Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Accused Serial Killer Rex Heuerman's Flirty Nickname

Episode Date: August 9, 2025

He's accused of being a serial killer, but some of his co-workers gave him a nickname, Sexy Rexy. Reportely, Rex Heuerman was the 'perfect' co-worker and 'life of the party.  Now more potential n...ew witnesses have come forward with information connecting  Heuermann to the Long Island Serial Killer murders. One of the witnesses worked in a bank during the day and drove a taxicab at night. She signed an affidavit that she picked up Shannan Gilbert from a Sayville motel, but when she got the order from dispatch, was told the person she was picking up was so afraid she was hiding in a locked bathroom. The rider would only come out if the taxi driver flashes her lights and beeps the horn.   The cab driver says she showed up to the motel, flashed her lights, and beeped her horn but nobody came out of the motel. However, she did see "a giant man' fitting the description of Rex Heuermann come out of the motel.  When the girl finally comes out, she is crying. The driver believes this person was Shannan Gilbert Another witness claims Heuermann and his wife were swingers, and Karen Vergata took part in a party at Heuermann's home. A third potential witness contacted attorney John Ray and says she remembers being picked up by Rex Heuermann. She says he threatened her with a gun.  The fourth potential new witness claims she was a sex worker for many years, including the time the killings occurred. She said Heuermann was a serial user of sex workers, and he would sometimes have them come to his house, with his wife upstairs, Joining Nancy Grace Today: John Ray - Attorney for the family of Shannan Gilbert Dr. Joni Johnston – Forensic Psychologist and Private Investigator (performs risk and threat assessments on violent offenders); Author: “Serial Killers: 101 Questions True Crime Fans Ask” Robin Dreeke – Behavior Expert & Retired FBI Special Agent / Chief of the FBI Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program; Author: “Sizing People Up: A Veteran FBI Agents Manual for Behavior Prediction;” Twitter: @rdreeke  Dr. Kendall Crowns – Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), Lecturer: University of Texas Austin and Texas Christian University Medical School Mary Murphy – Investigative Reporter, PIX11 News, New York City (WPIX TV); Recipient of 30 New York Emmy awards; Facebook: Mary Murphy Mystery, Instagram: @marymurphypix, Twitter: @MurphyPIX  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:34 Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Rex Hewerman, the name will live forever in infamy along names like Ted Bundy, BTK, buying torture, kill, Dennis Raider, Timothy McVeigh,
Starting point is 00:00:56 Charles Manson, oh gosh, I can't. could go on. Rex Heerman, the alleged Long Island serial killer awaiting trial, we know what he did to his victims, horrific, horrific murders after horrific, horrific, horrific sex torture while his wife and children were out of town in a basement dungeon, then burying them so he could look at their graves every day when he went to work on Long Island there at Gilgo Beach. In the last hours, we find out about a whole other side of Rex Hewerman.
Starting point is 00:01:39 And that is tonight's Friday night special, and it is very, very special. I'm Nancy Grace. This is crime stories. I want to thank you for being with us. Rex Heerman, cops say he is the Long Island serial killer. I believe he can be connected and will be connected to many, many other dead bodies. But for tonight, for our Friday night special, we learned Rex Eurman was the quote, I hope you're sitting down, the quote, perfect coworker and the quote, life of the party at work get
Starting point is 00:02:23 together's, the life of the party. We also learn Rex Eurman, the serial killer, had a, quote, sexy nickname. Okay, Rex Heerman had a, quote, sexy nickname. Okay, nothing is sexy about this guy. If you look at the faces of all the women, he allegedly murdered. one, two, three, four, five, I mean on and on and on, including a child, a child, five, five, six, seven, eight. And counting all these women dead at the hands of Rex Huberman and somebody gave him a sexy nickname and says he was the life of the party at work get-togethers. drinking beer, cracking jokes with colleagues. According to a witness, he seemed like any other coworker on a night out after a busy day at his Manhattan architect's office.
Starting point is 00:03:38 Little did they know once he leaves the bar and heads back to Long Island, he goes all jekyll and hide, prowling for his next victim to murder as his wife and children went out of town or just simply slept. Now, according to this witness, Catherine Shepard, she worked with Hurerman in the same Manhattan office there on 7th Avenue in York City's fashion district. She was working for an architectural design firm and his company was providing city permits. She and her coworkers would gather at a place called Pete's Tavern in Gramercy Park. She remembers Heurman as the life of the party, which got him the nickname.
Starting point is 00:04:27 Okay, I feel the vomit coming up right now. Got him the nickname, of course, we should have seen this coming, sexy rexie. Sexy Rexy. Quote, he was fun. He was funny. He would tell funny stories. jokes that made everyone laugh. Okay.
Starting point is 00:04:54 That was her experience with him. What do we know about what Heerman did allegedly after hours? In the midst of a new body being found just minutes from Heurman's home, now four witnesses, seemingly impartial witnesses
Starting point is 00:05:13 come forward identifying Rex Hewerman's You are men. First of all, take a listen to this. Human remains have been found in a wooded area, not more than a 30-minute drive from suspected Gilgo Beach serial killers wrecks Heerlman's home. The body identified as 20-year-old Yonelli-Ramos Moreno was discovered in sunken Meadow State Park on Long Island by park goers. The remains were along a trail at the eastern end of the park, which runs along Long Island's north shore. At least six victims of the Long Island serial killer have been found on Gilgo Beach, which is along Long Island's South Shore.
Starting point is 00:05:52 Rano's death has been ruled a homicide. Interesting. This is a young male victim, Yinelli Moreno, discovered in Sunken Meadow State Park, just minutes away from Rex Huerman's home. But it's my understanding that this is a more recent killing. Or is it? Will it somehow be connected to Rex Heuhrman? It's just minutes from his home. We know he's implicated in the murders of many other young women and possibly one Asian male found near those female dead bodies. But in the midst of investigating a new dead body near Rex Heurman's home, four witnesses have now emerged.
Starting point is 00:06:42 Listen to the Gilbert family lawyer, attorney John Ray. This is a witness who has every reason to have no bias, no interest in the case whatsoever. She is not a sex worker. And instead, back in the 90s, in the 1990s, she was what is known then and now as a swinger. And they would go to certain sex clubs in New York City. where they would switch partners with other people of like kind. One of the most important places that they would go was called La Trapeze on West 27th Street in New York right near Rex Heurman's office.
Starting point is 00:07:28 Okay, this is significant because this club, La Tropeze, is very close to Rex Heuerman's architectural office in Manhattan. And we know that a lot of the activity that is linking human back to the dead women, the sex workers, occur at his office. Remember, his wife, children are living in their home on Long Island. He catches very often the Long Island Railroad right there at Penn Station near his office to go home back and forth. And it's that hub, isn't it? Joining me an all-star panel, but first to Mary Murphy, investigative reporter P-I-X-Pix 11, also host of Hunt inside the 13-year search for the Gilgo Beach Killer and, needless to say, recipient of many Emmy Awards.
Starting point is 00:08:24 Mary, a lot of the cell phone pings, a lot of the positioning of the suspected Long Island serial killer, Rex Heerman, happens around his office, even the pizza that was discarded, the food and drink that was later used to get DNA wasn't near his office. He was arrested near his office. La Trapeze is near his office. So obviously if you look at his activity psychologically, he uses his office as basically his Batcave. That's a good way of putting it. There was a box of cell phone pings located right near his office, right near Penn Station. And some of the victims who were killed in the Gilgo Beach case, their cell phones pinged near Penn Station and very close to his office. And we're told that one of the victims whose names emerged after his arrest,
Starting point is 00:09:21 Karen Bergata, that she was a streetwalker in Midtown. So regarding the newest, the newest thing, this witness that comes forward who goes to a swingers club or, you know, Now you swap partners, La Tropeze on West 27, how close is that to Hewerman's Manhattan Architectural Office? I would say it's only about seven or eight blocks away. Guys, that is maybe a 10-minute walk. Maybe if you're catching red lights. A 10-minute walk from his office, his office is often the hub of his activity. Joining me also, in addition to Mary Murphy, investigative reporter of Pix 11. Robin Dreak, joining us out of Virginia behavioral expert, former FBI special agent and chief of the FBI counterintelligence behavioral analysis program. And I love this book.
Starting point is 00:10:14 His book is sizing people up, a veteran FBI agent's manual for behavior prediction. Man, we need you now, Jarek, because you can put words to what I'm trying to express. Let's go was Scott Peterson. Scott Peterson killed Lacey, his wife, we believe, in their home on Covina in Modesto. That was his lair. What was his other layer? His office, which had basically a storage area where he kept his secret boat, where he made cement, um, let me just say weights. We believe to weigh her body down. What was his other layer where he would go fishing? his fishing hole where her body was discovered and then later found not far away when it came up from the bottom of the water. I'm trying to verbalize that killers use the area with which
Starting point is 00:11:17 they are familiar. You want to get rid of a dead body? Think about it. Everybody on the panel thing. Where would you go to get rid of a dead body? You know where I would go? Seven bridges in South Bibb County. It's swamp and there's seven bridges that go over it to link South Bibb County to the city of Macon. Why? Because I know where it is. How can you get rid of a dead body in a place you've never heard of? Explain what I'm saying, Jerich, because I believe his hub of activity is going to be not just his home in Long Island and Gilgo Beach where bodies were disposed of, but his office right by this nightclub. Yeah, 100% Nancy. And it comes down to what you said, feeling comfortable and creating and what he's established as a behavior arc of what
Starting point is 00:12:08 where he feels safe operating because he's got reps in those areas. And when we're dumping bodies in places, also when you're doing it, you've got to feel safe in that area with a law enforcement in that area. So I think a lot of these things are actually putting a bigger point on law enforcement and what they saw and didn't see in questions there when it comes to the investigation. So yeah, he's clearly displayed at this behavior arc of feeling safe, operating in a secretive way from public view. You are hearing high profile lawyer John Ray. He is representing the family of Shannon Gilbert. Now, you remember Shannon Gilbert, whose body was found out on Gilgo at first, everybody said, well, yeah, she's not really connected. This is just a coincidence. Who could
Starting point is 00:13:00 buy that her body is near all the other women's bodies that are connected to Heerman, and she just happened to be dead right there? Okay, now entering La Tropeze, the bar for swingers. What does that have to do with Heurman? Listen. Sometimes several hundred people at a time would be involved in this place. Its heyday was right at the time that Karen Vergata is involved in this case. In this situation, this particular woman was dating a police officer from New York City,
Starting point is 00:13:36 who was in narcotics, a detective, and they would go to these switchy clubs, these swapping clubs. At or about Valentine's Day of 1996, The couple went to La Trapeze and I think it was on the wall at La Tropeze where an advertisement was placed to go to a house in Massapequa Park for partying, for switching, for swapping. And isn't it true, Mary Murphy, that that is where Rick Seerman lived with his wife? Yes, Rex Eurman lived there and actually was raised there. He spent his whole life in Massapequa Park.
Starting point is 00:14:13 Okay, so this witness who was a swinger goes to a trapeze. So what? Wait for it. Listen. She went with her boyfriend out to Long Island. But before they went, her boyfriend picked up a woman in New York in the city, and she was a sex worker. They went to Massapequa Park. They ended up going to Rex.
Starting point is 00:14:43 In the house, in the house was the wife of Rex Eurman and the other girl, the other girl, who we believe to be Karen Vergata. She, this girl, disappears downstairs at the house. Rex Eurman disappears. And according to our witness and other witnesses, when men are swingers, they're very often They switch sexually. They go back and forth between male and female. And so Eurman leaves the main floor and disappears either into another bedroom or downstairs.
Starting point is 00:15:28 The witness talks to Rex's wife. Okay, whoa, we're hearing all along the wife knew nothing about what was going on. But according to this witness, who is not a sex worker, wasn't getting paid by anybody, wasn't answering to a John, says that Rex Heerman's wife was part of this. Guys, this is a bombshell in this case. Listen. As they're leaving, the witness points out that she could see in the window looking out the
Starting point is 00:16:06 girl that had come with them. And she says to her driver, her partner, What are we doing? Are we taking her? And the partner says, don't worry, they're just playing a game. She stays there, no problem. With that, the girl runs out of the house naked and is running in front of the garage. And now the witness says, hey, shouldn't we be taking her? Something's wrong here.
Starting point is 00:16:37 And the driver tells her, no, they're just playing a game, leave it. And they leave. They leave the girl there. We're talking about Karen Vergata, one of the dead women. And this is how it ends. Listen. She never hears about the incident again. She distinctly remembers Eurman.
Starting point is 00:16:58 She also had intercourse with Eurman that same day. On TV, she sees the picture of Karen Vagata, and she recognizes her and said, that's her. and she recognizes Rex Eulman. Grab a coffee and discover nonstop action with Bud MGM Casino. Check out our hottest exclusive. Friends of one with Multi-Drop. Want to even more options? Play our wide variety of table games.
Starting point is 00:17:26 Or head over to the arcade for nostalgic casino thrills only available at BetMGM. Download the BetMGM Ontario app today. 19 plus to wager, Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connix Ontario at 1866-531, 2,600, to speak to an advisor free of charge. But MGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming, Ontario. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
Starting point is 00:17:54 Sexy, Rexy. I would laugh, but I know the condition in which these bodies were found. There's nothing sexy about this guy, the life of the party, my rear end. Sexy, Rexy, fun, funny, funny stories, jokes, everybody laughed. Now, according to the witness, at work, he was always professional toward her and the other women that work there. She goes on to say, while he was professional at work, Heurman loved pretty girls in the office using them professionally. He was extremely skilled. He knew how to work the system to get permits.
Starting point is 00:18:33 He was renowned for that. He knew all the people that provide permits. He had relationships with all of them. But what do we know about Heerman after work hours? John Ray, thank you for being with us. Thank you. Wow. This is a huge bombshell in the Rex Heerman case.
Starting point is 00:18:51 Because before I was thinking, you know, John, you've tried a lot of cases. And I love nothing more than DNA, deoxyriboneucleic acid, which we have in this case. Don't have much of it, but we have it. And we have the wife's hair on some, connected to some of the dead bodies. We've got the defendant, Rex Ehrman's hair, connected to some of the bodies. But DNA, as you well know, can be argued away that it was a transfer, that it was an accident, that blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But when you combine DNA with an eyewitness, it says, I had some.
Starting point is 00:19:37 sex with Hugh Roman. I know what he looks like. And I left Karen for God and God help me there that night and she was never seen alive again. A witness willing to come forward and say, I was a swinger. Who wants to admit that on the stand? Ready to say that on the stand? To me, you know, when you have to put the devil in jail, sometime you got to go to hell to get your witness, who do you think human's hanging out with nuns and priests and virgins? No, that to me, gives this witness, your witness, more credibility, John Ray. Well, you should also know that it's odd why they brought Karen with them if it was going to be a, you know, a swapping between couples.
Starting point is 00:20:23 And that now is explained fully and consistently through Mrs. Ellorup's lawyer, Robert Macedonio. He went on television recently and said that there's no way that John, John Ray's witness can be correct because his client, Mrs. Ellorup, her human's wife, was pregnant at the time. So she would never have had sex. And that's perfectly, first of all, we know you can have sex if you're pregnant. Okay, hold on, John Ray. I got to write this down.
Starting point is 00:20:57 This is significant. Hold on. So you're saying it's a couple swinging party. So why do you bring a sex worker with you when the women are going to. to be swinging in the men. They don't need a fifth wheel. Right. But you're saying Elrott was pregnant at the time and they needed that extra female. Am I getting this right? You are, you are. But more importantly, it comes from the horse's mouth. It's Macedonio, who's the lawyer for Mrs. Elerup, who posits that, who states that on national television. And so we also have that fact
Starting point is 00:21:31 consistent with the witness coming forward and saying that when she got there, Mrs. Elrop did not want to have sex and had turned away. The witness thought it was because the witness was African American, but it turns out Macedonia gave us the correct explanation, which is that she was pregnant, didn't want to have sex. And by the way, that also explains why they picked up Karen Vergata in the first place to bring her along to be the partner. And we couldn't figure that out before we knew that about the pregnancy.
Starting point is 00:22:08 So it's also very likely that the detective swapper who was driving the car to go there previously knew Hoyerman, that they already had a relationship. You mean Azan had swap partners before? Yes. Okay, hold on. John Ray, I'm not going to ask you the name. but do you know who the cop is? I do.
Starting point is 00:22:34 It's not out there yet, right? Correct. Well, he better expect a big fat subpoena coming his way and ain't going to stay quiet for long. Guys, with me is John Ray, the lawyer for Shannon Gilbert's family. And now you see why. He has interviewed this woman who is not a sex worker, who has come forward and admitted, yeah, I was a swinger. I went to a lot of trapeze club.
Starting point is 00:23:00 A lot of swingers go there. We all went to a party in Mesapequa, and this is what happened. I slept. I had sex with Heerman. That's like eating a dirt sandwich to have to admit that. But in my mind, that adds to her credibility. Dr. Joni Johnson is with us, a very well-known forensic psychologist and private investigator. Dr. Johnson performs risk threat assessments on violent offenders, and she's the author of Serial Killer's 101 Questions, True Crime Fans Ask.
Starting point is 00:23:35 You can find Dr. Johnson at Dr.joneyjohniejohnen.com. Dr. Johnson, let me give you a good example. Okay, just recently we hear from that POC, Yourne Vandersloot, and he gives his confession, and I'm saying that with quoties. I'll believe one line on his confession. I kill Natalie. The rest he fabricates to make himself look not as bad as he really is. He's the devil straight from hell. Dr. Joni, when you are assessing as you do statements, witnesses, defendants, victims,
Starting point is 00:24:17 to me, it enhances this witness's credibility that she puts it out there. she's not holding back she's not lying I was a swinger I went to this club I went to this swingers party in Masspego I slept with Rex Hey Remen and I left Kieran Verga there what do you make of it absolutely absolutely I mean when you're doing any kind of friends or legal investigation or assessment you are evaluating the credibility of the witness and that includes looking at things like what do they have to gain what do they have to lose is the evidence consistent with what they're telling me, are they willing to say things that might not put them in a favorable light? And all the things that you're talking about certainly indicate that this witness is willing to put
Starting point is 00:25:01 herself in a light that other people might question or criticize. And so those are things that definitely add to her credibility. Guys, the bodies are piling up. They're all pointing toward Rex Heerman. And now four witnesses emerge. And I'll deal with the new discovery of another dead body there at Sunkin Meadow State Park, just minutes from Heerman's home just a moment. I'm going to circle back to that. But these four witnesses, I can't tell you how important this is to the Long Island serial
Starting point is 00:25:31 killer case. DNA, while its validity is hard to attack, its placement can sometimes be very easy attack. Do I have to say O.J. Simpson? Uh-oh, Jackie is her head just spun around. I have to say O.J. Simpson, and this is why. His bloody socks with the victim's blood on them were in his home after his wife and Ron Goldman were found murdered. But it was artfully argued at trial that the DNA had been planted and placed. Do I believe that? No. I don't believe that.
Starting point is 00:26:13 Was it successfully argued? Yes, it was the placement of the DNA. Why was it there? And a jury believed it. So while you can't really argue with the validity of DNA, you can argue with, was it contaminated? Was there a mistake at the crime scene or the crime lab? Was it planned? Just so many ways you can attack its placement.
Starting point is 00:26:36 These eyewitnesses make all the difference in this case. We only know about a few of the victims. How many more women have been murdered by Rex Hurman? now let's get to it without any further pontificating on my part take a listen again to our friend john ray witness number two take a listen to our cut 218 the second witness who's come forward this woman she's not involved in any sexual activities whatsoever she has nothing to gain by coming forward she's not looking for a book or money or the usual things that you're here about out there. None of that. But she came forward because she's very disturbed about what she
Starting point is 00:27:25 knows after she also saw Rex Uerman on television and Shannon Gilbert. And here's her story. She's a she is a banker by day and at night she worked extra in Suffolk County as a taxi driver to take care of her family with a one-parent family. As a taxi driver, she is called from her dispatcher to go to the Sayville Motor Lodge on Sunrise Highway. And there's a girl awaiting her who's locked in a bathroom and will come out if she flashes her lights and beeps the horn. And she goes there and does that several times it doesn't work. But then suddenly a giant man who fits the description of Rex Eurman comes out and he's covering. his face with his arms, so he can't be seen and he runs to a van or an SUV right nearby
Starting point is 00:28:28 that's parked right there. Okay, so Bank Day taxi driver at night, she goes to a pickup. It's at the Sable Motor Lodge on Sunrise Highway, and this is what happens. She continues to flash her lights and beeper horn, and out comes a girl, crying, shaking, very upset and gets in her car. There they talk for a while and then eventually they drive to the Runkunkunkumah Railroad Station so that this girl can go back in to New York City. This girl was a sex worker who was servicing the big man. This girl turns out to be Shannon Gilbert. Now Shannon is lured into doing this particular trist and she's given an envelope or shown an
Starting point is 00:29:13 envelope by the man that looked like it was stuff full of money and he tells her there's a thousand dollars in there. It's for you and your family no matter what happens tonight. She looks in the envelope when he goes to the bathroom and it's stuffed with paper. And so she panics and realizes something's wrong. So she goes in the bathroom and he had become very aggressive, very angry. She goes in the bathroom, locks the door and calls to get a cab. And that's how she comes out. They speak for over an hour. So the driver knows her well and notices that she has a drooping eye, which is characteristic of Shannon, and also a characteristic of her family, by the way, going back for a generation or two.
Starting point is 00:29:55 To John Ray, the chosen lawyer for Shannon Gilbert's family, and we're talking about Shannon Gilbert. Remember all along, she was the first body that was found, but authorities kept saying, yes, she's not connected. she's not connected. Well, apparently she is connected because this cab driver distinctly remembers picking Shannon up
Starting point is 00:30:24 from being with Rex Heerman, right down to the drooping eye. To Dr. Kendall Crowns is joining me, Chief Medical Examiner, Tarrant County, Fort Worth, never a lack of business there, Dr. Crowns, lecturer, University of Texas Austin, and
Starting point is 00:30:40 TCU, Texas Christian University medical school, potosis refers to a drooping eyelid. It means the upper eyelid falls to a position lower than the other. Is that genetic? Dr. Kendall Crowns? It can have a genetic component to it. It can also be associated with trauma and medical conditions in which the neurological system is compromised like in stroke. To John Ray, high profile lawyer for the family of Shannon Gilbert, you're saying that Shannon's family in the past also had the drooping eyelid? Yes, I checked with the sister Cherie, and she mentioned that.
Starting point is 00:31:26 So it was very consistent with the taxi driver's description. And there's no likelihood that the taxi cab driver saw that drooping lid from a picture, you know, a recent picture, say, posted on television, but it's possible, I suppose. But I did we also, I also vetted this woman and Rodney Harrison, the police commissioner of Suffolk County himself sat with me for almost two hours vetting this woman's credibility as well. We did it together after I had already done it myself. So she's eminently qualified as a witness and a credible one. And her description fits Shannon to a tee.
Starting point is 00:32:11 Even to the pulled back hair for the, you know, sex workers very often wear wigs. And Shannon was very much a user of wigs. So here she is coming out with her hair pulled back exactly as it would have been had she had a wig. So, you know, everything about that this woman said was credible. John Ray, I've been carefully going, over literally dozens of photos of Shannon Gilbert.
Starting point is 00:32:41 And what I notice is that very often she wears her hair in bangs that almost cover one eye. And when I first saw that, I thought it was just the style. Now I realize she may have been covering up or trying to cover up the drooping eyelid. Because, you know, people often try to do their best to cover up what they perceive to be an imperfection. Also, I've seen her in many different, and very, very different hair styles. And it's got to be wigs.
Starting point is 00:33:15 I mean, and some of them she has, like, her hair is, her head is full of ringlets. And others, it's completely different. I mean, clearly, she's wearing wigs, like you say. And that, after prosecuting a lot of cases involving sex workers, I wasn't prosecuting them. they were typically witnesses in cases for me anyway. Wigs are part of the costume, and they're utilized on a daily basis. So now we finally get the Heerman connection to Shannon Gilbert.
Starting point is 00:33:50 I mean, John Ray, all along when authorities were saying there's no connection, she just happens to be dead along beside Rex Heerman's other victims. Did you ever buy that? The theory that the police espoused from the beginning was reduced to absurdity, and it still is. There isn't the scintilla of evidence that Shannon died other than by murder. Yeah, the theory that she got upset with a different John and wandered out into the marsh and died, that died of what? There was never any, none of that ever made sense. And remember, they couldn't find her body when they were looking for.
Starting point is 00:34:31 for her out in the marsh, was she just disappeared? None of that made any sense. So that's two of the four witnesses. And Dr. Kendall Crown's question to you, you've dealt with literally thousands of autopsies. When you're dealing with a serial killer, here we see not only the same MO modus operandi method of operation of disposing of the bodies, but we see the same type of manner of death. cause of death? Is that significant when you're trying to identify the perp, the manner of death?
Starting point is 00:35:10 So the manner of death can be, is homicide acts and natural suicide. It cause of death is probably what you're more referring to. Yes. Usually with causes of death, with serial killers, they do like to follow the same pattern. They kind of have a routine. So you will see similar methods of killing an individual, similar methods of binding as fire as identifying of them. It's you can cluster the cases together, possibly get DNA from them, but you can't get people to copy do copycat killings as well. So it doesn't necessarily identify them based on how they do it.
Starting point is 00:35:53 Who is the next witness? Take a listen to our 228. The fourth witness comes from another state. She was a sex worker for many years. She said that she would service Rex Eurman over 20 times and that he was a serial user of sex workers. He would sometimes have him come two at a time to his house and his wife was home upstairs
Starting point is 00:36:18 and in one instance got very angry at one of the sex workers because the wife believed that the worker had stolen an iron for ironing clothes and had it in the car with the driver. So the driver had to get out, everybody had to search the car. There was no iron. But the wife knew about it and knew about obviously what was going on in order for that to happen. Wow. And last, take a listen to our forensic crime online.
Starting point is 00:36:43 The wife of Rex Heuerman has not been accused of any wrongdoing by police. They've even gone so far as to say they believe she was out of town when the murders of the Gilgo Four were committed. However, in an interview with the U.S. son, attorney, John Ray points out he doesn't see how it's possible to ignore or refuse to investigate Asa Ellorup in light of the purported evidence he has uncovered. Grab a coffee and discover nonstop action with BudmGM Casino. Check out our hottest exclusive. Friends of One with Multi-Drop.
Starting point is 00:37:16 Once even more options. Play our wide variety of table games. Or head over to the arcade for nostalgic casino thrills only available at BetMGM. Download the BetMGM Ontario app today. to wager, Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connix Ontario at 1866-531, 2,600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. But MGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
Starting point is 00:37:48 Sexy, Rexey. It actually is nauseating to even say that. I'm talking about a Legislarial Killer Rex Heurman arrested and initially charged with the murder of three women. Amber Costello, Melissa Bartolomey, and Megan Waterman. Since then, he's been charged with the murders of four more. Marine Brainerd Barnes, Sandra Castilla, Jessica Taylor, Valerie Mack. What do we know about the deaths of these beautiful women? We know their bodies were found dumped along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach and other remote spots online. Long Island. Some were bound. Some have been dismembered. There remains discarded in multiple
Starting point is 00:38:31 locations. That doesn't jive at all with the quote, life of the party. Sexy Rexy. Does it? Does it? Well, listen to these facts. P.I. X. 11. Mary, thank you for being with us again. Got two questions for you. And the first one is about Asa Ellarup, the wife of Rex Heerman. She has not been charged. She's not been named a person of interest. But many people have wondered how she could not know what was happening. That was explained away by the fact that many of Hewerman's meetings with sex workers were when she was out of town.
Starting point is 00:39:14 This paints her in an entirely different light. We don't know what kind of relationship Ms. Ella had with her husband. And we don't know the level of their intimacy. I can just tell you that when this indictment was announced back in July, the district attorney Ray Tierney took great pains to say he did not believe that the wife had any knowledge of what was going on. And even the police commissioner, Rodney Harrison, said he believed that Rex Heerman was living a double life.
Starting point is 00:39:45 I believe anything's possible. Perhaps there was sex workers that went to the house. but from what I'm gathering from the top law enforcement people on the case, they did not think she had any involvement. I just wanted to mention a couple of things. Rodney Harrison, the former police commissioner, he was there for the vetting of the second witness that John Ray has met with. And while he said that he wanted to look at all of these witnesses,
Starting point is 00:40:13 he didn't want to leave any stone unturned. It should be noted that he was very cautious at John Ray's press conference. conference. He didn't give up much information. He just said they would look at this information. And it was significant, though, that he was there with John Ray. I had never seen anything like that in my career. He actually left police headquarters to join John Ray at his private attorney's office. Well, I would not expect law enforcement to comment on potential witnesses at this juncture. But you're right, the fact that he's there with Ray, when Ray is making the statements about four new witnesses speaks volumes. He doesn't have to say anything for me to see
Starting point is 00:40:53 that he's standing there in solidarity with Ray. Also, we learned about another creepy, I'm not through yet on these four witnesses, but another creepy fact has emerged. Take a listen to our cut 242 from investigative reporter Dave Mack. Rex Hewerman was so obsessed about showing off his hunting skills to a female colleague that he stalked her. onto a cruise ship. Mero Henriquez tells CBS 48 hours that Heurman asked her where she was going to be on her 40th birthday cruise. She told him, I'm going to be in the middle of the ocean, and you're not going to be able to find me in the middle of the ocean. Heurman told her, oh, yes, I can. On the second day of her birthday cruise, a white envelope was shoved under her cabin door. It was a note from
Starting point is 00:41:40 Heuerman. The note said, I told you I could find you anywhere. Okay, that's completely irrelevant to the trial on multiple murders, but wow, I wish a jury could hear that because it tells me volumes about Rex Hewerman himself. Mary Murphy, what is his significance of the Saville Motor Lodge where, according to one of these new witnesses, she made a pickup connected to Heurman? The first thing that I thought of when I heard Sayville Motor Lodge was the fact that just recently the feds locked it down, shut it down for good, because it was the scene of major sex trafficking over the years. And so when the allegation was made that Shannon Gilbert was there
Starting point is 00:42:26 and that she had allegedly met Rex Heelman there, I thought of all the human trafficking that was going on. Also, the date, John Ray in this affidavit, which was a sworn affidavit, noted that it was around 2009 in the fall, It would probably be September, October, 2009, when this incident happened. And that was around the time earlier that summer that Melissa Bartholomey had disappeared. But she disappeared from the Bronx. She's one of the original Gilgo Four found on Ocean Parkway in 2010.
Starting point is 00:43:00 So it becomes an interesting part of the timeline. Melissa Barthelomey disappears in the summer of 2009. And then in September, October 2009, the same. taxi driver allegedly saw a woman she identifies as Shannon Gilbert with Rex Heurman at the Sable Motor Lodge. To John Ray, lawyer for the Shannon Gilbert family, in my mind, this is the icing on the cake for the state. Well, yeah, I suppose you could say so, but I just, you know, you said that the, the, uh, with
Starting point is 00:43:33 Ms. Enriquez, the, the Hurerman's secretary, that the issue on the ocean cruise liner was irrelevant. It's not. actually Rex Heerman, one of the items seized from him in the police inventory was survivalist equipment. Dr. Peter Hackett, who we have pinned as one of the people responsible for Shannon's death, ran a company called Survivorist Dynamic, and he ran it with a man who was a sea captain for cruise ships. And the chances that Hackett and Heurman knew each other through the survivalist operation in Long Island are very strong. It's a very small group of people. They tend to connect
Starting point is 00:44:16 with each other, meet with each other, et cetera. And it wouldn't surprise me if there was a connection. There may very well be a connection in everything regarding tracking her down on a cruise ship may be true. But after all your years of trying cases, do you believe that evidence will come in a murder trial? Not yet. Okay. And that is why it would be deemed irrelevant in trial, not irrelevant to who Rex Heerman is. That's why I played it because it tells me who he is. But it's not coming into trial because it has nothing to do with the victim, the Gilgo Beach victims. It tells me a lot about him, but a jury's never going to hear that.
Starting point is 00:44:51 And I wish that they could. Dr. Joni Johnston joining me out of California, what do you make of what you've heard? Well, I think there's so many interesting parts of this. And I'd have to agree with you, Nancy, that the whole issue of, you know, Rex Hurerman tracking down one of his employees just to show her that he has the power to know where she is at all times speaks volumes about his psychology and you know one of the themes that has come up over and over in his case and people talking about reg puremen and looking at some of the pornography he allegedly was looking at is this issue of sadism and getting pleasure out of causing other
Starting point is 00:45:26 people to comfort or pain and that is very consistent with that robin drake behavioral expert former FBI special agent what do you think yeah i can agree more he keeps this explain a very consistent arc of behavior of control, power, sadism, and he targets and grooms fitting all the profiles of someone that would do this. All these witnesses coming forward, though, really it's helping the prosecution, I believe, like it's been stated at the same time, though, I keep coming back to, we're seeing some law enforcement mishandling here as well. It really paints an interesting picture on what's been transpiring there.
Starting point is 00:46:01 Yeah, and that is going to play into the defense because of the things. fact that there has been police misconduct in the distant past, but it was during these investigations. Right. That's all they need to argue this DNA is irrelevant, is planted, is tainted. They're going to use that. And that's why these eyewitnesses that John Ray, high-profile lawyers telling us about, become all the more significant because they corroborate the DNA.
Starting point is 00:46:30 Mary Murphy, joining us Pix 11, number one, the new book. body that has been found at Sunken Meadows is that of a young male. And it's believed it was a recent murder. Heerman's in jail. He didn't do it. But you know why I think it's significant Mary Murphy? Because the defense can now argue, see, the killer's still out there. It's not Heerman. Can't you see that unfolding in court, Mary? Well, the first thing that I thought of when I heard about the body in Sunkin Meadow State Park was, wow, could this be another victim? And, you know, I asked the police commissioner about that. He told me he did not think so. The so-called perfect coworker and life of the party who got his own sexy nickname, sexy
Starting point is 00:47:20 rexie, now stands accused of multiple murders. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace signing off. Friday night special I told you it was special you believe me goodbye friend this is an I-heart podcast

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