nearly two decades he was accused of at least six murders.
Deleted documents investigators said they found on his computer included details of how many traffic cameras he would pass on his way to the dump, how he would “prepare” his victims’ bodies for disposal, and even a Dexter Morgan-style note to hang tarps with push pins instead of tape.
Investigators say the suspects have changed over the years, but many of the victims were found wrapped in some type of material, such as hunter’s camouflage gear or surgical drapes.
The suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer allegedly has more victims and locations to search than police originally thought.
Rex Heurman, charged in the Gilgo Beach serial killings on Long Island, attends a hearing at Suffolk County Courthouse in Riverhead, New York, Thursday, June 6, 2024. Heurman was also charged Thursday with two more murders after prosecutors said they had collected new DNA evidence and discovered computer documents that Heurman used to “blueprint” the crimes. (James Carbone/Newsday via The Associated Press, Pool)
Heurman allegedly tried to remove evidence of his own DNA and fingerprints, but prosecutors allege that hairs found on several of the victims’ bodies belonged to him or to one of his family members.
His family members are not accused of taking part in any of the crimes, and they were out of town at the time of the murders, according to court documents.
Please see Exhibit B, File HK2002-04.
In a statement released by his lawyer, his estranged wife, Asa Elerup, said that if the prosecutors’ allegations are true, she did not believe Heuerman was capable of committing crimes and had no knowledge of his actions.
Rex Heurman’s estranged wife, Asa Elelap, center, and daughter Victoria Heurman, left, leave the Suffolk County Courthouse in Riverhead, N.Y., on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Elelap filed for divorce from her husband, who was arrested by police last year, but through her lawyer, said she doesn’t believe her husband was capable of committing the horrific crimes he’s been accused of. (Robert Miller, Fox News Digital)
“Today’s indictment further establishes that Asa Elelap has no involvement whatsoever in the crimes of which her estranged husband, Rex Heurman, has been charged,” said her attorney, Bob Macedonio. “Ms. Elelap married Rex Heurman in 1996. She was not living with Rex Heurman at their Massapequa Park residence in 1993, the year Ms. Costilla was murdered. Furthermore, according to the government, Ms. Elelap was not within the jurisdiction of the district at the time of Ms. Taylor’s death, again.”
Rex Heurman’s attorney, Michael Brown, right, arrives at a courtroom in Riverhead, N.Y., Thursday, June 6, 2024. Heurman, a New York architect, is accused of killing four women and abandoning their bodies near Gilgo Beach on Long Island, and also faces charges in the deaths of two other women. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
According to the filing, police have received reports of Heuerman’s old Chevy Avalanche from two witnesses in connection with two separate murders, they have decades of phone records and internet searches and they have his DNA.
Rex Heurman’s family kept brutal evidence, sources say
The “Gilgo Four,” clockwise from top left, are Maureen Brainerd Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. In the background, a wooden cross can be seen in the marsh next to Gilgo Beach, New York. Their bodies were found in brush just a few metres from Ocean Parkway. (Suffolk County Police Department/Mega via Fox News Digital)
There was also detailed notes in a computer file, “HK2002-04,” that Heuerman had allegedly deleted from his computer but not completely removed, which forensic investigators found.
The file lists “problems,” “supplies,” dump sites, and targets. There are also “pre-action,” “prep,” and “post-action” checklists. There are notes with page numbers from FBI profiler John Douglas’ groundbreaking book, “Mindhunter.” There is also a count of traffic cameras along the two main roads that connect Heurman’s home in Massapequa Park to the Manorville and North Sea dump sites.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney speaks to reporters during a news conference in Riverhead, New York, Thursday, June 6, 2024. New York architect Rex Heuerman is accused of killing four women and dumping their bodies near Gilgo Beach on Long Island, but he also faces charges in the deaths of two more women. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The “Things to remember” section notes that sound travels, so death without proper sleep “can be problematic” and “hits harder.”
Suspected serial killer Rex Heuerman’s home searched again
Jessica Taylor (left) and Valerie Mack (right) were murdered and dismembered. Suffolk County police found parts of the victims’ bodies along Ocean Parkway near Manorville and Gilgo Beach, New York. Heuerman was indicted on charges of Taylor’s murder on Thursday, but in court documents, prosecutors have indicated they may also be suspects in Mack’s case. (Suffolk County Police Department/Handout)
“When hanging fabric from the ceiling, use push pins, not tape,” it says, and to use heavy rope, as lighter ropes tend to snap “under stress from tightening.”
The “Body Disposal” section lists horrifying instructions for disposing of victims, including “cleaning the inside and all cavities of the body” and “removing all traces of the body.” [finger prints/hair]”
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An undated photo of Sandra Costilla. Prosecutors announced Thursday, June 6, 2024, that Rex Heurman has been charged with the murder of Costilla, whose body was discovered in November 1993.
If the allegations prove true, he will have failed.
“There’s so much conclusive evidence that it’s like a battlefield,” said Joseph Giacalone, a former NYPD sergeant and cold case expert at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “At the end of the day, the evidence in these cases, and in the Gilgo Four case, is insurmountable, in my opinion.”
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Evidence photos show Rex Heurman’s personal copy of “The Cases That Haunt Us,” a book detailing famous serial killer cases, in his home office. The book was found when authorities executed the initial search warrant in July 2023, according to court documents. (Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office)
He said he believes prosecutors may already be offering the suspects a plea deal in exchange for full information about the scope of their crimes.
“At this point, what’s the defense? Are you going to attack new technology? Good luck. Are you going to attack hair care? [found] “On the scene? Your wife’s hair? Good luck,” he said.
“I don’t even know if there are any photos of this,” he added.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney arrives at the courthouse in Riverhead, New York, Thursday, June 6, 2024. New York architect Rex Heuerman is accused of killing four women and abandoning their bodies near Gilgo Beach on Long Island, and is also charged in the deaths of two other women. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Documents that prosecutors say they recovered from Heurman’s computer listed “photographic film” under the “equipment” section.
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Heurman was indicted Thursday on two new murder charges in the slayings of Jessica Taylor in July 2003 and Sandra Costilla in November 1993. Prosecutors say the women were tortured and brutally treated, Costilla was found dead with 25 stab wounds, and Taylor was dismembered and her body parts dumped in two separate locations.
Police discovered 11 bodies in brush along Ocean Parkway after Shanann Gilbert panicked, called 911 for help and then vanished into the night in 2010. Her body was discovered near Oak Beach, New York, on December 13, 2011. (Shannan Gilbert’s Family)
John Kelly, a criminal profiler and founder of STALK, said serial killers typically evolve over time, especially if they’ve been active for many years.
“When they start killing, they start trying different ways to kill until they find one that works for them,” he told Fox News Digital. “The same was true with this man’s torture of choice; he experimented until he found a way that sexually aroused him and satisfied his fantasies.”
The Gilgo Four victims were all found under similar circumstances, and the dramatic differences between the Taylor and Costilla cases may lead investigators to link the Heuerman case to several unsolved murders that don’t fit the original investigative methodology, Heuerman said.
Gloria Allred, an attorney for Jessica Taylor’s family, speaks to media with Taylor’s mother, Elizabeth Bacchiel, after accused Long Island serial killer Rex Heurman appeared in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, N.Y., Thursday, June 6, 2024. Prosecutors charged Heurman Thursday with the murders of Taylor and Sandra Costilla. (Michael Lewis/Fox News Digital)
Police arrested a 59-year-old New York City architect last year in connection with three unsolved murders, and prosecutors secured charges against a fourth victim a few months later. He made a brief court appearance Thursday in a suit and handcuffs and is scheduled to appear again on July 30.
Police arrested Heurman in July 2023 outside his Manhattan office and spent nearly two weeks searching his Massapequa Park home, about 20 minutes from where they found the bodies of Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Costello, 27, in 2010.
Prosecutors later added a murder charge for 25-year-old Maureen Brainerd Barnes, whose body was found near the other suspects.
The prime suspect in Costilla’s death is former Manorville carpenter John Bittrollf, a former serial killer currently serving time in prison for two other murders.
In this July 31, 2014 file photo, John Bittrolff listens to his attorney, William Kehon, during his arraignment on murder charges in Riverhead, N.Y. Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Robert Biancavilla said Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, that Bittrolff, who was convicted of killing two prostitutes in the 1990s, may be involved in at least one of 10 unsolved murders along Long Island’s Beach Highway. (James Carbone/Newsday via The Associated Press, Pool, File)
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Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, the lead prosecutor in the case, told reporters Thursday that investigators were still examining hundreds of electronic devices seized from Heurman’s home last year.
Heuerman has pleaded not guilty to all six murder counts, and the new indictment is expected to further delay his trial.
Cold case investigators in New York and at least three other states are looking into whether the man may be involved in other murders.
“At the end of the day, I think we’re going to find that Rex is one of the most prolific serial killers that we’ve ever seen,” Giacalone predicts. “This adds dozens, if not dozens, of victims from 1993 and earlier, because Rex is 31, which is still pretty old compared to other killers that we’ve seen, and there’s a big gap between 2011 and his arrest in 2023.”
