Neighbor says suspect's family was 'super closed off'
Matthew Waterhouse, 23, grew up a few houses down from the suspect in Massapequa on Long Island and described the family as reserved.
He never interacted with Heuermann or his family members, but noticed Heuermann regularly doing yard work in front of his home.
“I don’t think he was necessarily suspicious,” he said referring to Heuermann.
“They always seemed a bit odd because they never really talked to anyone and their house was way more run down than every other house on the block,” Waterhouse said.
“They were like super closed off,” Waterhouse added. “I don’t think anyone on our block had a relationship with them.”
Billy Baldwin says Gilgo Beach suspect was his high school classmate
Actor Billy Baldwin said he knew the suspect taken into custody in the Gilgo Beach investigation.
“Woke up this morning to learn that the Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect was my high school classmate Rex Heuermann,” the actor tweeted today.
The two attended Berner High School in Massapequa, New York, and graduated in the class of 1981, he said.
“Mind-boggling… Massapequa is in shock,” he wrote.
Lawyer for victims' families feels there is still another suspect
John Ray, an attorney who represents the families of Shannan Gilbert and Jessica Taylor, said he is "delighted" that there has been an arrest in the Gilgo Beach murders. But he added that he feels "very strongly" that Heuermann is not responsible for all 11 murders, including the killings of Gilbert and Taylor.
"It gives us something of a sigh of relief, but it's partial," Ray said in an interview this morning. "There's still much to be done on this."
Ray said he is certain that today's arrest is connected only to the so-called Gilgo Four: victims whose bodies were discovered wrapped in burlap within days of each other in late 2010. Gilbert and Taylor were not among those four, and their families are still holding out hope for another arrest, he said.
"There undoubtedly is" another suspect, Ray said.
Suspect arrested last night, indictment expected today: Officials
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison said the Gilgo Beach murders task force “did place on individual under arrest” around 8:30 p.m. yesterday.
He was taken into custody near 35th and Fifth Avenue in New York City and transported to the Suffolk County Police Department headquarters, Harrison said. The case is now with a grand jury.
“We anticipate an indictment later on this afternoon,” the commissioner said.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said that the Gilgo Beach investigation has been going on throughout his tenure in office.
"The focus for me, members of our team, has been on bringing justice for this victims and closure to these families who have suffered. Today’s developments take us a major step forward in doing exactly that," he said.
More details are expected to be shared at a news conference later this afternoon.
Friend of suspect: "I did not see this coming."
Heuermann, who owns a Manhattan architecture firm, was a member of a New York City-based networking group known as The Dream Team. He attended weekly meetings, according to one group member, who asked not to be named, and described Heuermann as friendly, organized and available.
The Dream Team’s website describes it as a referral club, to grow members' businesses. “We don’t let just anyone in our group,” the website says. “You have to have drive, passion, ethics, and above all, you have to be a good person.”
“I knew him as a friend and a colleague,” the fellow member said when reached by phone. “And I am completely surprised.”
Heuermann attended the group’s weekly meeting, and the friend said she spoke to him on Zoom on Tuesday.
“I did not see this coming,” she said.
Map: Where eight of the Gilgo Beach murder victims were found
‘They finally caught him’: Shannan Gilbert's sister says
Sherre Gilbert, the sister of Shannan Gilbert, whose disappearance in May 2010 in Long Island led to the discovery of a spate of human remains, said today she's "relieved" to hear a suspect is in custody.
“I am overwhelmed but relieved that they finally caught him. It’s been a long time coming and I never gave up hope that one day justice would be served," she said in a statement to NBC News.
"The suspect (Rex) deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life," she continued. "He destroyed many lives so while it won’t bring our loved ones back, it does help that one less monster is off the streets and he can’t ever hurt anyone else!”
Heuermann, 59, has been identified as the suspect, four senior law enforcement officials briefed on the case said.
Shannan Gilbert worked as an escort and had visited a client at his Oak Beach home the day she disappeared, police said.
Her remains were ultimately found in December 2011 in Oak Beach marshland.
Suspect has a Manhattan architecture firm
Heuermann, identified as the suspect taken into custody in connection with the Gilgo Beach serial killings, is the owner and founder of a Manhattan architecture firm, RH Consultants and Associates, according to the company website and his LinkedIn profile.
RH Consultants & Associates was incorporated in 1994 and has clients including Catholic Charities, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection's sewage treatment and American Airlines, according to the company website.
Suspect identified as 59-year-old Rex Heuermann
The suspect taken into custody this morning in Long Island has been identified as Rex Heuermann, 59, four senior law enforcement officials briefed on the case said.
He was taken into custody in connection with the Gilgo Beach serial killer case, the sources said.
There was a large police presence at his home address in the Massapequa Park area for much of Friday morning.
He's expected in court later today.
Suspect in custody in Gilgo Beach investigations from Massapequa
The suspect in custody in connection with the Gilgo Beach murders is from Massapequa, in Nassau County, Long Island, sources say.
That’s just west of Suffolk County, where most of the 11 sets of human remains were found.
The suspect is expected to appear in court in Riverhead later this morning, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.