Cell phone records and DNA testing: Suspected prostitute killer caught more than a decade after string of murders in US

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More than a decade after the gruesome discovery of a total of eleven bodies on New York’s Long Island, a suspect has been arrested and charged. Rex Heuermann, 59, an architect, is accused of murdering at least three prostitutes.

Prosecutor Ray Tierney said Friday. In a fourth murder case, the New York architect is considered the prime suspect, although no charges have yet been filed.

This could provide at least a partial solution to the so-called Gilgo Beach murders, which caused a nationwide sensation as of 2010. “Today is a good day,” said Rodney Harrison, the police chief of Suffolk County, which covers much of Long Island. “Rex Heuermann is a demon.”

Cell phone records and DNA testing

The Suffolk County law firm formed a new investigative group in early 2022 to investigate the murders. The detectives initially tracked down the alleged perpetrator through his car, which a witness had seen at the time. They then evaluated extensive cell phone data and, based on new DNA tests, were able to assign her on the corpses to Heuermann as well.

Woman used to travel away for murders

The investigators also found that Heuermann’s wife was always away when the murders happened. The man was eventually arrested Thursday night in Manhattan. He is accused of the murder of three young prostitutes in 2009 and 2010. He is now the prime suspect in the murder of another prostitute who disappeared in 2007.

The mysterious case began in late 2010 and kept the country on edge. While searching for a missing prostitute, investigators gradually discovered bodies and body parts along the remote stretch of Gilgo Beach on Long Island. In five cases, the victims were prostitutes.

The idea that a serial killer might be on the loose in the area caused fear and terror at the time. However, the authorities later did not assume that there was a single serial offender.

Body parts discarded on the beach

The then responsible prosecutor, Thomas Spota, said in the spring of 2011 that there was “no evidence that all the corpses are the work of a murderer”. Instead, there can be up to four different culprits. The area around Gilgo Beach was “used for some time as a repository for remains”.

Current prosecutor Tierney emphasized on Friday that the investigation has not yet been completed. “The case isn’t over yet, it’s just beginning.” Police Chief Harrison also stressed that the investigation into the other murders will continue.

In all, the remains of nine women, a man and a baby were discovered on Gilgo Beach. The murders form the basis of the 2020 Netflix movie Lost Girls. (SDA)

Source: Blick