LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK: A former classmate of Gilgo Beach murder suspect Rex Heuermann recently described him as a "momma’s boy", who was bizarrely close to his “controlling” mother during his teenage years. The Manhattan architect, 59, is currently behind bars in connection with the killings of three sex workers, whose bodies were found on an isolated Long Island beach in December 2010.
The former classmate, who attended Berner High School with Heuermann, recounted that the suspected used to tell friends “things like, ‘I have to get home to my mother.” “I always got the impression he was close . . . to his mother. The mother seemed to be his all,” they said of Dolores Heuermann, according to the NY Post. The exceptionally close bonds between the duo may have influenced Heuermann's decision to pay $170,000 in 1994, shortly after his first marriage to Elizabeth Ryan ended, to buy his childhood home in Massapequa Park from his mother. He never left the house and raised his two children there with his second wife Asa Ellerup, whom he married in 1996.
Was Rex Heuermann's mother 'controlling'?
The former classmate, who wishes to remain anonymous, then recalled how Heuermann extensively talked about his mother but never spoke about his late father, who died in 1975 at the age of 50. His father, Theodore Heuermann, served in World War II and the Air Force as a second lieutenant. Reflecting on the classmate’s claims, criminologist Scott Bonn, who accurately profiled the accused Gilgo Beach killer back in 2011, described Heuermann as a “psychopath” and stated that his mother’s “controlling and domineering” nature may have shaped his twisted persona.
“He had a kind of an unusual, incestuous [relationship], in an emotional sense, with his mother, [which] could be a contributing factor to his pathology. Who knows what was ticking beneath the surface,” the criminologist said, adding, “He may [have been] projecting the loving doting son, when in fact there may have been some deep-seated resentment toward mom.”
Heuermann was arrested on July 13 and was later charged with three counts of first-degree murder and second-degree murder for allegedly killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. He is also the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, but authorities have not charged him in the case due to the lack of phone data.
'They were disgusted'
Law enforcement sources informed CBS News that investigators are currently investigating unsolved homicides nationwide to determine whether Heuermann is connected to any of them. Earlier this month, police raided his childhood home to locate any ‘trophies’ he had from his victims. During the search, police confiscated a massive haul of up to 300 firearms and child-sized dolls. He lived in the residence for more than two decades with his wife Asa Ellerup, who filed for divorce following his arrest. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said he does not believe Rex's family was aware of his alleged crimes. "They were disgusted. They were embarrassed. So if you ask me, I don't believe they knew about this double life that Heuermann was living," he stated.
