LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK: A former classmate of Rex Heuermann, the Gilgo Beach murders suspect, has come forward to recount a harrowing incident when he nearly killed her during a drama club production. The Manhattan architect, 59, is currently in custody on charges related to the murders of three escorts, whose bodies were found on an isolated Long Island beach in December 2010.
Before pursuing architectural technology at the New York Institute of Technology, Heuermann attended Berner High School in Massapequa on Long Island. In 1980, the reputed high school staged 'Arsenic and Old Lace', the Joseph Kesselring play about two sisters who seduce, poison and bury a dozen old men in their cellar. For the play, Heuermann was chosen to serve as a stage technician, with a classmate, who also helped him paint the sets. The classmate, who wished to remain anonymous, told the NY Post that during one practice session, Heuermann secretly added additional weights to the bottom of the pulley system that raised and lowered the stage curtains.
'It created a dangerous situation'
When the classmate pulled on a lever to drop the curtains while holding onto a rope connected to the system, her 95lbs body shot skyward toward the auditorium roof. “I thought I was going to die,” she said, adding that Heuermann quickly helped her down and apologized. However, the ex-classmate said that she felt the 6ft 4in muscular teenager was "marking his domain" by making it difficult for other children to manage the curtains due to the added weight. “He had reweighted all of them so that only he could do it, or somebody strong could do it. It created a dangerous situation,” she recalled.
Reflecting on the "dangerous situation," criminologist Scott Bonn claimed that the backstage drama was not an accident but rather the work of a "fledgling psychopath in development." He also pointed out how he called the sister of one of the victims, Melissa Barthelemy, and taunted her. “He did it for his own selfish, narcissistic, and psychopathic pleasure,” Bonn said, adding, “That same mind that would do that would embarrass and attempt to hurt his classmate at an early age.” Heuermann faces three counts of first-degree murder and second-degree murder for allegedly killing Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello.
What have the cops found?
Heuermann 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. Police tracked him for months before arresting him in front of his Manhattan Fifth Avenue office on July 13 around 8.39 pm. Following his arrest, police raided his Long Island residence, where they discovered a plethora of eerie evidences including a child-sized doll and up to 300 firearms. Authorities are currently investigating to determine his connection with another set of human remains that were found on the Giglo beach. Earlier in July, South Carolina deputies raided his Chester County property, where they seized a rare first-generation Chevy Avalanche that linked him to the murder of Costello.
