Rex Heuermann, who was charged with seven murders in the Gilgo Beach serial killing case, has been accused of leaving the bodies of his victims on the South Shore of Long Island.
He was arrested in July 2023 in connection with the murders, which took place from the 1990s to around 2010 along Ocean Parkway east of Jones Beach. Mr. Heuermann has consistently pleaded not guilty to all of the murders and has remained in county jail.
He appeared to live a normal life in his childhood home in Massapequa Park on Long Island, a wealthy village where the average home value is about $775,000. His father was an aerospace engineer. According to a man who attended high school with Mr. Heuermann, he was bullied as a teenager and would occasionally fight back. He married Asa Ellerup and has two adult children.
In his neighborhood, some viewed him as a typical businessman who commuted to the city for work, while others tried their best to avoid him. According to neighbors, Mr. Heuermann would scowl at them as he swung an ax in the front yard of a dilapidated house that parents cautioned their children not to go to on Halloween. He was also kicked out of a Whole Foods for stealing fruit.
In New York City, he was a well-known architect with an office near the Empire State Building. His firm, RH Consultants & Associates, had major clients, including American Airlines, Catholic Charities, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and major retail companies. Co-workers described him as adversarial, cold and distant.
Samantha Latson is a Times reporter covering New York City and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
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