Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer allegedly operated just blocks from LI police academy
Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann’s home base was just two blocks from a Long Island police academy — and he likely delighted in targeting women right under the noses of cops, according to a report Friday.
Heuermann, 59, lived a third of a mile from the now-shuttered Nassau County police academy during the time he allegedly slaughtered his victims, according to the Long Island Press.
“It probably gave him an extra kick knowing that the Nassau cops were there,” said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and former Bronx Cold Case Squad commanding officer.
“To think that the Suffolk [County police] had a description of the suspect, his vehicle, knew that the phone pinged in Massapequa, and we realized that the suspect lived around the corner from the Nassau police academy, is wild,” he told the outlet.
The academy — which trained cadets and housed elite investigative units — was open from 2006 until 2021 and was a 5-minute walk from Heuermann’s family home in Massapequa Park.
Heuermann is accused of murdering three women between 2007 and 2010.
The alleged serial killer was likely thrilled to operate so close to cops because it gave him a feeling of power and superiority, another expert said.
“I think he would have especially enjoyed the fact he was doing this under the nose of the police,” said Dr. Carole Lieberman, a forensic psychiatrist.
“Because he liked to think that he is smarter than everybody else. … He loves feeling that he is pulling the wool over on people. And the police having their offices so close to his house gave him an extra thrill, I’m sure.”
Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect with a Manhattan office, was charged last week in the slayings of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello — three of the “Gilgo Four” victims whose remains were found in Gilgo Beach in 2010.
He is also the main suspect in the death of the fourth victim, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who disappeared in 2007, authorities have said.
Investigators are probing whether at least one of the killings took place at Heuermann’s home while his wife and children were out of town, a law-enforcement source said Friday.
The former police academy, which is now a school for special-needs kids, also housed the department’s Real-Time Intelligence system.
The system was designed to help officers share key information quickly and has been credited with helping to improve county crime stats.
Nassau cops didn’t respond to requests for comment.
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