Colleague Recalls Rex Heuermann’s Disturbing Cruise Encounter Amid Gilgo Beach Case Coverage

Former colleagues of Rex Heuermann have shared memories of the Long Island architect’s unsettling behavior, including an incident in which he located a co-worker during a vacation cruise.

The revelations emerged as renewed attention focuses on the Gilgo Beach serial killings. Nearly two decades after the first disappearances, Suffolk County police identified Heuermann as the prime suspect in the deaths of four women known as the “Gilgo Four,” as well as the possible killer of Shannan Gilbert.

Muriel Henriquez and Mary Shell, who worked alongside Heuermann at his architectural firm, expressed disbelief upon learning of his arrest in July 2023. “I even thought to myself, ‘it’s crazy that there’s two Rex Heuermanns out there,'” Shell said. “We never thought he would be that kind of person,” added Henriquez.

Heuermann is charged with murdering Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. Investigators also consider him the primary suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison condemned him during a press conference, calling him “a demon that walks among us, a predator that ruined families.”

The case traces back to May 2010, when 23-year-old Shannan Gilbert called 911 while fleeing attackers near Gilgo Beach on Long Island. Her call ended abruptly, and she was never found. Months later, in December 2010, law enforcement discovered human remains nearby. Initially feared to be Gilbert’s, the bodies were identified as Brainard-Barnes, Barthelemy, Waterman, and Costello—all young women who worked as escorts.

Brainard-Barnes, 25, disappeared in July 2007 after traveling from New York City to her home in Connecticut. Barthelemy, 24, went missing in July 2009 from midtown Manhattan. In the weeks after her disappearance, her 15-year-old sister received taunting phone calls from Barthelemy’s cell phone, in which the caller claimed responsibility for her death. Police traced those calls to Manhattan, providing a critical geographic link.

Waterman, 22, vanished in June 2010 after leaving a Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge. Cell records placed her phone in Massapequa Park, where Heuermann resided. Costello, 27, disappeared in September 2010 after leaving her Long Island home to meet a client.

Heuermann lived approximately 20 minutes from Gilgo Beach in Massapequa Park and worked at his firm in Midtown Manhattan—areas central to the victims’ last known movements. His attorney, Michael Brown, has stated that his client denies involvement.

Friends and family of the victims continue to seek justice. Dave Schaller, Costello’s former roommate, recalled that she was tormented by drug addiction but was an “amazing person.” He noted that on the night she disappeared, a client paid her six times her usual rate to leave without her phone or purse—a deviation from her normal routine.

Schaller also described the suspect as resembling an “ogre” and driving a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche, details that contributed to the eventual identification of Heuermann more than a decade later.

As investigations persist, the families of the Gilgo Four emphasize that behind the headlines are individuals with lives, loves, and legacies. Liliana Waterman, Megan’s daughter, said she wants her mother to know she is loved and irreplaceable.

“No matter what her job was, she was a person, and she needs justice,” Liliana said.