SUFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK: The hunt for more clues and evidence for the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has intensified as investigators use a massive excavator and ground-penetrating radar to dig up his backyard. Heuermann, 59, is accused of killing three women - Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello - whose bodies were found near Gilgo Beach in 2011.
He is also the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes who disappeared in 2007 and whose remains were also discovered at the same location. Police believe Heuermann may have killed at least one of his victims inside his Massapequa Park, Long Island, home where he lived with his wife Asa Ellerup, and two children.
What are investigators looking for in Rex Heuermann's backyard?
On Monday, officials said they are using ground penetrating radar to detect any anomalies in the soil of the property. “All it shows is that there is something under there,” Suffolk County Lieutenant Kevin Beyrer told Daily Mail. He added that the search could be over as soon as Tuesday or later in the week. Reports and pictures showed groups of investigators in Heuermann’s backyard, using a large bulldozer to remove earth and collecting evidence in bags. Cadaver dogs were also brought to the scene.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said last week that are looking for “trace evidence, blood, DNA” and “trophies." He further said “Normally, people keep mementos of significant times in their life, so that’s what we’re looking for." however since then the searchs apparently have intensified.
Was there a soundproof room in the basement of his house?
Suffolk County Commissioner Raymond denied rumors that a soundproof room was found in the basement of the house. “There is a vault where he secured numerous guns - there is no soundproof room,” he said. Earlier New York Post reported that a soundproof room was found in the Gilgo Beach murder suspect's basement. However, it more sounds to be the Iron Vault wherein reportedly more than 200 firearms were found. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison at the time revealed that it was a "disturbing discovery."
His words during the arrest
Heuermann pleaded not guilty to the murders of Barthelemy, Waterman, and Costello. He has not been charged with the murder of Brainard-Barnes but is being investigated for her death and six other women whose bodies were found near Gilgo Beach in 2011. Harrison, however, told the outlet how dismissive Heuremann was when he was taken into custody. “He very much said, ‘What am I here for? I don’t know nothing of what you’re talking about,'” Harrison said. In a previous interview, he revealed the reason Heuermann was arrested in Midtown. It was “to see if we could catch him by his workplace, take that long ride from 35th and Fifth out to 30 Yaphank — which could be a one-and-a-half-hour ride — and see if he could talk and give up anything.” Instead, “He asked for a lawyer — and that was the end of the conversation,” Harrison told People. He said the suspect “kept to himself” and made “no statements” when taken into custody.
