Rex Heuermann is the 59-year-old Long Island man arrested for the murder of three, perhaps four of the 10-plus bodies found scattered in the deep thicket near the shores of Gilgo Beach. We are now learning that he had some nightmarish items in his Massapequa Park home, as well as a lot of firepower.
Police have located roughly 300 firearms, some of which may not be legally registered in the state of New York.
FACT-O-RAMA! Long guns (rifles and shotguns) do not need to be registered in New York State, though there are restrictions on
assaultsemi-automatic rifles. Heuermann currently has 92 firearms registered in New York. Police are researching his pistols and revolvers to make sure they are legally registered.
“He had an arsenal in a vault that he had downstairs,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison revealed to Fox News. “It’s concerning, regarding the guns being registered or legal or not. That’s something we’re still taking a look at.”
Related: Long Island Serial Killer Suspect Nabbed After 13-Year-Long Investigation
Heuermann’s arsenal is the reason police arrested the alleged killer in New York City, rather than at home where his weapons were locked in a vault.
“We wanted to take him into custody somewhere outside the house, because of access to those weapons,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney disclosed to ABC News.
The guns aren’t the only items in Heuermann’s home that are raising eyebrows.
While looking for any “trophies” the killer may have kept from his murder spree, police removed a grim painting of an abused woman with bruises under her eyes.
Cops also removed a poster from the TV show M*A*S*H and a copy of Playboy’s 30th Anniversary issue featuring model Penny Baker.
PORNO-RAMA! Penny Baker was only 17 years old when she posed nude for Playboy’s 30th Anniversary issue. She had to get a signed waiver from her parents to appear in the magazine. Investigators have reported Heuermann searched for child pornography on his computers, as well as what they described as “torture-porn.”
Gilgo Beach investigators remove creepy portrait of battered woman from Rex Heuermann’s home.…macabre painting.
The disturbing artwork…features a blond woman’s face with dark pupils & bruising below the eyes.
up to 300 firearms…had permits for just 92 https://t.co/q7362Im3XU
— Suzie S (@suziesuchi) July 18, 2023
Police also hoisted a child-sized doll in a glass and wooden case from the alleged serial killer’s cluttered house.
GILGO-RAMA! James Burke, a former Suffolk County Chief of Police, was accused of hindering the FBI’s investigation into the Gilgo murders. He also allegedly had a “fondness for drugs and prostitutes.” Burke was jailed for 46 months after beating a man who stole his gym bag full of sex toys. Colleagues described Burke as “constantly horny” and a “psychopath.” Many New Yorkers, including a certain Long Island lightning rod radio personality, have wondered aloud if there was more than one serial killer leaving bodies at Gilgo Beach.
Authorities also searched a storage unit maintained by Heuermann, as well as land he purchased in South Carolina. Some of his relatives have had their homes searched as well.
Heuermann has maintained his innocence. He was denied bail and remains in custody.
