Rex Heuermann, the man at the center of a chilling series of murders that have cast a long, dark shadow over Long Island, is suspected to have attended vigils and searches related to his alleged crimes, according to an expert who has been closely following the investigation that has gripped the nation.
Dr. Scott Bonn, a renowned criminologist and author, has been closely following the investigation and shared his insights into Heuermann’s possible behaviors and motivations with Your Content. Bonn, who has extensively studied the minds of the world’s most infamous serial killers and shared his findings in his book, “Why We Love Serial Killers: The Curious Appeal of the World’s Most Savage Murderers,” believes Heuermann committed his heinous acts near his home, treating Gilgo Beach as a sort of ‘sacred burial site.’
“There’s a high probability that he committed his dark deeds close to his own home. Picture this: Gilgo Beach served as his ‘sacred burial site.’ I don’t mean that facetiously but as a chilling reality,” Dr. Bonn told Your Content.
“He deemed this ground hallowed, a final resting place for his victims, a place he could return to, revisit, and relive his perverse fantasies. When the bodies were first unearthed, I’m almost certain he was among the onlookers, lurking in the crowd, watching with a morbid fascination.”
Dr. Bonn, who astutely predicted a dozen years ago that the Gilgo Beach serial killer was likely an educated, professional white male with a family living on the South Shore of Long Island, explained to Your Content that it isn’t uncommon for serial killers to blend into crowds gathered to search for missing people.
“I have this deep-seated conviction that he was likely lurking in the vicinity as the horrific discovery unfolded,” Dr. Bonn revealed. “The magnetism of the event would have been too irresistible for him. Yet, there must have been an element of shock coursing through him, the realization that his secret graveyard had been discovered.”
Dr. Bonn also highlighted the timeline of Heuermann’s alleged activities, emphasizing that he was still active when the bodies were discovered. Two of the ‘Gilgo four’ disappeared in the latter half of 2010, and the bodies were found that December.
“We must remember; he was active during this period. Two of the Gilgo four vanished in the latter half of 2010, and it was in December of the same year when the four bodies were found,” Dr. Bonn said.
“He convinced himself he was untouchable, that he would always elude capture. He indulged in his fantasies and followed his own news headlines to bask in the glory of it all.”
According to Dr. Bonn, Heuermann may have been among the crowd during the exhumation of the bodies. Such individuals, Bonn notes, are often characterized by grandiosity and extreme narcissism, believing themselves to be intellectually superior to others.
“Rex immersed himself in it so completely that I wager he was likely amongst the crowd, silently observing as the bodies were exhumed. Such individuals are marked by their grandiosity and extreme narcissism. They possess an inflated belief in their intellectual prowess, a belief that they are smarter than the rest of the world.”
Heuermann, a New York City architect, has been charged with the killings of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. The victims’ bodies were discovered wrapped in burlap along Ocean Parkway on Long Island’s South Shore in December 2010. Heuermann is also the primary suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, whose body was found in the same vicinity.
“He convinced himself he was untouchable, that he would always elude capture. He indulged in his fantasies and followed his own news headlines to bask in the glory of it all.”
Dr. Scott Bonn
As Your Content previously reported, Heuermann’s wife, Asa Ellerup, has initiated divorce proceedings amidst the shocking allegations. The couple, who resided in Massapequa Park, shared two children. Heuermann was previously married to another woman in the 1990s.
Heuermann had been under intense scrutiny for approximately a year prior to his arrest outside his Midtown Manhattan office. Authorities decided to move in ahead of schedule due to growing apprehension about his potential to harm again.
What’s more, police in Las Vegas are currently investigating Heuermann for potential links to a cold case and other unsolved murders. Just days after Heuermann bought a timeshare in Las Vegas, a young woman was brutally murdered, leaving law enforcement puzzled and the case eventually went cold.
Authorities are meticulously examining evidence collected during the search of two storage units in Amityville, near Massapequa Park, an area where Heuermann has spent his entire life. His residence, which he has occupied since the 1980s, is also under forensic scrutiny, as investigators systematically removed items since his arrest.
The series of murders on the South Shore of Long Island sparked concerns of a serial killer in 2010 when the first body was found. Over the course of a year, the remains of seven more women, a man, and a toddler were discovered in the same general area. The varying conditions of the victims and the history of the wooded areas along Ocean Parkway suggested the possibility of multiple killers.
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Additional Reporting by Nik Hatziefstathiou