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His Manhattan business describes him as a registered architect with over 30 years’ experience. His neighbours describe him as a “family man” living with his wife and two children in a tight-knit community in Suffolk County. But now authorities are describing him as the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer who unleashed terror along the shores of Long Island more than a decade ago. Rex Heuermann was arrested on Thursday night in connection to the shocking murder case where body after body was found dumped along the remote beaches on Ocean Parkway. The 59-year-old appeared in court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder in the first degree and three in the second degree over the deaths of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello. Here’s what we know about the suspect: Rex Heuermann Manhattan architect and married father-of-two Rex Heuermann was taken into custody at around 8.30pm on Thursday night near his Midtown office. Before the arrest, Mr Heuerman had been under surveillance by law enforcement, according to ABC News. On Friday morning, swathes of New York State and Suffolk County police officers were seen searching his home on First Avenue in Massapequa Park – which is located just a 20-minute drive from Gilgo Beach where the killer dumped the bodies of his victims. Neighbours told The Independent that he was a quiet family man who lived in the close-knit community with his wife and two children. One neighbour, who has lived a stone’s throw from the Heuermanns for more than two decades, said that the family is “a very quiet family” who made “no imprint at all” on the neighborhood. “Basically, we never had any contact with him... living here 22 years and never said two words to him,” the long-time Massapequa Park resident said, adding that “one bad apple doesn’t spoil the bunch” in a “great neighbourhood”. Maureen Holpit, 59, who attended Berner High School in Massapequa with Mr Heuarmann, told The Independent that Mr Heauerman was once a shy teen who would often leave “love notes” in her locker. Ms Holpit said her exchanges with the now suspected serial killer were always pleasant and polite. “I was always nice and friendly to him, you know. Seemed like he kind of got picked on and people would make maybe portray him as a little nerdy. He was very quiet, mild-mannered. So I was nice and would say, ‘Hey, Rex, how are you?,’” Ms Holpit, who now lives in Florida, tells The Independent. “I was getting these notes in my locker. As I’m remembering, there were multiple little love notes but they were not signed,” she added. “Then, one day I did see him put it in my locker and so I knew they were from him. I may have said to him that I had a boyfriend or I just liked him as a friend.” One woman told News12 that it was “ming-boggling” that the “quiet” 59-year-old could be involved in the horrific case while another said that he was known to do outdoor activities such as woodwork. Mr Heuermann works in Manhattan – where some of the Gilgo Beach victims were last seen alive – as the president of architecture firm RH Consultants & Associates. According to the company website, he founded the company in 1994. It has since worked with the likes of Catholic Charities, NYC-DEP Sewerage Treatment and American Airlines and other major tenants at the JFK International Airport. A company page called Meet The Team and featuring his photo appeared to be taken down on Friday morning as news of his arrest broke. In an interview posted on YouTube by Bonjour Realty last year, the father-of-two said that he was “born and raised in Long Island” but had been “working in Manhattan since 1987... [a] very long time”. The architect reportedly broke down in tears during his court appearance on Friday evening. “We just got appointed on this case. There’s not much I can tell you folks at this point in time,” his attorney, Michael Brown, told reporters, according to NBC. “I will say to you folks that it’s extremely circumstantial in nature. In terms of speaking to my client, the only thing I can tell you that he did say, as he was in tears, was ‘I didn’t do this.’ The murders The case began in May 2010 when Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old sex worker, vanished after leaving a client’s house on foot near Gilgo Beach. She called 911 for help saying she feared for her life and was never seen alive again. In the chilling call, released last year, Gilbert is heard repeatedly telling the 911 operator that “somebody’s after me”. She is also heard arguing with a man – who she refers to as Mike – who appears to be trying to encourage her to get back inot a car and at one point, she is heard asking if he is “going to kill” her. “These people are plotting to kill me,” she tells the dispatcher. During a search for Gilbert in dense thicket close to the beach, police discovered the remains of another woman. Within a matter of days, the remains of three more victims were found close by. By spring 2011, the remains of a total of 10 victims had been found including eight women, a man, and a toddler. Gilbert’s body was found in December 2011. Her cause of death is widely contested with authorities long claiming that it is not connected to the serial killer or killers but that she died from accidental drowning as she fled from the client’s home. However, an independent autopsy commissioned by her family ruled that she died by strangulation and her mother believes she was murdered. Like Gilbert, most of the victims targeted were sex workers. Several theories have been mulled over the years but no one had ever been charged with the killings. Authorities have previously said they believe that three separate serial killers could be responsible for the slayings over a period of around 20 years. The case appeared to go cold for several years until last year when Suffolk Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison vowed to finally close the case and bring the killer or killers to justice. The newly-appointed commissioner said that, with “a set of fresh eyes”, he had faith that he could get the cold case “across the finish line”. He launched a dedicated taskforce for the case. The investigation Last year, the Suffolk County Police Department, New York State Police, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI revamped the probe into the killings that ultimately led to Mr Heuermann’s bombshell arrest outside his Midtown office on Thursday. A bail application released by the Suffolk County District Attorney revealed that Mr Heuermann was linked to the serial killings through cellphone evidence and surveillance. Prosecutors have argued that no bail should be set for Mr Heuermann due to his recent searches for “sadistic materials, child pornography, images of the victims and their relatives.” Mr Heuermann was first linked to the cold case in March 2022 after investigators discovered that a Chevrolet Avalanche registered to him was possibly the one spotted by a witness in Costello’s disappearance. As law enforcement closed in on him, they served more than 300 subpoenas and search warrants that uncovered cellphone records for burner phones used to arrange meetings with three of the “Gilgo Four” victims before they went missing. Further analysis also allegedly linked Mr Heuermann to taunting calls made to family members of the victims, according to investigators. The calls were made from the Midtown Manhattan area, where the offices of Mr Heuerman’s architecture business are located. Among the evidence linking Mr Heuermann to the murders was a hair found on burlap material used to wrap Waterman’s corpse, according to court documents. DNA analysis had not been possible in the early stages of the investigation, but new technology allowed testing in July 2020. A team surveilling Mr Heuermann collected a discarded pizza box that then confirmed a DNA match with the suspect on 12 June. Records also show that several online accounts under fictitious names linked to Mr Heuermann were used for illegal activities. Mr Heuermann allegedly used those accounts and burner phones to contact women for prostitution services, as well as making chilling online searches. The searches included sadistic, torture-related pornography, child pornography and disturbing content. Mr Heuermann is also accused of searching “why could law enforcement not trace the calls made by the long island serial killer,” “why hasn’t the long island serial killer been caught” and “new phone technology may be key to break in case.” More forensic analysis revealed that female hairs found in the three crime scene locations belonged to Mr Heuermann’s wife. However, authorities have determined through cellphone records that Mr Heuermann’s wife was out of state when the murders took place. At the time Barthelemy went missing in July 2009, Mr Heuermann’s wife was in Iceland. She visited Maryland around the time Waterman disappeared in June 2010, and also travelled to New Jersey when Costello was last seen in September of that year. “It is likely that the burlap, tape, vehicle(s) or other instrumentalities utilized in furtherance of these murders came from Defendant Heuermann’s residence, where his wife also resides, or was transferred from his clothing,” prosecutors explained. Mr Heuermann is also the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who is believed to be one of the “Gilgo Four.” Prosecutors noted in the application that records for the burner phones used to contact Brainard-Barnes were not obtained at the time she went missing and no longer exist. The arrest On Thursday, there was a huge breakthrough in the case when suspect Mr Heuermann was finally arrested on suspicion of the murders. Police sources told The Associated Press that an individual had been taken into custody on Thursday night in connection with the unsolved murders which terrorised the community in Suffolk County more than a decade ago. Suffolk County Police would not confirm the arrest on Friday morning, but have announced a press conference for the afternoon citing a “significant development” in the high-profile case. John Ray, who represents the families of Shannan Gilbert and Jessica Taylor, said that they learned around a week ago that an arrest was imminent. Mr Ray said he “had a very strong, credible tip that they were about to close in on an arrest”. But, he said that they were not too optimistic – given the case has rumbled on for more than a decade – and had not been told anything official. “We’re pleased if they actually managed to find somebody that can be tagged for this,” he said at the time. “We’re pleased that something is finally occurring, because we’ve been frustrated.” The victims The remains of at least 11 victims’ were found in the Gilgo Beach area though it remains unclear if they are all the work of the same killer. Many were sex workers who offered escort services on Craigslist or worked in New York City. The first victim found was Melissa Barthelemy whose remains were discovered along Ocean Parkway on 11 December 2010 during the search for Shannan Gilbert – a 24-year-old sex worker from New Jersey who vanished after visiting a client in Oak Park and making a chilling 911 call where she revealed fears for her life. Two days later on 13 December, the remains of three other victims – Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello – were found close by. All three women were known to advertise escort services on Craigslist. Brainard-Barnes – known as one of the Gilgo Beach Four – was last seen alive in early June 2007 in New York City while Costello was last seen leaving her North Babylon home one day in early September 2010. Waterman was last seen alive in early June 2010 at a Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge. Seven months later, on 26 July 2011, the remains of Jessica Taylor were found in a wooded area in Manorville during the ongoing search for Gilbert. Taylor worked as an escort in New York City. Valerie Mack also worked as an escort but was last seen alive in Philadelphia in 2000. Her remains were found on two separate occasions in Manorville in 2000 and in Oak Beach in 2011 but she was only identified in 2020 through the use of genetic genealogy. Some of the victims have never been identified. The skeletal remains of an Asian male, aged between 17 and 23 years old, around 5 feet 6 inches tall and with poor dental health, were found along Ocean Parkway in April 2011. He is believed to have died around five to 10 years earlier. That same day, the remains of a female toddler were discovered. She was later identified as the daughter of the also-unidentified female victim dubbed “Peaches” whose remains were found in Nassau County. Mr Heuermann is only charged with the murders of three of the victims whose bodies were found in the Gilgo Beach area. Read More Gilgo Beach murders – live: Long Island serial killer suspect identified as Manhattan architect Rex Heuermann How the Gilgo Beach serial killer turned the Long Island shore into a graveyard Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect named as Rex Heuermann after arrest for Long Island murders

Donald Trump was equal turns defiant and self-pitying in his first major public event since being indicted earlier this week on charges he conspired to overturn the 2020 election and deprive voters of their civil rights in the process, claiming the charges against him were illegitimate but would help his campaign. “It’s not going to make any impact. Every time they file an indictment, we go way up in the polls,” Mr Trump said Friday at the Alabama Republican Party’s 2023 summer meeting in Montgomery. “We need one more indictment and this election is closed out, nobody has even a chance,” he added. At the same time, Mr Trump hammered the special counsel overseeing the case, accusing “deranged Jack Smith” of pursuing “an outrageous criminalisation of political speech.” “It’s not fair and it’s probably not legal what they’re doing,” Mr Trump argued. “They want to interfere in my campaign.” Prosecutors allege that Mr Trump and a group of co-conspirators knew they had lost the 2020 election, but tried to manipulate the process and be declared the winners anyway, infringing on US voter rights in the process. “The only civil rights that have been violated in this manner are my civil rights,” Mr Trump said at the event. Even though Donald Trump faces increasing legal jeopardy – two federal indictments, plus another major case from the Manhattan district attorney and a looming potential indictment in Georgia over election meddling – his campaign for the White House looks relatively unimpacted even as Mr Trump could be the first former president to be imprisoned. According to a New York Times poll on Thursday, Donald Trump and Joe Biden are at a dead heat when it comes to support from registered voters, each maintaining 43 per cent. Within the Republican field, Mr Trump has a comfortable lead over his opponents, even as rivals like Mike Pence have seized on the recent indictment to criticise the former president. A recent poll found that Donald Trump is still comfortably leading the pack of GOP hopefuls ahead of 2024, with 54 per cent support compared to his nearest rival, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who only had 17 per cent. Read More Moment Trump’s own lawyer ‘admits’ to indictment charge live on TV Ron DeSantis says Trump’s claims of stolen 2020 election weren’t ‘true’ Trump strikes threatening tone after arraignment: ‘ IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!’ Texas man who threatened poll workers and Arizona officials is sentenced to 3 1/2 years Trump strikes threatening tone: ‘ IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!’ Giuliani must clarify his ‘puzzling’ court filing in Georgia defamation case

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A four-count federal indictment against Donald Trump accuses the former president of conspiring with his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and deprive Americans of their right to have their votes counted. The detailed, 45-page federal indictment on 1 August outlines three criminal conspiracies and Mr Trump’s alleged obstruction of the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, a multi-state scheme built on a legacy of lies and conspiracy theories to undermine the democratic process. Mr Trump appeared in court in Washington, DC, on 3 August to plead not guilty to the charges and once more complained that he was the victim of political persecution by his enemies. “When you look at what’s happening this is a persecution of a political opponent,” he told reporters afterwards. “This was never supposed to happen in America. This is the persecution of the person that’s leading by very, very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading Biden by a lot so if you can’t beat them you persecute them or prosecute ‘em,” Here are eight key points from the historic indictment of the former commander-in-chief. A five-part scheme to overturn election results The indictment outlines five major elements of an alleged scheme that forms the basis of the charges against Mr Trump, including a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The indictment states that Mr Trump and co-conspirators relied on knowingly false claims about election fraud to pressure state lawmakers and officials to subvert election outcomes by ignoring the popular vote, then dismissing legitimate electors and assigning illegitimate ones loyal to Mr Trump. They then organised those fraudulent slates of electors in states that the Republican lost, according to prosecutors. Mr Trump and his allies then allegedly used the authority of the Justice Department to conduct sham investigations and press state lawmakers into action to approve those false slates of electors. Then-President Trump and his allies then attempted to enlist then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject legitimate results, including an attempt on 6 January 2021 to fraudulently alter the results while overseeing the certification of the election, according to the indictment. And after it was clear that Mr Pence would not do so, Mr Trump “exploited” the chaos from a mob of his supporters, fuelled by his election lies, to continue to delay the certification based on those same false claims, the indictment states. Trump knew his election lies were lies Mr Trump’s “prolific lies” about election fraud span “dozens of specific claims” that he knew were false, according to prosecutors, despite “candid advice” from his own aides, administration officials and the Justice Department and determinations from the courts and election administrators across the country, which the former president then “deliberately disregarded”. His “knowingly false statements” were “integral to his criminal plans to defeat the federal government function, obstruct the certification, and interfere with others’ right to vote and have their votes counted,” according to prosecutors. Many of the examples included in the indictment were previously known, though prosecutors isolated claims and schemes involving five key battleground states that Mr Trump lost. “Despite having lost, [Mr Trump] was determined to remain in power,” according to the indictment. “These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false. In fact, the Defendant was notified repeatedly that his claims were untrue – often by the people on whom he relied for candid advice on important matters, and who were best positioned to know the facts – and he deliberately disregarded the truth.” There are six co-conspirators Six unnamed co-conspirators who allegedly ushered through Mr Trump’s actions are listed throughout the indictment. Based on their alleged actions that match previous descriptions and events surrounding the case in the aftermath of the 2020 election, those co-conspirators are likely to include Trump-connected attorneys Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and Sidney Powell – all of whom face professional sanctions in the wake of their efforts. The other co-conspirators are likely to include former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark – who “attempted to use the Justice Department to open sham election crime investigations and influence state legislatures with knowingly false claims of election fraud” – and Kenneth Cheseboro, another attorney who promoted the fraudulent electors scheme. A sixth unnamed co-conspirator is described as a “political consultant who helped implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding”. A pressure campaign and fraudulent electors The attempts among Mr Trump and his allies to pursue a so-called “alternate” fraudulent elector scheme are well reported and central to the House select committee investigation surrounding January 6. The indictment outlines Mr Trump’s use of “deceit” with the aid of his six co-conspirators to pressure officials in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to subvert legitimate election results and change electoral votes. Mr Trump then relied on “dishonesty, fraud and deceit” to organise those fraudulent electors to submit false vote certificates to Congress, according to prosecutors. Mr Trump and his network of co-conspirators and Republican Party officials directed officials to perform “sham” proceedings that would ultimately position Mr Pence to oversee the fraudulent certification of a bogus slate of electors that would allow Mr Trump to cling to power, the indictment states. The former president also allegedly leveraged the Justice Department and the White House to advance those electors, while Mr Trump ignored legal counsel from the US attorney general to convince Mr Pence to overturn the election. Trump’s attempts to convince Pence to overturn the election When Mr Pence called Mr Trump on Christmas Day in 2020, the president quickly turned the conversation to the upcoming joint session of Congress on 6 January 2021, when Mr Pence was set to preside over the ceremonial certification of the electoral college votes, according to the indictment. “You know I don’t think I have the authority to change the outcome,” Mr Pence said, according to prosecutors. On 1 January, Mr Pence resisted Mr Trump’s efforts again, to which Mr Trump allegedly replied: “You’re too honest.” Days later, Mr Trump and a co-conspirator believed to be Mr Eastman pressed Mr Pence to unilaterally reject the legitimate results or send them back to state legislatures, a strategy that Mr Pence questioned was even defensible, prosecutors wrote. “Well, nobody’s tested it before,” Mr Eastman allegedly replied. The indictment states that Mr Pence took “contemporaneous notes” from that meeting. Mr Trump continued to press Mr Pence, in both one-on-one White House meetings and in public statements in remarks leading up to the attack on the Capitol. That morning, an “agent” for Mr Trump contacted an unnamed US senator asking him to “hand deliver” fraudulent elector certificates from Michigan and Wisconsin, according to the indictment. Mr Pence rejected them. Mr Trump later called Mr Pence demanding once against that he either reject or return legitimate results for Mr Biden. Trump officials considered the Insurrection Act Three days before January 6, a co-conspirator believed to be Mr Clark spoke with a deputy White House counsel who had previously warned Mr Trump that “there is no world, there is no option in which you do not leave the White House” on 20 January 2021. That same White House counsel allegedly tried to dissuade Mr Clark from assuming the role of acting US attorney general, stressing that there was no evidence of widespread fraud and that if Mr Trump successfully overrides the election there would be “riots in every major city in the United States”, according to the indictment. “Well,” Mr Clark allegedly replied, “that’s why there’s an Insurrection Act.” Mr Trump had previously threatened to use the Insurrection Act to quash Election Day protests and civil rights groups and legal analysts had feared his months-long campaign to undermine election results could serve as a pretext to deploy militarised federal and civil law enforcement into American streets. Trump ‘exploited’ the Capitol attack to keep delaying the inevitable Following an hours-long siege at the Capitol and Mr Trump’s initial refusal to urge his supporters to leave, the president’s aides and co-conspirators tried to pressure members of Congress to object to the election results. That evening, White House aides tried calling two senators, Mr Giuliani tried calling five senators and a US representative, another co-conspirator tried to reach six senators and Mr Giuliani left a voicemail urging a senator to “slow it down so we can get these legislatures to get more information to you,” according to the indictment. In another message to a senator, he repeated bogus statements about election fraud and told them to “object to every state and kind of spread this out a little bit like a filibuster,” the indictment states. The attack obstructed Congress and delayed the certification for approximately six hours. Mr Pence ultimately announced the certification of Mr Biden’s victory at 3.41am. A charge that stems from the Civil War’s aftermath A crime of conspiracy against rights invokes Section 241 of Title 18 of US Code, a law that dates back to bedrock civil rights protections for newly enfranchised Black Americans in a turbulent Reconstruction era in the aftermath of the Civil War. It was among criminal codes under the Enforcement Acts, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Acts, designed to protect Americans’ civil rights enshrined under then-newly enacted 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. The acts effectively allow the federal government to protect the rights of people to vote, hold office, serve on juries and receive equal protection under the law. Section 241 criminalises conspiracies to “injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person” from exercising such rights. Read More Live updates: Trump pleads not guilty at arraignment in 2020 election case Trump, January 6 and a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election: The federal investigation, explained Will Donald Trump go to prison? Trump’s election fraud claims were always bogus. Will his history of lies finally catch up to him? Jack Smith held nothing back. Here’s what the Trump indictment really means Why Trump is charged under a civil rights law used to prosecute KKK terror Trump may face up to 20 years in prison. But that doesn’t stop him from doing harm

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