Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann once asked an interior designer if she knew about the notorious murders, saying it made her “uncomfortable.”
Dominique Vidal said ABC 7 She was networking with the 59-year-old architect in February, and soon he started leaving her voicemails.
In one of those messages, Vidal says, “he asked me if I knew about the Gilgo Beach murders.”
Heuermann is now behind bars on Long Island, charged with first and second degree murder in the deaths of three Gilgo Beach victims: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. He is also the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Those who have worked with him say he was fastidious, impressing some of his clients while annoying others with his attention to detail.
Dominique Vidal, an interior designer who was in a networking organization with Rex Heuermann, said she once asked him if he knew about the Gilgo Beach murders.
Those who knew Heuermann have given varying descriptions, with some seeing him as a successful but cumbersome Manhattan architect, while others seeing him as a creepy loner.
Vidal said she felt “uncomfortable” in Heuermann’s presence, even before learning of his alleged crimes.
When he started leaving her voicemails in late February, she said, “I assumed he just wanted to work together, but he always made me feel a little awkward.”
At one point, he recounted, Heuermann brought up the Gilgo Beach murders seemingly spontaneously.
“Back then, I’d say, ‘Oh, you know he’s just from that area, maybe you know, he’s just a local talking about [it] and I would think you would find it interesting.
“But now I see it as a serial killer trying to put it in someone’s face.”
Police sources told DailyMail.com that Heuermann, an accomplished architect and father of two, has been on their radar since last year.
Prosecutors allege she used disposable phones and various email accounts to search for sites that featured sexual violence, communicate with sex workers and keep up with the investigation into the murders.
He also allegedly used fake names for email accounts and phone numbers “to perform thousands of searches related to sex workers, sadistic torture-related pornography, and child pornography.”
Many of the search terms, prosecutors allege, focused on violent sexual acts involving minors.
Authorities say Barthelemy’s disposable phone was also used to make “teasing phone calls” to her family members in the days after she went missing, in which a male voice admitted to killing and sexually assaulting her.
The suspect’s home is located directly north of Gilgo Beach, across South Oyster Bay.
The calls were later traced to a location near Heuermann’s Manhattan office.
In that office, Heuermann built a reputation redeveloping the New York City skyline, and Heuermann himself has said that he has worked for clients including Catholic Charitie, NYC Department of Environmental Protection Sewerage Treatment, American Airlines, and other major tenants in John F.Kennedy. International Airport.
“For more than 20 years, RH has been adding beauty and structure with concept-based designs at multiple scales from educational facilities, residential works, as well as mixed-use and office design, public works and master planning,” read on the company website.
“RH also actively supports sustainability along with the preservation of historic landmarks,” the site adds, noting that it has “over 30 years of service to New York City building code, Department of Buildings of the City of New York and all major city agencies. .’
Among the company’s most recent projects is the new Target store in Manhattan’s exclusive SoHo Cast Iron District.
For that project, Heuermann’s firm collaborated with Target’s design team to integrate the store’s aesthetic into the wealthy neighborhood.
He worked to add elevators and escalators to the landmark-designated historic property built in 1884, retooled several floors of the building and provided new ADA-compliant store entrances.
RH also collaborated with the Burlington Coat Factory to build its latest store in Brooklyn and worked closely with an owner on a large-scale renovation of a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment overlooking Central Park West.
“(He’s) a gem to deal with, very knowledgeable,” said Steve Kramberg, a Brooklyn-based property manager who has worked with Heuermann for 30 years.
She described him as a “big, goofy guy” who was “a bit on the nerdy side,” which came across as a dedicated worker who was more than detailed in his work.
But not all Heuermann projects have proven popular.
Among Heuermann’s most recent projects are a new Target store in Manhattan’s upscale SoHo Cast Iron District and a Burlington Coat Factory store in Brooklyn.
He also worked closely with a landlord on a large-scale renovation of a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment overlooking Central Park West (pictured).
In 2007, more than two dozen families were evicted from their dilapidated Harlem apartment building after Heuermann falsely identified it as vacant.
Heuermann had been hired at the time to renovate the seven-story building, which had more than 700 open housing code violations, according to the New York Daily News.
Paul Tietelbaun, former chairman of the board of a building that hired Heuermann for renovations, also said he exhibited an attitude of: “I’m the expert, you’re lucky to have me.”
“(He was) a really cold and distant person, a bit creepy,” he added.
Another board member, Kelly Parisi, echoed this, recalling how building managers eventually fired Heuermann because he was “too picky” and “contradicting everyone.”
Drone footage of Heuermann’s home shows police outside the one-story building.
Investigators were seen Saturday outside Heuermann’s Massapequa home removing various items as they tried to see if he left behind any “trophy” from his alleged victims.
New York State Police removed a large quantity of weapons from Heuermann’s Long Island home after searching the property to determine if he left behind any “trophy” from his three victims.
Some neighbors at Heuermann’s dungeon-like home in suburban Massapequa Park also said they found it creepy.
Mike Schmidt, who has lived in the neighborhood for a decade, said he often visits his friend whose property backs onto the Heuermann property.
He said that when they drink beers in the backyard, they look at the house and comment, ‘I probably have bodies in there.’
Schmidt recalled that while children often avoid the spooky house on Halloween, he and his friend brought their children into the house last year, simply to satisfy their curiosity and take a look inside.
He said they were met at the door by Heuermann, who surprised them handing out pumpkins filled with candy to the children.
However, Schmidt told the Times that his wife was horrified to find out where the candy came from and forced him to throw it away.
Another resident, Tara Alonzo, revealed that she had a disturbing encounter with Heuermann at Whole Foods, where she works on Long Island.
She told DailyMail.com that she stole oranges from the store’s kids’ club, where parents leave their children while they go shopping. When she was confronted by staff, she says she responded, “If I were wearing a suit like I wear most days, you wouldn’t talk to me like that.”
She said she then walked out of the store with five or six oranges in her hands, leaving the staff stumped by the ‘weird’ customer.
