Gilgo Beach killings: Amityville storage facility connected to Rex Heuermann searched by authorities

Suffolk County authorities on Monday searched a storage facility in Amityville and the home of suspected Gilgo Beach killer Rex A. Heuermann, the architect from Massapequa Park who is on suicide watch inside a Suffolk jail, officials said.

Suffolk County and New York State police searched Omega Self-Storage, a facility located near where Sunrise Highway meets Route 110, and were seen removing computers, furniture and a piece of wood from two separate units rented by Heuermann. Heuermann, 59, is charged with murder in the killings of three women whose bodies were found in 2010 in the Gilgo Beach area. He has pleaded not guilty. 

"There is no end in sight" for the ongoing search at Heuermann's Massapequa Park home, said Suffolk County Police Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer, the chief of the department's Homicide Squad, who spoke at the storage facility. 

Police removed several items  Heuermann's home on First Avenue on Monday, including two long guns, several gun cases, toys, backpacks and an American flag. 

Heuermann pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Friday to three counts each of first- and second-degree murder in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello — three of the four victims whose remains were found in December 2010 in a wooded area near Gilgo Beach. 

Prosecutors also called him the “prime suspect” in the killing of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, whose body also was found in the same vicinity. All of the victims worked as escorts, authorities said. The remains of six other victims were later found, but authorities have not linked Heuermann to those killings. 

Vicki DiStefano, a spokesperson for Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon, who oversees the county's jails in Yaphank and Riverhead, said Heuermann, who was arrested Thursday night in Manhattan, is on suicide watch. 

"Due to the high profile nature of his case, he is in heightened security," DiStefano said in an email Monday, declining to say where Heuermann is being held.

According to a copy of the six-count indictment against Heuermann obtained by Newsday on Monday, the special grand jury that heard evidence in the case commenced on June 20 and will sit through Sept. 15.

Investigators had been planning to arrest Heuermann on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, but they became alarmed about the potential for leaks. As a result, they scrambled to arrest Heuermann on Thursday night, according to two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation.

In an interview, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said he had been worried about executing the arrest because things can go wrong quickly. Heuermann had permits for more than 90 guns, Tierney said.

Heuermann’s Central Islip-based attorney, Michael J. Brown, in a statement Sunday night, stressed that his client has no criminal record and said Heuermann “insisted that he did not commit these crimes.”

“He is a college graduate and is a hardworking licensed architect who has his own NYC firm,” Brown said. “He is a loving husband to his wife of over 25 years and an involved and dedicated father to his daughter and stepson.”

Brown added: “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.”

Tania Lopez, a spokesperson for Tierney, said a search warrant was executed for two storage units rented by Heuermann. 

A man who identified himself as the manager at the storage facility said by phone that “we have no statement” when asked about Heuermann and the police search.

At the storage units Monday, officials from the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory, some wearing masks, were seen canvassing for evidence. 

Unique Palmer of Amityville said she was walking her dog by the storage center Sunday when police told her it was part of the Gilgo investigation.

"It’s not going to change for these people missing their family members, but I’m glad this guy is off the street," Palmer said. "It’s very scary. It’s right by a school. There’s no telling how frequently he was coming to this facility. It was right under our noses and we knew nothing about it. They kept it so secret until it ends up in our neighborhood.”

In a 32-page bail document filed in court and released Friday, prosecutors detailed the evidence against Heuermann, including DNA lifted from pizza crust in a box he allegedly discarded outside his office that authorities said linked him to one of the victims. Cellular phone site data also linked his whereabouts to the victims at key times, investigators said.

State Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro ordered Heuermann, who neighbors said appeared to be a quiet professional who commuted regularly to his Manhattan office, held without bail, saying it was due to “the extreme depravity of the allegations.” 

With James Carbone and Howard Schnapp

A previous version of this story gave an incorrect location for Omega Self-Storage.