MASSAPEQUA PARK, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Visitors have been coming from all over to get a look at the Nassau County house of accused serial killer Rex Heuermann—and now neighbors are pushing for the home to be torn down so it doesn't go the way of the "Amityville Horror" house.
Gawkers descended from across Long Island and beyond to catch a glimpse of the red, one-story house on First Avenue, near Michigan Avenue, in Massapequa Park where Heuermann lived for decades before he was arrested in the murders of three women linked to the Gilgo Beach serial killings.
The rush of out-of-towners and sudden notoriety has already led to a push by neighbors on social media to have the house torn down. The rubberneckers are cramming streets and taking parking spots, they said.
They fear it will become like the "Amityville Horror" house, where decades later people still drive by and take photos, interrupting the lives of neighbors.
"The Amityville house, they did renovations, they changed the look of it," a neighbor of Heuermann said Monday. "They don't have those windows that were made very popular by the movie."
"You don't want to attract any attention, this is a quiet neighborhood," he added. "Probably should just get knocked down, raised over and rebuilt like a lot of the houses in this area."
Coincidentally, investigators were in nearby Amityville on Monday to search a storage unit in connection with the Heuermann case. The search warrant was being executed at Omega Self-Storage on Sunrise Highway.
The home was already known as an eyesore in the neighborhood because of its unkempt state.
Another resident said she's been inside the house several times, as her son was friends with Heuermann's son.
"I saw him a few times, he used to come to bowling parties that the kids had, and they were in Challenger baseball," she said. "Nothing strange."
"It's hard for someone to buy it with that stigma attached," she said of the home, adding that she'd tear it down if she owned it.
Heuermann's family was living in the house until last Thursday night, when investigators took over the home to collect evidence. They were spotted removing items—including a child-size doll—all throughout the weekend and continued to investigate there on Monday.
Heuermann's wife and two children, at least one of whom is an adult, are currently staying at an unknown location as the investigation continues.
Heuermann, 59, was charged last Friday with first-degree murder in the killings of three women in the Gilgo Beach murders. He's also the "prime suspect" in the killing of a fourth woman, prosecutors said.
Heuermann, who commuted to his Midtown job from his home in Massapequa Park, was charged in the decade-old murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. He's also the "prime suspect" in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, but he hasn't been charged with her death, according to authorities.
Heuermann pleaded not guilty in court Friday. His attorney Michael Brown said a teary-eyed Heuermann told him, "I didn't do this."
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