26 August 2023 , 00:05
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The man accused of carrying out the infamous Gilgo Beach murders has reportedly been seeing a clergyman once a week in jail as he continues to seem "emotionless" after being taken off suicide watch.
59-year-old Rex Heuermann has been charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, 24, from New York, Megan Waterman, 22, from Maine, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27, from North Carolina - he has entered a not guilty plea to all charges. He is also the prime suspect in the murder of 25-year-old Maureen Brainard-Barnes, from Connecticut.
The four women became known as the Gilgo Four after their remains were uncovered in December 2010 along a stretch of Ocean Highway, near Gilgo Beach in Long Island, during the search for 23-year-old Shannan Gilbert. All four women were sex workers from out of the area who were found within a tenth of a mile apart in the brush alongside the highway wrapped in burlap. Medical examiners found all four had been strangled.
Heuermann has reportedly shown no emotion since landing in jail (AP)The Long Island architect spent his first few days in jail isolated in his bunk inside his 60-square-foot cell. Suffolk Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr said he was often seen looking up at the ceiling but has since settled in.
The sheriff said: "I have not seen any emotion from him. You wonder what is going on... Is there something going on inside that is brewing?"
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Sheriff Toulon gave more details about the suspected serial killer's five weeks at the Suffolk County Jail in Riverhead, Long Island. He said Heuermann goes for walks alone in a small recreation area and spends his time reading and watching television.
Heuermann has been placed in a special unit, where corrections offers are keeping him safe from both other inmates and himself. Sheriff Toulon said: "He's not just another inmate to me, and forget about the notoriety of this case.
Heuermann has been placed in a special unit for his own protection (AP)"I'm really trying to look into his soul to see what is it about this guy that's not about the other [900] inmates I'm dealing with."
Jail staff have been instructed to closely monitor the suspect for any signs of physical or emotional distress - including crying, pacing his cell, or putting his hand to his head. Sheriff Toulon explained: "When [inmates] see the four walls of their cell start to close in, there is not much more that they can do.
"Three months ago, he was walking around the streets in New York City, he was eating at a deli... It starts to weigh on someone who is incarcerated. I don't want them to ever be complacent with anything, with any of his requests...
"If they feel it is unusual, bring it to a supervisor's attention. If he is not acting right, make sure he gets the proper medical treatment. It's more important to me that Mr Heuermann has his justice in the courts and not in the jails."
There have been requests from both journalists and true-crime fans to visit Heuermann, however, he has only met with his attorney, Michael Brown, and a man the sheriff declined to identify. Sheriff Toulon added that two sex workers hired by Heuermann have come forward to share their experiences.
Police are continuing to investigate and Heuermann is currently the prime suspect in a fourth murder (AP)The two women operated in the Long Island area, and were interviewed by Suffolk County's anti-human trafficking unit in July, according to Sheriff Toulon. Both said they had one meeting with Heuermann and found the 6ft 4", 240lb (108kg, 17st 2lb) architect "violent" and "aggressive".
"A person of that size being a little aggressive was probably frightening", added Sheriff Toulon. Neither woman was injured during the encounters, he confirmed.
The sheriff did not specify whether the two women had met Heuermann before, during, or after he allegedly carried out the murders of at least three women, dumping their bodies just 20 minutes from his Massapequa Park home.
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Heuermann was arrested near his Manhattan office on July 13 after DNA from a pizza crust and napkin thrown in a bin outside his office cracked the 13-year cold case. The DNA was a 99.96 per cent match with the DNA profile created from hair recovered from the "bottom of the burlap" bag used to transport Megan Waterman's naked body.
An extensive search of Heuermann's Massapequa Park home was carried out (AFP via Getty Images)Melissa Barthelemy was the first of the Gilgo Four to be found, on December 11, 2010. She had last been seen outside her apartment in the Bronx on July 12, 2009. Maureen Brainard-Barnes, last seen July 9, 2007 at a hotel in Manhattan, Megan Waterman, last seen June 6, 2010 leaving a hotel in Hauppauge, and Amber Lynn Costello, last seen September 2, 2010, leaving her home, were all discovered on December 13, 2010.
The women's remains were found during a search for 23-year-old Shannan Gilbert who had placed a chilling 911 call from the nearby gated Oak Beach community in the early hours of May 1, 2010. During the call, at 4.51am, Shannan claimed people were trying to kill her, she was seen banging on doors in the neighbourhood while screaming for help.
A year after the Gilgo Four were found, Shannan's remains were found in an Oak Beach marsh, around a quarter-mile from where she was last seen. A week earlier, her pocketbook, ID, cell phone, jeans, and shoes were found in the marsh close to where she was last seen. Suffolk County Police believe she accidentally drowned after entering the marsh in a drug-induced panic, though toxicology screenings were negative for drugs. In May 2012, Suffolk County medical examiners classified her official cause of death as "inconclusive".
Her case has sparked mass debate as to whether she should be classed among the 10 cases linked to what became known as the Long Island Serial Killer. Police spent years investigating the case, believing the bodies discovered along the stretch of Ocean Highway could have been the work of more than one killer.