LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Manhattan architect Rex Heuermann was detained on Thursday night, July 14 in connection with the Gilgo Beach killings. Heuermann has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder. The bodies of his alleged victims Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, and Amber Costello were discovered next to each other in 2010.
As the case proceeds, it appears web sleuths are running a parallel investigation on the Internet. Recently, a Twitter debate compared how long it took the respective authorities to solve the Heuermann case and the chilling Idaho murder case of 2022. In the latter crime, Bryan Kohberger, 28, was charged with four counts of murder and one count of felony burglary. He was arrested in the murder of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, MadisonMogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20 in their off-campus rental home in Moscow. All of them were students of the University of Idaho.
Heuermann apprehended 13 years after alleged crimes
It is to be noted that Heuermann's case began in 2010 when sixteen dead bodies were discovered near Gilgo Beach, and the remains of several bodies were of sex workers. While Heuermann is now suspected in four murders in which the victims were discovered tied with tape or belts or both, police do not believe that the same individual committed all the murders. He was arrested on July 14, 2023.
The Idaho murders and Kohberger's arrest
On the other hand, the Idaho murders took place on November 13, 2022, and police nabbed Kohberger on December 30, 2022. The alleged killer, who was a doctoral student at the Washington State University, was apprehended in Pennsylvania.
Did Gilgo Beach task force have the 'luxury of time'?
A keen observer noted the "luxury of time" the task force had in the 'LISK' case, compared to the Idaho case. Jennifer Coffindaffer wrote, "The LISK TF spent about a year gathering information on #RexHeuermann, their serial killer suspect. The Moscow PD, FBI, and Idaho State Police had less than 2 weeks after they had the cell phone information & Elantra Information that pointed to #Bryan Kohberger. The LISK TF had the luxury of time. LE did not have that luxury in the #Idaho4 case. I believe the totality of evidence against both subjects will be similar. Because the evidence on the #Idaho case is sealed, we don't get to see it all in detail, like in the #GilgoBeach murder case. But we will, and that day can't come soon enough for most of us."
A Twitter user disagreed and opined, "The luxury of time? Is that a joke?? It's been 12.5 years since the #GB4 were discovered. Their families have suffered even longer than that. There were likely more victims. And some #GilgoBeach victims are STILL unidentified. How the hell do you call that "the luxury of time"??"
Someone else pointed out, "I m looking at these both historical and contemporaneous cases, and they both have been supported by technology that is been developed all the time. Finally, the good guys are getting breaks in catching these monsters xxx."
"The LISK TF had the luxury of time. LE did not have that luxury in the #Idaho4 case." In both cases, the killers were still out there, possibly killing or getting ready to kill again. I find this conclusion faulty," another comment read.
