How did they catch the Gilgo Seaside killer?

Did he know that his time was up?

His alleged web searches will surely appear to recommend so.

Within the 12 months between March 2022 and June 2023, the suspected Gilgo Seaside serial killer Rex Heuermann repeatedly appeared on-line for updates within the investigation police say.

He looked for particulars in regards to the victims and their households.

He googled the usage of new cellphone know-how within the case and appeared for podcasts and documentaries in regards to the murders.

And he even took a eager curiosity within the newly-launched process pressure – headed up by newly-appointed Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison – that was actively attempting to find him.

For as much as 16 years, police say he had gotten away with brutally murdering younger ladies and dumping their our bodies alongside the shores of Gilgo Seaside in Lengthy Island.

As physique after physique lay undiscovered, he added extra victims to his graveyard, prosecutors allege.

Then, in late 2010, a seek for one other lacking girl led authorities to the grim discovery.

However the suspect’s time nonetheless wasn’t up.

For greater than a decade, the accused killer continued to go about his day after day life – going to work at his structure agency in Manhattan and coming dwelling to his spouse and two kids.

He appeared simply as baffled by his lack of arrest because the native residents and victims’ households who questioned why police had not been in a position to catch the killer.

He even searched Google for the solutions to questions together with “why might legislation enforcement not hint the calls made by the lengthy island serial killer” and “why hasn’t the lengthy island serial killer been caught”, courtroom paperwork state.

Was he wanting over his shoulder? Did he have an inkling that he was underneath surveillance?

Or in spite of everything this time had handed, did he suppose that he would possibly by no means get caught?

Then, on 13 July 2023, as he left his workplace in Midtown after a day’s work and walked alongside a busy Manhattan highway, a bunch of suit-clad males approached and surrounded him.

The gig was lastly up.

Rex Heuermann – a 59-year-old married father-of-two, skilled structure, Manhattan enterprise proprietor and Lengthy Island native – was arrested and charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello.

He was additionally named because the prime suspect within the homicide of a fourth girl Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who was final seen alive in New York Metropolis in early June 2007.

It’s taken 13 years however Suffolk County Police lastly say they’ve caught the serial killer who lured in intercourse employees, brutally murdered them after which dumped their certain and wrapped our bodies alongside the shores of Gilgo Seaside.

What led them to the suspected killer has since been specified by courtroom paperwork.

It consisted of a tip about his pickup truck, a stash of burner telephones, “sadistic” on-line searches, cellphone calls taunting victims’ households, his spouse’s hair – and a pizza crust.

How did they discover the Gilgo Seaside killer suspect?

A sighting of pickup truck believed to belong to Rex Heuermann

The primary piece of the puzzle got here when a witness within the Costello case revealed particulars a few car {that a} consumer was driving when she was final seen alive.

Costello, who labored as a intercourse employee, was seen alive on the night of two September 2010 when she left her dwelling in West Babylon.

One evening earlier, witnesses stated {that a} prostitution consumer had come to her dwelling however the consumer was subjected to a ruse the place a person posing as Costello’s outraged boyfriend confirmed up and made him depart – in a transfer to swindle the consumer out of money. A witness stated that the consumer was driving a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche.

The subsequent day the identical consumer contacted Costello to satisfy her however stated that he wouldn’t come to her dwelling due to “her boyfriend”, the courtroom paperwork state.

Costello left her dwelling and was by no means seen alive once more.

The main points of the car got here to mild final 12 months after a brand new taskforce was assembled in January 2022 to resolve the serial killings as soon as and for all. The taskforce reviewed the proof gathered within the case and investigators interviewed Costello’s pimp within the spring of 2022.

He advised officers in regards to the suspect within the inexperienced Chevrolet Avalanche, telling them he didn’t know the person’s title however that “you would possibly wish to take a look at him”.

In March 2022, a registration search confirmed that native man Mr Heuermann owned a first-generation mannequin of the truck on the time of Costello’s disappearance. He additionally matched the witness’ description of the person believed to be the killer: a big, white “ogre”-like male in his mid-40s, round 6’4’ to six’6” tall, with “darkish bushy hair,” and “massive oval fashion 1970’s kind eyeglasses”.

“As described under, this was important, as a result of a witness to the disappearance of Amber Costello recognized a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche because the car believed to have been pushed by her killer,” the courtroom paperwork state.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison advised New York Every day Information this was the “turning level” within the investigation – and the second that authorities zeroed in on Mr Heuermann.

“The turning level was the automobile,” he stated. “As soon as we obtained that automobile, who it related to, that’s when the investigation obtained legs.”

The invention of the automobile led investigators to hone in on Mr Heuermann together with executing 300 subpoenas, search warrants and different authorized processes to acquire proof to find out his potential involvement within the killings.

Rex Heuermann’s alleged stash of burner telephones

Mr Heuermann’s alleged use of burner telephones then led police to make an arrest.

On the time when the three ladies went lacking, they’d been involved with an individual who was utilizing a burner cellphone to rearrange to satisfy them.

Individuals usually use burner telephones for illicit or unlawful actions as they’re harder to hint.

However, in accordance with the courtroom paperwork, Mr Heuermann nonetheless managed to make a sequence of essential errors whereas utilizing them.

The burner telephones used to contact the victims at all times pinged off the identical cell towers as Mr Heuermann’s respectable cellphone, the paperwork present – indicating that whereas utilizing the burner telephones, he was additionally in possession of his cellphone on the similar time.

The burner telephones additionally pinged off cell towers in two key areas – near Mr Heuermann’s workplace in Midtown Manhattan and near Mr Heuermann’s household dwelling in Massapequa Park.

Information present that Mr Heuermann’s private cellphone and the burner telephones have been in the identical areas on the similar time – and within the areas that corresponded with the disappearances and murders of every of the three ladies round Massapequa, Lengthy Island and Midtown Manhattan.

“Investigators might discover no occasion the place Heuermann was in a separate location from these different cellphones when such a communication occasion occurred,” the courtroom paperwork state.

Within the days main as much as Barthelemy’s disappearance, she had been contacted by the identical burner cellphone a number of occasions.

The final contact from the cellphone got here on 10 July 2009 when she was final seen alive in New York Metropolis.

Cell website data present the burner cellphone traveled from Massapequa Park to Midtown Manhattan that day.

Then, chillingly, Barthelemy’s personal cellphone traveled from Midtown Manhattan to Massapequa Park.

Gilgo Seaside victims’ cellphones and taunting calls to grieving households

The killer took at the very least two of his victims’ cellphones after their murders as a trophy – and, in a sick transfer, known as one of many sufferer’s households from her cellphone to taunt them about what he had achieved.

Prosecutors say the proof exhibits this individual was Mr Heuermann.

Following Brainard-Barnes and Barthelemy’s murders, the killer took and used their cellphones.

Barthelemy’s final cell website location was within the early hours of 11 July 2009 in Massapequa.

All through the subsequent two months, the killer then used her cellphone to make taunting cellphone calls to Barthelemy’s members of the family.

In at the very least a type of calls, answered by a devastated member of the family, the male caller gloated about killing and sexually assaulting Barthelemy.

Prosecutors allege that Mr Heuermann made these merciless calls from or within the neighborhood of his Midtown workplace the place his personal daughter is now an worker. Information present that every of the taunting calls pinged off cell towers in Midtown Manhattan.

Mr Heuermann additionally allegedly used Brainard-Barnes’ cellphone to verify her voicemail, the courtroom paperwork present.

Rex Heuermann’s alleged on-line searches for express photos – and the LISK investigation

Within the years after the murders, Mr Heuermann allegedly continued to slide up in his use of know-how – as he allegedly continued to make use of burner telephones to illicit intercourse from intercourse employees proper up till his arrest.

Whereas it confirmed a sample of behaviour, prosecutors additionally level to different disturbing exercise traced to the cellphone numbers.

Courtroom paperwork present that Mr Heuermann had Tinder profiles and a number of other e-mail accounts underneath a sequence of faux names.

He used these accounts – linked to his burner telephones – to seek for graphic photos of younger women and youngsters and “sadistic, torture-related pornography”.

Searches included “lady hog tied torture porn” and “10 12 months old-fashioned lady”.

In addition to the disturbing sexual searches, prosecutors say he additionally appeared up photos of the homicide victims and their kinfolk, and researched podcasts, documentaries and information tales on the case.

These included “why might legislation enforcement not hint the calls made by the lengthy island serial killer”, and “why hasn’t the lengthy island serial killer been caught”, “Lengthy Island killer” and “Lengthy Island serial killer cellphone name”.

He additionally appeared for details about the brand new process pressure on the case.

Figuring out he was retaining a detailed eye on the investigation, police saved the developments near the vest.

Surveillance footage captured Mr Heuermann including credit score to one of many burner telephones – and he had it on him when he was arrested.

How was Rex Heuermann’s spouse’s hair on the crime scene?

In a bombshell twist, hair belonging to Mr Heuermann’s spouse was allegedly discovered on the our bodies of three of the 4 victims.

Prosecutors say that two feminine hairs had been discovered on Waterman, certainly one of them on the tape which the killer wrapped round her head. One feminine hair was discovered on tape used to wrap burlap round Costello and one hair was present in a belt buckle used to bind Brainard-Barnes – who Mr Heuermann is but to be charged over.

To establish the feminine who the belonged to, investigators trawled via the trash on the Heuermann dwelling in Lengthy Island.

In July 2022, they recovered 11 bottles from the trash they usually have been swabbed for DNA.

Forensic testing discovered that the DNA on the bottles matched the feminine hair discovered on the crime scene, concluding that the hair belonged to Mr Heuermann’s spouse.

The accuracy is such that greater than 99 % of the North American feminine inhabitants may be dominated out, in accordance with the courtroom paperwork.

Prosecutors discovered that the suspect’s spouse was out of city on the time of the three murders for which he has been charged however that her hair might have transferred to the crime scene via her husband’s clothes or via him utilizing objects similar to tape taken from the household dwelling.

How a pizza crust was used to match DNA proof

In addition to his spouse’s DNA, Mr Heuermann’s DNA was additionally discovered on one of many victims.

Prosecutors stated {that a} male hair had been discovered on the burlap used to wrap Waterman’s physique earlier than the killer dumped her alongside Gilgo Seaside.

When the hair was first retrieved in 2010, it was unsuitable for DNA evaluation, in accordance with the courtroom paperwork.

However that hair was saved safely locked away and was submitted for evaluation in 2020. A DNA profile got here again.

Now, to verify if it matched Mr Heuermann, investigators wanted his DNA to match the samples.

This January, a surveillance crew watching the suspect noticed him chuck a pizza field into the trash near his workplace in Manhattan.

They nabbed the field and located a leftover pizza crust inside.

The forensics later got here again: it was Mr Heuermann’s hair discovered on Waterman’s physique.