Gilgo Beach killings: Investigators continue search of suspect Rex Heuermann's Long Island home
Investigators removed dozens of evidence boxes and household items from the Massapequa Park home of alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann on the second day of their renewed search effort Tuesday.
Investigators could be seen carrying out tables, a filing cabinet and cleaning supplies during the thorough purging of the First Avenue house, where the Manhattan architect has lived with his family for nearly 30 years.
“They're going to be here for a few days,” said next door neighbor Etienne deVilliers, who received a knock on his door from a pair of state troopers who spent the morning informing residents of the continuing investigation.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney and the Suffolk Police Department have declined to say specifically what brought investigators back to the ranch house they searched for 12 days last July following the arrest of Heuermann, who has been charged in the killings of four women whose remains were found at Gilgo Beach in December 2010.
More than a dozen investigators with the county and state police could be seen entering and exiting the house throughout the day, assisting crime lab personnel with carrying boxes to a table outside, where evidence was logged and placed into a van and box truck. Other items, including a Sonic the Hedgehog stuffed animal, backpack and clothes hangers, were carried directly to a police cargo trailer in front of the house, which Massapequa Park Village records show was built for Heuermann's parents in 1955.
Law enforcement could be seen carrying items out of both the front door and the rear double doors of the basement of the home. So many items were taken out, nearly a dozen boxes piled up in the driveway during a lunch break taken by the personnel logging the evidence.
Deputy Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina and Gilgo Beach Task Force prosecutors Nicholas Santomartino and Andrew Lee were among those spotted at the scene, where the occasional news chopper flew overhead.
DeVilliers, 68, who has lived next door to the family for 28 years, said he felt for Heuermann's wife, Asa Ellerup, and their adult children, Victoria, 27, and Christopher Sheridan, 34.
“Asa told me and Chris told me that [police] tore the house down the first time,” deVilliers said. “They left no stone unturned.”
Police arrived for the second search Monday when only Victoria was home, sources said. Ellerup and Sheridan are on vacation in South Carolina, said her attorney, Robert Macedonio, of Islip Terrace.
Heuermann, 60, was arrested in New York City on July 13. The following afternoon he pleaded not guilty to first- and second-degree murder charges in the killings of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Lynn Costello, whose remains were found near Gilgo Beach more than 13 years ago.
He again pleaded not guilty in January to the superseding indictment, which added a fourth count of second-degree murder in the slaying of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, whose remains were found near the other victims. All four of the women — the first of 10 sets of remains found along Ocean Parkway that are believed to be the work of one or more serial killers — were sex workers.
Investigators removed dozens of evidence boxes and household items from the Massapequa Park home of alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann on the second day of their renewed search effort Tuesday.
Investigators could be seen carrying out tables, a filing cabinet and cleaning supplies during the thorough purging of the First Avenue house, where the Manhattan architect has lived with his family for nearly 30 years.
“They're going to be here for a few days,” said next door neighbor Etienne deVilliers, who received a knock on his door from a pair of state troopers who spent the morning informing residents of the continuing investigation.
An aerial view shows law enforcement agents doing an extensive crime search at the Massapequa home of alleged Gilgo Beach killer Rex A. Heuermann's house on Tuesday. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney and the Suffolk Police Department have declined to say specifically what brought investigators back to the ranch house they searched for 12 days last July following the arrest of Heuermann, who has been charged in the killings of four women whose remains were found at Gilgo Beach in December 2010.
More than a dozen investigators with the county and state police could be seen entering and exiting the house throughout the day, assisting crime lab personnel with carrying boxes to a table outside, where evidence was logged and placed into a van and box truck. Other items, including a Sonic the Hedgehog stuffed animal, backpack and clothes hangers, were carried directly to a police cargo trailer in front of the house, which Massapequa Park Village records show was built for Heuermann's parents in 1955.
Belongings from the home of alleged Gilgo Beach killer Rex A. Heuermann are removed from his Massapequa Park home on Tuesday. Credit: James Carbone
Law enforcement could be seen carrying items out of both the front door and the rear double doors of the basement of the home. So many items were taken out, nearly a dozen boxes piled up in the driveway during a lunch break taken by the personnel logging the evidence.
Deputy Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina and Gilgo Beach Task Force prosecutors Nicholas Santomartino and Andrew Lee were among those spotted at the scene, where the occasional news chopper flew overhead.
DeVilliers, 68, who has lived next door to the family for 28 years, said he felt for Heuermann's wife, Asa Ellerup, and their adult children, Victoria, 27, and Christopher Sheridan, 34.
“Asa told me and Chris told me that [police] tore the house down the first time,” deVilliers said. “They left no stone unturned.”
Police arrived for the second search Monday when only Victoria was home, sources said. Ellerup and Sheridan are on vacation in South Carolina, said her attorney, Robert Macedonio, of Islip Terrace.
Alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann appears in a Riverhead courtroom in February. Credit: James Carbone
Heuermann, 60, was arrested in New York City on July 13. The following afternoon he pleaded not guilty to first- and second-degree murder charges in the killings of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Lynn Costello, whose remains were found near Gilgo Beach more than 13 years ago.
He again pleaded not guilty in January to the superseding indictment, which added a fourth count of second-degree murder in the slaying of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, whose remains were found near the other victims. All four of the women — the first of 10 sets of remains found along Ocean Parkway that are believed to be the work of one or more serial killers — were sex workers.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.
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'Why am I giving up my Friday night to listen to this?' A Newsday analysis shows the number of referees and umpires has declined 25.2% in Nassau and 18.1% in Suffolk since 2011-12. Officials and administrators say the main reason is spectator behavior. NewsdayTV's Carissa Kellman reports.
