A forensic psychiatrist told Newsweek that the murderer of the Gilgo Four was sociopathic, viewed women as objects and was insecure about his “masculinity.”
Rex Heuermann was arrested by police on Thursday night, with his home in Massapequa Park, New York, being searched on Friday by investigators. Heuermann’s arrest comes after a long chain of unsolved murders that occurred on Long Island over a span of years that police believed were the work of a serial killer. Over the course of the investigation, 11 sets of human remains were discovered across the island, but Heuermann—a 59-year-old architect who owned an architectural firm in New York City—was arrested in connection to the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who were also known as “The Gilgo Four.” The four women’s remains were first found along property on Gilgo Beach in Suffolk County.
The women were all in their 20s and were sex workers. Each of them died of asphyxiation.
Law enforcement officials are seen as they investigate the home of a suspect arrested in the unsolved Gilgo Beach killings on July 14, 2023, in Massapequa Park, New York. A suspect in the Gilgo Beach killings was arrested in the unsolved case tied to at least 10 sets of human remains that were discovered since 2010 in suburban Long Island. The suspect Rex Heuermann is expected to be arraigned after his arrest Thursday night.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman told Newsweek that the serial killer “dehumanized” women in the attacks. Lieberman said by targeting female sex workers, the serial killer who murdered the Gilgo Four revealed something about his personality. Lieberman also believes the killer is a man.
“It reveals his insecurities about his masculinity, his sexual prowess,” Lieberman said. “He needed to have these women under his control.”
When it comes to Heuermann, Lieberman watched a 2022 interview between Heuermann and Bonjour Realty real estate agent Antoine Amira. In the interview, Lieberman said that Heuermann came off as “narcissistic, egotistical, demanding and controlling.”
At one point in the interview, Heuermann mentioned that he made furniture. Neighbors confirmed this information because they have observed him doing woodwork outside of his house in Massapequa Park.
Near the end of the interview, Amira asked Heuermann what tool or object he would pick if he could only pick one to help his business.
Heuermann answered that his perfect tool is the cabinet-maker’s hammer.
“I have one tool that’s pretty much used in almost every job,” he said before naming the hammer. “It is persuasive enough when I need to persuade something.”
“Not someone?” America asked.
“Something,” Heuermann specified. “It always yields excellent results.”
Since his arrest, neighbors have described Heuermann as “very quiet” and “not very nice”.
Lieberman said it was interesting how Heuermann presented himself as a successful architect in the interview with Amira, but that he lived in a house that was “dilapidated both inside and out”, according to a neighbor.
“His house was described as a shack and needs to be fixed up, which is ironic considering he’s an architect,” Lieberman said. “One has to wonder if…he was keeping up a sham.”
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