MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries - Listen Now: Killer Psyche

Episode Date: October 21, 2024

When a shocking crime occurs, people ask “Why?” Was it about power, ego, or revenge? On Killer Psyche, retired FBI agent Candice DeLong draws on her decades of experience to reveal why these murderers and criminals committed these heinous acts. She will reveal fascinating new details about what drove these people, including cases she was close to. Candice will share specific psychological methods and profiling techniques that experts use to understand the deepest part of the most complex, fascinating, and twisted minds, from the Unabomber to Alex Murdaugh to Mary Bell. Listen to Killer Psyche now: Wondery.fm/KillerPsyche_EC.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the upcoming episode of Killer Psyche, we will be diving deep into the unfolding case of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann. Heuermann is awaiting trial for the murder of three women, with many more victims still being linked to him. Now, a recently released tell-all bail application goes into unusual details and lengths to keep him locked away, revealing shocking updates about the case. Listen as we take a closer look into the newly revealed evidence and charges, bringing new insight into what we already know about the case and what may have motivated him. I'm about to play a clip from Killer Psyche. Follow Killer Psyche on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. A listener note, this episode contains adult content

and is not suitable for everyone. Please be advised. In 2010, Suffolk County police were searching for a missing woman along the Ocean Parkway in Long Island, New York, when they discovered the remains of four women near Gilgo Beach. The victims, now known as the Gilgo Four, were all found in burlap sacks. Medical examiners identified the women as Maureen Brainerd Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello. Their cases had been reported between 2007 and 2010, and at the time of their disappearances, all of the women had been sex workers. For years, investigators struggled to find answers. Who was the predator behind these crimes?

And why did he target these women? After an investigation that spanned more than a decade, police honed in on a potential suspect. And in July 2023, they arrested 58-year-old Rex Heuermann, an unassuming Manhattan area architect, for his alleged role in the Gilgo Four murders. But the story did not end there. Just a few months ago, Heuermann was charged in the murders of two more women, Sandra Costilla, whose remains were found in the North Sea area of Long Island in 1993, and Jessica Taylor, whose remains were found in Gilgo Beach and the neighboring town of Manorville in 2003. And now, more than a year after his arrest, a trial date has not yet been set. Today, legal analyst Josh Ritter joins me to discuss the evidence gathered against Heuermann so far, what we can expect to see at the trial, and where the case stands now.

Hi, Josh. Thanks for joining me again today. Hi, Candace. Thank you so much for having me. Always a pleasure. Now, for our listeners that might not be familiar with this case, can you give us a brief background on who Rex Heuermann is and what he has been accused of. Up until a few years ago, Rex Heuermann was just known as a architect who worked in Manhattan and a gentleman who lived in Massapequa Park along Long Island. And according to all his neighbors, kind of a normal family man, worked hard, dressed well, had a wife and kids. But what we now know is that he's been charged with at least six brutal murders, and he is the person that police had been looking for for decades as the Gilgo Beach serial killer. Now, before his arrest in July of 23, so just over a year ago, police gathered various pieces of evidence that tied him to the murderers of the Gilgo Four.

Those are four women whose bodies were found over, I believe, a two or three week period in a two or three hundred square foot area of Gilgo Beach. It was cell phone data, witnesses who connected Huerman or his car with the victim, and DNA. Tell us about this DNA evidence and how it led to Huerman's arrest. The way that police were able to eventually apprehend Heuermann had a lot to do with the DNA evidence. And the way that they tracked that all down is fascinating. But it actually began before that with just some old-fashioned detective work regarding one report that had a description of what was believed to be the suspect's vehicle. And that was described as a Chevrolet Avalanche. And police went about finding every person who had a Chevrolet Avalanche registered to them during that time. And through that search, they arrived at several different people. And one of those people who happened to match the description that they had for their suspect was a man by the name of Rex Heuermann.

They had also recovered different strands of hair from some of the victims that had been buried. And they knew that they had female hair and male hair. Now realizing that Rex Heuermann was a suspect of theirs, they had some undercover officers recover some trash that had been disposed outside of his residence. Using the female hairs, they were able to match that to some of the disposed items and were able to make a match to Rex Heuermann's wife. So now they believe that they have at least a suspect living in this residence. Flash forward several months and years of investigation later,

they also were able to match the male hair to a discarded pizza box that Rex Hureman had left when police were surveilling him. That DNA matched to the male hairs, and they were finally able to have enough probable cause to make their arrest in this case. So it really is a patchwork of investigation, and it's remarkable. You can listen to Killer Psyche and more Exhibit C true crime shows like Morbid and Kill List early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. Check out Exhibit C in the Wondery app for all your true crime listening.