Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Cops Raid Gilgo Serial Killer Suspect's House In New Search

Episode Date: May 22, 2024

Nearly a year after Rex Heuermann, an architect from Massapequa Park, was charged with killing sex workers found on Long Island's Gilgo Beach, investigators have returned to his home with a search warrant. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Costello, Melissa Barthelemy and Megan Waterman. The new search of Heuermann's home follows another search in Manorville last month related to the Gilgo Beach murders - many of which remain unsolved. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy looks at the latest search with NewsNation correspondent Laura Ingle, "True Crime with the Sarge" host Joe Giacalone and documentarian Josh Zeman in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guests:Joe Giacalone https://www.youtube.com/@JosephGiacaloneLaura Ingle https://x.com/lauraingleJosh Zeman https://x.com/joshzemanCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoAudio Editing - Brad MaybeGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@LawandCrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law & Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. This new year, why not let Audible expand your life by listening? Audible CA contains over 890,000 total titles within its current library, including audiobooks, podcasts, and exclusive Audible Originals that'll inspire and motivate you. Tap into your well-being with advice and insight from leading professionals and experts on better health, relationships, career, finance, investing, and more. Maybe you want to kick a bad habit or start a good one. If you're looking to encourage

positive change in your life, one day and challenge at a time, look no further than Tabitha Brown's I Did a New Thing, 30 Days to Living Free. In the audiobook, Tab shares her own stories and those of others, alongside gentle guidance and encouragement to create these incredible changes for yourself and see what good can come from them. Trust me, listening on Audible can help you reach the goals you set for yourself. Start listening today when you sign up for a free 30-day trial at audible.com slash wonderyca. That's audible.com slash wonderyca. Cops swarm the house of the man accused of murdering the Gilgo Four on Long Island less than a year after his arrest.

What's leading the Gilgo Beach Task Force back to Rex Huerman's house? And is it related to a search in Manorville a few weeks ago? Thanks for joining me for Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Let me tell you, it was an absolute shock on Monday morning when we found out that Suffolk County police were at Rex Huerman's house with a search warrant. Huerman is in that Suffolk County police were at Rex Hureman's house with a search warrant. Hureman is in the Suffolk County Jail awaiting trial for the murders of Maureen Brainerd Barnes, Melissa Barthelome, Amber Costello, and Megan Waterman. The four were found wrapped in camouflage burlap in 2010. Police say DNA and electronic evidence links Hureman to their murders. Hureman's lawyer says that he didn't do it. Since Hureman's arrest, it's been quiet with the exception of a few court appearances. But then last month,

there was a search in Manorville. That's where parts of the bodies of Valerie Mack and Jessica Taylor were found. But other parts of their bodies were found on Gilgo Beach. Police searched an area of Manorville with dogs. There were rumors that something was found, but no official word. And the Suffolk County DA's office really isn't saying anything of substance about this new search of Hureman's home. They're just saying it's an investigative step. I spoke with News Nation correspondent Laura Engel about this new search of Hureman's home. I got a call from one of my bosses and they said there's word that there's a search warrant being executed at Rex Herman's home in Massapequa Park. And it was a huge surprise to me and to everybody else who showed up here because we've already been through this before.

We did this in July of last year when there was a two week long search of this house here behind me, the one in red, where you saw crime scene investigators coming out with basically truckloads of evidence for all of that time. And they, you know, they really tore up the house. Asa Elora has long complained about that. Rex Heerman's estranged wife, that they cut through the bathtubs, they cut through the sinks and all of the pipes. And it really was a very hard place for her to live after that so we know that they really went to town on that search warrant last year then today we got this surprise announcement that there was a search warrant being executed but also elleraf was out of town with her adult son we've learned that they are in south carolina that is of course where rex

heuermann's brother craig lives we don't know if she's with him, but she does have family down there. And then the adult daughter is not at the house, but she is in New York right now. You and I have both done this for a really long time. They don't just go back and they don't go through the backyard like this unless something has led them there, unless they've gotten some new information. And this search really comes on the heels of another search in Manorville a few weeks ago. We don't know if the two are connected, but it is interesting that there is all of this activity surrounding this investigation. Yeah, that's what people have been talking about outside here is could it be connected

to that search in Manorville that was so lengthy? You're right. I mean, they were in the woods for a really long time. We don't know what had t You're right. I mean, they were in the woods for a really long time. We don't know what had tipped them off. We heard that they might have found something that was buried. There's been a lot of mixed reports about what they found in the woods, but this is where two of the Long Island serial killer victims, parts of their bodies were found, Valerie Mack and Jessica Taylor. So does it have anything to do with those two victims?

Does it have anything to do with any two victims? Does it have anything to do with any additional victims? We just don't know. And another thing that we thought about, too, was the last time we were in court with Rex Huberman, who is still in custody and is pled not guilty to all these charges, was the fact that the prosecutors talked about that they had to go through 422 electronic devices that they had come upon. That was something that was taking a lot of time. So if you think about going through and downloading, it's not all cell phones, some of them iPads, iPods, it could mean anything, electronic devices. But if you're going through that much material, obviously that takes time. Did they find something

in the electronic devices that could bring them to a probable cause affidavit that would bring this much force to mass the people of park to go in the way we've seen today and it is a massive show of force i mean and they're back they're back at what they say is the guy they say this is the gilgo beach serial killer They say this is the guy. So they're back there for the first time in nearly a year. So it really is significant. And the DA's office is not saying why they are back there. Right. Yeah, we reached out to them as well.

And they said that they just won't comment on an active investigation. That's the line that we get throughout this as we have for years. I want to bring in two people who have followed this case very have for years. I want to bring in two people who have followed this case very closely for years. Joe Giacalone is a retired NYPD sergeant with the Cold Case Unit and Josh Zeman is a filmmaker and he produced a whole series on this case. So guys, thanks so much for coming on. Josh, I'll start with you. Your first thoughts. I had you on here a couple of weeks ago. We talked about this. I talked with Joe as well. So your thoughts on the cops going back to Rex's house. I mean, crazy that they would go back again, considering they were there 10 months ago.

You know, the question just remains, what are they now looking for? We've speculated maybe they're going to look under the vault, you know, where they had all those weapons originally found. Are they digging further into the backyard? And then what precipitated this second go back? You know, there has to be something that some clue or some information. Joe, you are a retired cold case sergeant with the NYPD. You've been down this road investigating cases before. You wrote a book on it. So what on earth is going on? I mean, we had the search in Manorville a few weeks back. They wouldn't say whether or not that was connected to Rex Horman, but we knew it was part of the Gilgo Beach Task Force investigation, which could mean a lot of different things. Now they're back at Rex Horman's house,

digging up the backyard, we think, taking things out of the house. Something had to have led them back there. What was it? Yeah, well, that something has to establish probable cause again in order to go to a judge and get another search warrant. Just because you had a search warrant 10 months ago,

that's it, that one's done. You have to now get a new one. So that evidence had to be pretty strong in order to go in front of a judge and plead your case. And, you know, generally judges don't like you coming back for a search warrant. You know, specifically, it doesn't matter how long for the same location. But something tipped them off to this. They were able to build that probable cause. I mean, listen, I don't believe in coincidences that we see all those searches out east,

and then all of a sudden we're back at Rex's house about a week or so later. I think that's really where it comes from, but it could be really a confluence of things, but I'm going with those searches out east. Is this related, do you think, to the Gilgo Four? Because he's already facing charges in the cases of the deaths of the Gilgo Four,

the murders of those four women. Or does this tell you or lead you to believe that maybe there's more, that this may relate to other victims and not just the four that he's already facing charges, for which he's already facing charges? Because it could be anything at this point. I mean, it just seems a little too coincidental that they're out in Manorville a few weeks ago and now they're at his house. Well, yeah, absolutely. Right. So you got Valerie Mack and Jessica Taylor from Manorville. You have a couple other cases. You got Sondra Castilla that was out by, you know, the Hamptons where they were too. So there's a lot of different things. I think this has expanded beyond the Gilgo

Four. I do not think that they're doing all this to, you know, bolster their beyond the Gilgo Four. I do not think that they are doing all this to bolster their case for Gilgo Four. I think they have plenty of evidence, specifically the DNA and other things. And I think this has gone far beyond, which to me is a good thing because there's a lot of other victims out there that need the justice too. Josh, you investigated this case for a really long time as a documentarian, and you were out there beating the bushes, pounding the streets, trying to get information. And when we spoke a few weeks ago about the Manorville search, I remember after we spoke, you kind of got the feeling or were hearing rumors and rumblings that they may have found something, even though nobody knows what that might be. And this is a rumor. I mean, we could all be wrong about this. Let's couch that.

But you were hearing that possibly they may have found something of interest. I mean, that's the question. And I think Joe and I were just talking about this yesterday. Did they really find something? We don't know. Joe, you had heard a lockbox, but other people were saying a glass box. But, you know, the other thing here, and I think the big question is, is Ray Tierney, the DA, has a problem, right? He has six other victims that he has to basically – six other murders, right, these other victims.

He's got six more murders that he has to solve. Why? Because Michael Brown, who is Huerman's attorney, is going to bring up those crimes. Who committed those crimes? Who killed those individuals? Are we dealing with one serial killer or two? So he has to find out what happened to those other victims so that Michael Brown can't bring this information into the trial and then basically create reasonable doubt. Reasonable doubt, did Rex do it? Reasonable doubt, did Rex do it alone? So I think this is all related to trying to find out who killed those other victims. Like Joe said, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor. But then there's the other issue here, Bittroff, right, who's already in jail.

Those, are they going to try and put some of those crimes to Bittroff? And I think that that's one of the reasons we were in Manorville. Yeah, you had mentioned that a few weeks ago. One thing that I find really interesting, we had Laura Engel on from News Nation earlier in the show, and she said that Rex Horman's wife, Asa Ellerup, is out of town with her adult son. They're out of state. So they're not even home. The cops go to the house to execute this warrant. So I found that really interesting. And, Joe, the thing that is interesting to me is that Josh makes a really

good point. That is a problem. There are other bodies and the defense is going to say at trial, they, this guy, my guy might be into like sex with, you know, sex workers and stuff like that. He might have some proclivities. That doesn't make him a killer. And, you know, they had to hang this on somebody. They made a promise they would solve this and they found my guy and he's just into sex workers. I mean, I'm just kind of thinking because I've covered so many cases where the defense could be in this case. So do you agree with Josh that this is an issue, the remaining victims and that their case is being unsolved. I certainly do, including what Michael Brown brought out about James Burke being brought into and having a relationship with Rex Uriman based on an affidavit that John Ray had brought out too. So there's a lot of things that are going on behind the scenes that I think the district attorney, because originally I felt he was kind of like, you know what, we got the Gilgo 4, and we're gonna stay focused on that,

and then we'll get to the others. And then all of a sudden we see this 180, where we're doing searches all over the place, they're bringing in outside agencies, and we can see that the task force is still a working relationship and it's still going strong. So I think that is a strong indication that yes, he is worried about those other cases, and he's worried about the defense, I think that is a strong indication that, yes, he is worried about

those other cases and he's worried about the defense, what they're going to bring up. I need you to tell me a little more about this alleged relationship between Burke and Horman. Go a little bit further into that. Yeah. John Ray, the attorney for the Shannon Gilbert family, held a symposium in January in Queens, if you remember, and he had brought out an individual who claimed that she was at one of these parties and that Rex and James Burke were both at that party. So that would then indicate that these two know each other and we know all of the history behind James Burke and the Suffolk County Police Department and the investigation into Gilgo.

And I think that kind of maybe kind of stuck into the side, so to speak, of the district attorney. And now he needs to answer that out and be prepared for it. Yeah, they I mean, they do. They have to kind of squash a trial. They have to squash everything that the defense brings up. It's kind of they're obligated to kind of do that. And there was all this talk that Rex Horman would take part in possibly sex parties and

stuff like that. God only knows what they found on all of these electronics after all of these years. So Josh, where do you see this going from here? Obviously, whatever they find at the house, and we don't even know if they found anything of evidentiary value. We just know that they've taken things out. What do you think happens next? I mean, it's a great question. We've got Manorville, right? Searching in Manorville. We've got searches for victims that are not just theoretically related to Gilgo Beach, i.e. Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack, whose body parts were found in Manorville and on Ocean Parkway. But we had a search for a victim, Sandra Castillo, which was connected to Bittroff.

So I don't know. I think we're going to start to see, I wouldn't be surprised if there's some announcement that comes down the line that some of our Ocean Parkway victims that we thought were attributed to Lisk, right, are going to be attributed to Bittroff and or other serial murders down the line. It happens in law enforcement. Sometimes, you know, they just do it to clear the books. You know, sometimes it's legit, you know. So that's a concern of mine that that we're not really going to get the truth. But what we're going to get is closure in an effort to continue to concentrate on Rex Yoram. Well, it'll be interesting to see what happens. The search was certainly surprising to everybody. It's been almost a year.

It'll be a year in August, I think, or July since the arrest of Rex Hureman. So, wow, big news. The Manorville search was a big deal, but this was like a shock to see them back at the house. As Joe said, they had to have probable cause. So there has to be some piece of very legitimate information that caused them to go back there. Joe, correct me if I'm wrong.

They can't just be wanting to do due diligence and figure everything and do everything to the dot the I's and cross the T's, right? Exactly. It's a strict Fourth Amendment issue that they're dealing with. So this is something that they have to go back to the court and establish that would actually reestablish the probable cause. They just can't go back on it on an old warrant and say, here we are. So there has to be something new.

And it has to be substantial. I mean, it has to be enough for a judge to say, yeah, go back in. Here you go. I'll sign the warrant. It's a big case. They know that the public's going to be watching. And on top of what Josh is saying, remember there was that very public fight between Spoda and then Police Commissioner Richard Dorner about how many killers there were back then. And that's going to come back and haunt this case too. Joe Giacalone, Josh Seaman, thank you so much. I appreciate it. Thank you.

You're welcome. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.