'Monster' serial killer suspect had secret basement room, lived 'a double life'
The suspect of the Gilgo Beach murders was a "monster" who was "living a double life," a police officer has said as chilling details from an interior designer reveal that the alleged killer also had a room in his basement that was locked and made her uneasy.
Disturbing information is emerging after the arrest of Rex Heuermann, the suspect in the long-unsolved Gilgo Beach murders case involving several women.
Heuermann was arrested and charged with murder in the deaths of three of the 11 victims whose remains were found buried along a remote beach highway in Long Island, New York.
In the court arraignment, details about the profile of the alleged serial killer indicated that he had been doing internet searches related to his victims, families, child pornography, and torture pornography.
Victims from the string of killings in Long Island, NY: Melissa Barthelemy, top left, Amber Costello, top right, Megan Waterman, bottom left, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes (AP)Meanwhile, interior designer Katherine Shepherd shared further disturbing details about the alleged murderer reportedly having a locked room in his basement that made her uneasy.
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He told her the room was filled with guns, raising suspicions about what else might have been hidden in the 12'x15' space.
Ms Shepherd had a friendly working relationship with Heuermann, not knowing about his alleged criminal activities until his arrest.
She told the Daily Mail: "I didn't understand why he was being so weird about it, and now I'm thinking 'What was he hiding?' It was a big room. What was happening in that room? Is that where he took the women?"
Ms Shepherd claimed that she had spent time with Hauermann at his home and even went to a firing range where he taught her to shoot a 9mm handgun.
She also recalled an incident where he took care of her when she was injured, now realizing that she was alone with a potential serial killer.
Rex Heuermann had a secret basement room that he told an interior designer, contained guns (RH Consultants & Associates, Inc)The shocking revelation of Heuermann's alleged crimes has left Ms Shepherd haunted and perplexed about how she could have known someone with such dark secrets.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison spoke of the Heuermann describing him as a "monster" and revealed more details about what investigators saw in his house during the thorough search for evidence.
Mr Harrison told WPIX11 News: "He's a monster. And I'll say that with a level of conviction. And I'm just so proud of the men and women of the task force who got him off the streets.
"He was living a double life, you know, and he capitalized on some of his horrible activities when [his wife] was out of town."
Regarding the ongoing investigation, Mr Harrison mentioned the collection of evidence from the suspect's home in Massapequa Park. He noted: "It's a very cluttered house like he was like a pack rat with a lot of different things in there."
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Rex Heuermann has been charged over three of the murders (Suffolk County Sheriff's Department/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)Police were also searching an Amityville storage locker connected to the Heuermann. The purpose was to gather any potential evidence that could establish links to other crimes, including possible "trophies" related to the victims, according to Mr Harrison.
"Anything that he had a connection to any type of storage facilities, residents, his place of work, we have to get search warrants and go through the property," the police commissioner said.
He added: "Anything that could help us connect him to maybe other crimes that may be on that Ocean Parkway or anywhere else, we want to take a look at."
Mr Harrison mentioned that when the case was with the Grand Jury, prior to the indictment, there were concerns about leaks and the potential difficulty it would pose to the investigation if the suspect became aware of it. He explained that they decided to move in quickly, catch the suspect at work and apprehend him immediately.
In terms of how the progress was made, Mr Harrison highlighted the role of one investigator from the State Police who helped track down a green Avalanche vehicle to a location in Massapequa Park, where the suspect lived.
Mr Harrison said: "She was really somebody that kind of moved the needle in the investigation. And knocked the wall down. Oh, yeah, pretty much knocked the wall down."
Police then re-interviewed an individual who provided a description of the suspect, including details about his appearance, leading to the arrest.
"We re-interviewed the individual who kind of gave us a bit of a description of Rex Hauermann, saying pretty much he had bushy hair, big glasses, and was sizable," he noted.
Regarding the suspect's connection to the case prior to the investigation, Mr Harrison clarified that there wasn't a specific profile for the serial killer at the time. However, they were aware of the significance of the RX vehicle in relation to the case.
Mr Harrison affirmed the importance of using science and technology to link suspects to crimes. He confirmed that the suspect's DNA would be loaded into the database used by various organizations to check for potential connections to other unsolved murders.
When asked about the possibility of another killer being involved in the dismembered victims found along Ocean Parkway, Mr Harrison stated that "only time would tell."
He said: "Time will tell. That's my response to that. We're still trying to see what else Rex might have been into." The task force remained active, he added, working alongside their partners to solve the remaining outstanding cases.
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