Gilgo serial murder case expands to three other states
Retired NYPD inspector Paul Mauro joined 'America's Newsroom' to discuss the latest on the investigation and why the suspect's duck hunting hobby may be a cover-up.
Investigators looking into the Gilgo Beach murders are making sure no stone is left unturned in determining whether serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann had victims in any other states outside of New York.
Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect living in Massapequa Park on Long Island at the time of the four Gilgo Beach murders he is suspected of committing, also owns property in Chester, South Carolina, and Las Vegas. Police are also eyeing potential ties to Atlantic City.
"Shame on us if we don't look into Las Vegas, South Carolina, even Atlantic City, we've got to make sure if anyone has any information," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison told ABC 7 on Wednesday.
Rex Heuermann, who owns a Las Vegas timeshare, was charged with murder in New York. Las Vegas police are looking to see if he is involved in any of their unsolved cases. (Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
Las Vegas
Heuermann purchased a timeshare in Las Vegas, a few miles west of the Strip, on April 23, 2005, according to records. A sex worker disappeared less than two weeks after that date, which has fueled online speculation that the Manhattan architect could be involved her murder.
Lindsay Marie Harris, a 21-year-old escort who advertised on Craigslist, like Heuermann's other alleged victims, was last seen on May 4, 2005.
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On May 23, 2005, kids found her dismembered legs while playing along Interstate 55 in Divernon, Illinois, which is about a 24-hour drive from Vegas but along the route to Heuermann's home in Massapequa Park on Long Island, New York.
The four victims Heuermann is accused of killing were not dismembered after their deaths.
Lindsay Marie Harris, a 21-year-old sex worker, vanished in Las Vegas less than two weeks after suspected killer Rex Heuermann bought a Vegas timeshare. Her legs were found in Illinois, which is along I-55, about the midway point between Vegas and Heuermann's Long Island, New York, home. (Google Maps)
Harris' case was never closed.
The only known suspect in her case, Neal Falls, who was linked to at least 10 sex workers' deaths, was fatally shot in self-defense by an escort in July 2015 in Charleston, West Virginia, but there hasn't been enough evidence to definitively say Falls killed Harris.
Las Vegas police issued a statement confirming they are reviewing unsolved cases.
Lindsay Marie Harris was a 21-year-old escort advertising on Craigslist when she disappeared in May 2005. (Illinois State Police)
"We are aware of Rex Heuermann’s connection to Las Vegas," a Las Vegas Police Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "We are currently reviewing our unsolved cases to see if he has any involvement."
South Carolina
Heuermann also purchased several plots of undeveloped land that back up onto a lake in Chester, South Carolina, in 2022. His brother, Craig Heuermann, has owned land on the same street since 2001.
The backs of Rex Heuermann's and Craig Heuermann's lots in South Carolina meet a series of small lakes, where some residents keep boats. (Fox News Digital)
Neighbors told Fox News Digital that Craig Heuermann said his brother planned to retire in Chester and buy out other residents on his street.
Police seized Heuermann's green Chevy Avalanche as evidence in the Gilgo Beach murders from his brother's Chester property.
In Rock Hill, which is about 20 miles northeast of Chester, police have been "reviewing any information to see if there is a correlation between the disappearance of" a woman named Aaliyah Bell, who went missing in 2014, "and Rex Heuermann."
In Rock Hill, which is about 20 miles northeast of Chester, police have been "reviewing any information to see if there is a correlation between the disappearance of" a woman named Aaliyah Bell, who went missing in 2014, "and Rex Heuermann." (Facebook)
"So far there is no indication that leads us to identify Heuermann as a suspect in this case. We will continue to investigate Bell’s disappearance and follow up on all tips and leads," a spokesperson for the Rock Hill Police Department said.
Atlantic City
In addition to Heuermann's Vegas and South Carolina ties, Commissioner Harrison told ABC 7 that "there were some murders a couple years ago that were similar" to the Gilgo Beach murders in Atlantic City, referring to the 2006 "Black Horse Pike" murders of four sex workers in Egg Harbor Township.
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"What I'm being told is it's not a connection, but we want to revisit that investigation as well," he told the outlet.
Rex Heuermann, an architect who lived a 20-minute drive from Gilgo Beach in Massapequa Park, appears in what investigators describe as "selfie" photographs taken from the fictitious Springfieldman9 AOL account, as part of a bail application by the Suffolk County District Attorney's office July 14, 2023. ( Suffolk County Court/Handout via REUTERS)
The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office told Fox News Digital on Friday that it "continues to investigate this case" and "follow all leads."
Heuermann is charged with six total counts of murder in connection with the 2010 New York deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, whose remains were discovered in a wooded area along Gilgo Beach on Long Island. The 59-year-old architect is also the prime suspect in the murder of a fourth victim, Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
The four victims became known as the "Gilgo Four" after police found their remains while searching for missing escort Shannan Gilbert.
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In addition to the Gilgo Four, police would go on to find seven more sets of remains, including those belonging to an Asian man or transgender female and those of a toddler, along Gilgo Beach between 2010 and 2011.
All the victims were sex workers at the time of their disappearances over a decade ago.
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The suspect was tied to the crimes through DNA evidence and cellphone data. Rex Heuermann allegedly called at least one victim's family after her death and taunted them, according to court documents.
Authorities have been searching Rex's Long Island home for evidence. It is unclear whether police will also search his South Carolina properties.
Fox News' Chris Eberhart and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
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