On Thursday, July 13, an arrest was made in a murder spree over a decade ago, terrifying residents in the Gilgo Beach area of Long Island. A suspect believed to be the Long Island Serial Killer Rex Heuermann was taken into custody as he walked down a street in Massapequa, New York.
Heuermann’s arrest might have seemed to come out of nowhere to the general public, but information since his arrest shows that he’d been on police radar for some time now. The same report also tells about more of Heuermann’s past, from sadistic online searches and stalking the family of victims to his obsession with the case and its task force.
If you’re unfamiliar with the case, it might seem like a lot of evidence presented itself rather suddenly, but there’s a place you can go to make sense of it all. In one of the most thorough and well-done investigative podcasts, a four-year research project serves as a must-listen for anyone waiting for justice to be served in these cases.
Just what is the Long Island Serial Killer podcast, where can you listen, and why is this case the talk of the true-crime realm right now? Let’s take a look.
What is the Long Island Serial Killer podcast?
Based on the book Lost Girls by Robert Kolker and hosted by Chris Mass, the LISK Podcast is full of information about the Long Island Serial Killer victims, their stories, and never before heard details regarding the case.
Mass and his investigative team researched the LISK for four years to uncover all they could about the case and give the serial killer’s victims a voice in any way they could. The podcast provides a platform to friends and family of the victims in addition to police, law enforcement agents, and even government officials in the area as well as those who felt the effects of the serial killer’s reign of terror.
The podcast has dozens of episodes, with many from the first season focusing on specific victims before moving on to interviews from those familiar with the victims or the case. Mass and his co-host Shannon McGarvey, navigate the case with knowledge and compassion for those they speak with.
Many long-time podcast followers have flooded comments and review sections asking for an update on the official podcast now that an arrest has been made. McGarvey recently shared that she never felt the podcast would “solve” the case and that a lot of work still needs to be done, but that the day Heuermann was arrested was undoubtedly a good day.
When was Rex Heuermann arrested?
Rex Heuermann was arrested on July 13, and as we shared above, he’d been someone law enforcement had their eye on for the year leading up to his being taken into custody. Those who knew Heuermann over the last decade were surprised to learn that he was a suspect in the case, with a neighbor, Rosemarie Kafka, telling NBC News that he seemed like a “regular guy” living a double life:
“You know, the regular guy who goes to work, has kids in the local school and in a good neighborhood, but he’s killing people on the side.”
Another neighbor, Patrica Maressa, said they couldn’t believe what happened in their own neighborhood:
“I’m still shocked that this is going on. It’s a very quiet neighborhood. At night, you could hear a pin drop.”
Rodney Harrison, Suffolk County Police Commissioner, told NBC News that Heuermann is a “demon who walks among us.”
Reports also say Heuermann is a prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who is believed to be his first victim, and together the women above are known as the Gilgo Four. Heuermann’s victims were almost exclusively in the sex industry, except for the heartwrenching addition to his list of assumed victims, “baby doe.”
Those who have followed the case know that the victim list sits at ten confirmed victims, and the LISK Podcast has information about each victim, four of which are listed as John or Jane Doe. However, it’s believed that the LISK has well over 10 victims, and that information and more are discussed in the LISK Podcast.
Many who follow true crime have never been able to let go of one of the most heartbreaking pieces of the puzzle, the 911 call from Shannan Gilbert, which lasted 22 minutes. Gilbert could be heard screaming, sounding out of sorts, and trying to tell the dispatcher that someone was after her.
What led to the suspect’s arrest?
Heuermann’s arrest comes down to a team of investigators and law enforcement agents who simply weren’t willing to give up on finding the killer and getting justice for those who had their lives stolen from them.
It’s been widely reported that the pieces of the puzzle used to bring forward an arrest were everything from his “cellphone evidence and DNA taken from a pizza crust” and that they’d been working on the case since early last year. He was arrested on the following charges, as reported by CBS News:
“Three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello.”
ABC 7 News shared a statement from Michael J. Brown, a defense attorney who will work closely with Heuermann on the case. As to be expected, Heuermann’s team is toting his innocence and gearing up to “defend him in a court of law.”
“Rex Heuermann is 59 years old with no prior criminal history. He is a college graduate and is a hardworking licensed architect who has his own NYC firm. He is a loving husband to his wife of over 25 years and an involved and dedicated father to his daughter and step son. He has entered a not guilty plea and has insisted he did not commit these crimes. There is nothing about Mr. Heuermann that would suggest that he is involved in these incidents. And while the government has decided to focus on him despite more significant and stronger leads, we are looking forward to defending him in a court of law before a fair and impartial jury of his peers.”
You can listen to the LISK Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts now. Other true-crime podcasts have also done episodes on the Long Island Serial Killer, some of which include The First Degree, Unresolved, and Mountain Murders.
