'A quiet man': Arrest of Gilgo Beach suspect sends shockwaves through Massapequa Park neighborhood where he lives

News 12 Long Island has learned the suspect is Massapequa Park resident Rex Heuermann.  

News 12 Staff and Jenn Seelig

Jul 14, 2023, 4:57 PM

Updated 456 days ago

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Police confirm they have arrested a suspect in connection to the Gilgo Beach murders.  
News 12 Long Island has learned the suspect is Massapequa Park resident Rex Heuermann.  
According to neighbors, Heuermann has lived on 1st Avenue his entire life. Neighbors say they were shocked when they woke up to police swarming their block.  
Heuermann’s next door neighbor tells News 12 he got a knock on his door from police asking him to move his car.  
According to neighbors, Heuermann was a quiet, family man and they were stunned when they heard about the investigation.  
“They are just regular neighbors. It’s crazy. Anyone would think the same thing. Just mind boggling,” said one neighbor.  
Heuermann has been charged with first- and second-degree murder for the murders of three Gilgo victims: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello.
He pleaded not guilty and is due back in court Aug. 1.
WATCH: DOCUMENTARY AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION - Gilgo Beach: Unsolved
The first of 10 bodies were found along Ocean Parkway on Dec. 11, 2010. 
The mystery attracted national headlines for many years and the unsolved killings were the subject of the 2020 Netflix film "Lost Girls."
The deaths of 11 people whose remains were found in 2010 and 2011 have long stumped investigators. Most of the victims were young women who had been sex workers. Several of the bodies were found near Gilgo Beach.
On May 9, 2011, then-Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota released details regarding the remains found along Ocean Parkway. Below is the press release from that day: