MASSAPEQUA PARK, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- The investigation into alleged Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann continued to widen Wednesday, with police interviewing sex workers in Suffolk County and law enforcement in both South Carolina and Las Vegas joining the effort as cops continued to remove items from his Nassau County house.
Here are some of the latest developments in the case:
ESCORTS INTERVIEWED IN SUFFOLK COUNTY
Heuermann is currently being held inside of the Suffolk County Correctional Facility, where female inmates are being asked about potential connections to him, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon told WCBS 880.
Toulon said the sheriff's office is interviewing escorts who are either current or former inmates of the jail to see if they had any encounters with Heuermann, who allegedly targeted sex workers.
"So we can better glean, because sometimes the police department may not have access to these individuals," Toulon said. "It just gives us another tool in this toolbox to try to complete this investigation."
Members of the sheriff's office have been showing the escorts photos of Heuermann to see if they recognize him as a past client.
They're asking about contact that may have happened between 2018 and 2023.
So far, at least two women have said they spoke with him by phone but hadn't met him in person.
Heuermann has been on suicide watch at the jail, according to sheriff's office spokesperson Vicki DiStefano. The designation, which requires “high security measures” and close observation, came after an evaluation by county medical staff.
SUSPECT ONCE WORKED AT JONES BEACH
Heuermann was once a seasonal employee at Jones Beach State Park in Nassau County, according to sources.
He worked at the park in the summer of 1981, as well as from March 1982 to October 1984, though it's unclear what position he held, the sources said.
Jones Beach is roughly five miles to the west of Gilgo Beach, where police uncovered the remains of three sex workers Heuermann is accused of killing and a fourth whose death he is the "prime" suspect in.
PROBE EXPANDS TO S. CAROLINA AND NEVADA
As state and local police continue to comb through Heuermann's Massapequa Park home, law enforcement in South Carolina and Nevada have also joined the growing investigation.
A green Chevy Avalanche parked on property owned by Heuermann near Chester, South Carolina, was seized by the FBI and transported back to Long Island, where it arrived early Wednesday. Heuermann reportedly planned to retire in the area, where his brother, Craig, already owns property.
The truck was key to Heuermann's arrest and followed a 2022 tip from a pimp, who said he had seen it parked in the West Babylon driveway of victim Amber Lynn Costello.
The tip was a "turning point" for investigators in a newly formed task force that was taking a fresh look at the murders, Suffolk Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said.
A second, newer Avalanche that was parked outside Heuermann's home in Massapequa Park was already removed by investigators in recent days.
Meanwhile police in Las Vegas—where Heuermann owns a timeshare condominium—confirmed to multiple news outlets that they're "aware of Rex Heuermann’s connection to Las Vegas."
"We are currently reviewing our unsolved cases to see if he has any involvement," they said.
A FORMER COP'S ENCOUNTER ON THE LIRR
A former police officer from Massapequa Park told The Ops Desk podcast that he had an encounter with a "bully" while waiting for an LIRR train at Penn Station just two weeks ago—a man he now knows was Heuermann.
The former cop, who didn't want to be named, told the podcast that Heuermann didn't like where he was standing, leading to a heated verbal encounter.
"I kind of thought he was a bully," he said.
He remembered Heuermann as being "very unmistakable."
"He's actually missing his left front tooth. His voice is very distinctive."
SEARCH OF NASSAU HOME CONTINUES
Nearly a week after Heuermann was arrested outside his Fifth Avenue architectural firm in Midtown Manhattan last Thursday night, the intensive search of his home on First Avenue in Massapequa Park continues—and there's no word on how long the search will take.
Investigators have been removing various items from the home for days, including more than 200 firearms, a desktop computer, a large doll in a glass case, a large portrait of a woman with a bruised face and a filing cabinet.
It remains to be seen whether any of those items will help authorities build their case against him.
Heuermann has denied killing the women, according to his attorney, Michael Brown.
The Gilgo Beach murders case started in 2010, when police were searching for a missing woman near the beach discovered 10 sets of human remains scattered on the barrier island. The dead included eight women, one man and a young child, though police have said it's unlikely one person killed them all.
Heuermann is accused of murdering Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello and Megan Waterman. He's also the "prime" suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. All four women were sex workers and were found along the same-quarter mile of Ocean Parkway.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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