The suspect who was arrested on Long Island in connection with a long-unsolved string of killings, known as the Gilgo Beach murders, has been confirmed as Rex Heuermann, according to four senior law enforcement officials briefed on the case.
Suffolk County police, sheriffs and New York State Police gathered outside Heuermann's home all Friday morning. He is expected to be in court later in the day and Suffolk County prosecutors are expected to provide more details on the arrest and the suspect in a Friday afternoon news conference.
Police and other agencies were seen searching the Massapequa Park home of the suspect. They were looking to see if any evidence inside might link Heuermann to the killings. Law enforcement officials were also seen in Midtown Manhattan Friday, searching the suspect's office on Fifth Avenue and 36th Street.
For years, investigators suspected whether the suspect lived on Long Island and commuted to Manhattan through Penn Station. A cell phone ping at the transportation hub is part of the evidence, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
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Not much else is yet known about Heuermann but one neighbor who spoke to NBC New York said he was born and raised on Long Island and has lived in the Massapequa area his entire life. In an interview with "Bonjour Realty," a YouTube channel that highlights life in New York City, Heuermann said he has been working in the city since 1987 and he has worked extensively with the Department of Buildings.
Actor Billy Baldwin said he went to high school at the same time as Heuermann who graduated in the class of 1981. "Mind-boggling… Massapequa is in shock. 23andMe strikes again???," the Massapequa native wrote in a tweet.
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Other former classmates also posted Heuermann's yearbook photo in an alumni Facebook group and said that they were shocked to learn the news of the arrest.
Since human remains were found along Gilgo Beach more than a decade ago, the case has drawn immense public attention for many years. The unsolved killings gained even more national interest when they became the subject of the 2020 Netflix film “Lost Girls.”
The deaths of 11 people whose remains were found in 2010 and 2011 have long stumped investigators. Most of the victims were young women who had been sex workers. Several of the bodies were found near the town of Gilgo Beach.
Determining who killed them, and why, has vexed a slew of seasoned homicide detectives through several changes in police leadership. Last year, an interagency task force was formed with investigators from the FBI, as well as state and local police departments, aimed at solving the case.
The formation of the Gilgo Beach task force represents a renewed commitment to investigating the unsolved killings of mostly young women whose skeletal remains were found along a highway on Long Island, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said.
“We’re happy to see that they’re finally active, the police, in accomplishing something. Let’s wait and see what it all leads to,” said John Ray, the attorney for the families of two victims, Shannan Gilbert and Jessica Taylor.
In talking about the bodies near Gilgo Beach, investigators have said several times over the years that it is unlikely one person killed all the victims.
News of a suspect being taken into custody comes a day after state police responded to a report of skeletal remains found in a wooded area off the Southern State Parkway in Islip. Police planned a briefing near the site on Friday afternoon. It wasn’t immediately clear if those remains were linked to the Gilgo Beach case.
