Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann once asked a female interior designer if she knew about the notorious murders and said that he made her feel ‘uncomfortable’.
Dominique Vidal told ABC 7 she was in a networking organization with the 59-year-old architect in February, and soon he started leaving her voicemails.
In one of these messages, Vidal recounted, ‘he asked me if I knew about the Gilgo Beach murders.’
Heuermann is now behind bars on Long Island, charged with first- and second-degree murder in the deaths of three Gilgo Beach victims – Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. He is also the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Those who have worked with him say he was fastidious, impressing some of his clients while annoying others with his attention to detail.
Dominique Vidal, an interior designer who was in a networking organization with Rex Heuermann, said he once asked her if she knew of the Gilgo Beach murders
Those who knew Heuermann have given varying descriptions, with some seeing him as a successful but cumbersome Manhattan architect while others saw him as a creepy loner
Vidal said she was left feeling ‘uncomfortable’ in Heuermann’s presence — even before she knew of his alleged crimes.
When he started leaving her voicemails at the end of February, she said, ‘I assumed he just wanted to do some work together, but he always made me a little bit uncomfortable.’
At one point, she recounted, Heuermann brought up the Gilgo Beach murders seemingly unprompted.
‘Back then I would say, “Oh, you know he’s just from that area, maybe you know, he’s just a local talking about [it] and would think I’d find it interesting.
‘But now I see it as a serial killer trying to put it in somebody’s face.’
Law enforcement sources have told DailyMail.com Heuermann, an accomplished architect and father-of-two has been on their radar since last year.
Prosecutors allege he used burner phones and multiple email accounts to search for sites depicting sexual violence, to reach sex workers and to keep up with the investigation of the murders.
He also allegedly used fake names for email accounts and phones ‘to conduct thousands of searches related to sex workers, sadistic, torture-related pornography and child pornography.’
Many of the search terms, prosecutors allege, focused on violent sexual acts involving minors.
Authorities say Barthelemy’s burner phone was also used to make ‘taunting phone calls’ t her family members in the days after her disappearance, in which a male voice admitting to killing and sexually assaulting her.
The suspect’s house sits directly north of Gilgo Beach across the South Oyster Bay
The calls were later traced to a location near Heuermann’s Manhattan office.
At that office, Heuermann built up a reputation redeveloping New York City’s skyline, and Heuermann, himself, has said he has worked for clients including Catholic Charitie, NYC Department of Environmental Protection Sewerage Treatment, American Airlines and other major tenants at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
‘For over 20 years, RH has been adding beauty and structure with concept-driven designs at multiple scales from educational facilities, residential works as well as mix-use and office design, public works and master planning,’ the firm’s website reads.
‘RH also actively supports sustainability along with the preservation of historical landmarks,’ the site adds, noting that it has ‘over 30 years of service dealing with the New York City building code, the New York City Department of Buildings and all major city agencies.’
Among the firm’s most recent projects is the new Target store in Manhattan’s upscale SoHo Cast Iron District.
For that project, Heuermann’s firm collaborated with Target’s design team to integrate the store’s aesthetics into the wealthy neighborhood.
It worked on adding elevators and escalators into the historical landmark-designated property built in 1884, restructured multiple floors of the building and provided new ADA-compliant entrances for the store.
RH also collaborated with Burlington Coat Factory to build its latest store in Brooklyn, and worked closely with a homeowner on a full-scale renovation of a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment overlooking Central Park West.
‘(He is) a gem to deal with, highly knowledgeable,’ said Steve Kramberg, a property manager in Brooklyn who worked with Heuermann for 30 years.
He described him as a ‘big goofy guy’ who was ‘a little bit on the nerdy side’, which manifested as a dedicated worker who was more than detailed in his work.
But not all of Heuermann’s projects have proven to be popular.
Among Heuermann’s most recent projects is the new Target store in Manhattan’s upscale SoHo Cast Iron District and a Burlington Coat Factory store in Brooklyn
He also worked closely with a homeowner on a full-scale renovation of a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment overlooking Central Park West (pictured)
In 2007, more than two dozen families were booted from their crumbling apartment building in Harlem after Heuermann falsely identified it as being vacant.
Heuermann had been hired at the time to renovate the seven-story building, which had more than 700 open housing code violations, according to the New York Daily News.
Paul Tietelbaun, a former president of a building’s board that hired Heuermann for renovations, also said he exhibited an attitude of: ‘I’m the expert, you’re lucky to have me.’
‘(He was) a really kind of cold and distant person, kind of creepy,’ he added.
Another member of the board, Kelly Parisi, echoed this as she recalled how the building’s managers eventually fired Heuermann because he was ‘overly fastidious’ and ‘adversarial with everyone.’
Drone footage of Heuermann’s home shows police outside the one-story building
Investigators were seen Saturday outside Heuermann’s Massapequa home removing various items as they try to see if he left behind any ‘trophies’ from his alleged victims
New York state police have removed a massive haul of weapons from Heuermann’s Long Island home after scouring the property to determine whether he left any ‘trophies’ from his three victims
Some neighbors of Heuermann’s dungeon-like home in suburban Massapequa Park also said they found him creepy.
Mike Schmidt, who has lived in the neighborhood for a decade, said he often visits his friend whose property backs onto Heuermann’s.
He said when they drink beers in the backyard, they would look at the home and remark: ‘He probably has bodies there.’
Schmidt recalled that while children often avoid the creepy home on Halloween, last year he and his friend took their kids to the home – purely to satisfy their curiosity and take a look inside.
He said they were greeted by Heuermann at the door, who surprised them by giving out full pumpkins of candy to the children.
However, Schmidt told the Times that his wife was appalled to find out where the candy was from and made him throw it out.
Another resident, Tara Alonzo, revealed she had a disturbing run-in with Heuermann in the Whole Foods where she works in Long Island.
She told DailyMail.com that he stole oranges from the store’s kid’s club, where parents leave their children while they shop. When he was confronted by staff, she says he responded: ‘If I was wearing a suit like I wear most days, you wouldn’t be talking to me like this.’
She said he then strolled out of the store with five or six oranges in his hands, leaving the staff perplexed by the ‘weird’ customer.
