Excavator spotted digging at Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect’s home amid reports of ‘sound-proofed basement’

Investigators have been spotted digging up the yard of Rex Heuermann’s home amid reports that the Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect might have killed at least one sufferer inside a sound-proofed room in his basement.

Search groups carried out what was described as a “main excavation” on Sunday at the one-storey home in Massapequa Park, Lengthy Island, the place the 59-year-old architect lived together with his spouse and two grownup kids.

Cadaver canines and a ground-penetrating radar machine had been introduced in to scour the bottom earlier than excavators had been seen digging up the earth with a backhoe.

At one level, an enormous wood deck was dismantled and a blue tent was erected to protect the search from view.

A neighbour instructed The New York Submit on Sunday that authorities had discovered a sound-proofed room within the basement of the home and that Mr Heuermann is believed to have killed at least one of his victims down there.

“He’s obtained a soundproof room in his basement,” Robert Musto, a 64-year-old longtime neighbour stated he had been instructed by regulation enforcement on the scene.

“What do you assume that was for? They’re saying there’s proof he killed at least one of the women down there.

“The cops are going to dig all that out. Mentioned they’re centered on the soundproof room within the basement however they’re going to look at every part.”A former coworker confirmed the existence of a soundproof basement room to the paper, claiming that the accused serial killer as soon as took day off work with a purpose to perform the weird development of the vault in his household home.

The person, who was not named, recalled Mr Heuermann constructing the concrete-lined vault which is round two to a few ft thick.

“it’s not only a hidden room – it’s a critical vault,” they stated.

“It had an enormous heavy-duty protected door. He went and poured new concrete partitions, huge quantity of concrete to encase this room. It was perhaps 2 or 3 ft thick.”

New York officers haven’t confirmed the existence of the sound-proofed basement room or publicly stated that they consider Mr Heuermann might have killed a number of victims within the room.

Nonetheless, officers are probing the likelihood that the accused serial killer killed the victims inside his household home. His spouse and two kids had been out of city at the time of every of the three murders he’s charged with.

Regulation enforcement sources beforehand instructed CNN {that a} vault of some kind had been situated within the basement of the Massapequa Park home – and {that a} trove of as much as 300 firearms had been discovered inside.

The married father-of-two had 92 authorized gun permits and was a eager hunter, in line with police.

Within the 11 days since Mr Heuermann was arrested in connection to the notorious serial killer case, investigators have been trying to find proof tying him to the murders together with any trophies taken from the victims.

In addition to extensively looking out his home, officers are probing different places related to the accused assassin together with storage models two miles away in Amityville.

In the meantime, regulation enforcement companies are additionally wanting into unsolved murders and lacking individuals instances all throughout America together with in Las Vegas, South Carolina and Atlantic Metropolis.

Over in South Carolina, Chester County Sheriff’s Workplace stated that they had been on the lookout for proof to help New York officers.

“The Chester County Sheriff’s Workplace was requested by the Gilgo Beach Activity Power to help in gathering proof in Chester County related to their investigation,” the division tweeted.

Mr Heuermann owns a property in Chester subsequent to his brother Craig. The pickup at the centre of the homicide investigation was seized from his brother’s home final week.

Mr Heuermann was arrested on the night time of 13 July when a group of officers swooped as he left his workplace in Midtown Manhattan the place he ran an structure enterprise.

He was charged with three counts of homicide within the first diploma and three within the second diploma over the deaths of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello.

He’s additionally the prime suspect within the homicide of Maureen Brainard-Barnes – who along with the three is named the “Gilgo Beach 4” and was final seen alive in early June 2007 in New York Metropolis.

The 4 ladies had been discovered inside one-quarter mile of one another, sure by belts or tape and a few wrapped in burlap – their our bodies dumped alongside Gilgo Beach.

He has pleaded not responsible to the fees and is being held with out bond.

Courtroom information present that Mr Heuermann was linked to the killings via a pimp’s tip about his pickup truck, a stash of burner telephones, “sadistic” on-line searches, telephone calls taunting victims’ households, his spouse’s hair discovered on the victims’ our bodies – and a pizza crust.

The primary piece of the puzzle got here when a witness within the Amber Costello case revealed particulars a few automobile {that a} consumer was driving when she was final seen alive.

Costello, who labored as a intercourse employee, was seen alive on the night of 2 September 2010 when she left her home in West Babylon. A witness stated she had gone to fulfill a consumer who was driving a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche.

Final 12 months, a registration search confirmed that native man Mr Heuermann owned a first-generation mannequin of the truck at the time of Costello’s disappearance. He additionally matched the witness’ description of the person believed to be the killer: a big, white “ogre”-like male in his mid-40s, round 6’4’ to six’6” tall, with “darkish bushy hair,” and “massive oval model 1970’s sort eyeglasses”.

The invention of the automotive led investigators to hone in on Mr Heuermann together with executing 300 subpoenas, search warrants and different authorized processes to acquire proof to find out his potential involvement within the killings.

Amongst this was Mr Heuermann’s alleged use of burner telephones, with prosecutors saying that he used burner telephones to contact the three ladies and organize to fulfill them at the time once they went lacking.

He additionally allegedly took two of the victims’ cellphones – and used one to make taunting telephone calls to 1 of their households the place he boasted about her homicide, courtroom paperwork state.

Mr Heuermann’s DNA was discovered on one of the victims, whereas his spouse’s hairs had been discovered on three of the 4 ladies he’s related to.

His arrest comes after the horrific serial killer case has captured the nation’s consideration for greater than a decade.

The Gilgo Beach murders had lengthy stumped regulation enforcement officers in Suffolk County who believed it might be the work of a number of serial killers who focused intercourse employees and dumped their our bodies alongside the distant seashores on Ocean Parkway.

The case started in Might 2010 when Shannan Gilbert vanished after leaving a consumer’s home on foot close to Gilgo Beach.

She known as 911 for assist saying she feared for her life and was by no means seen alive once more.

Throughout a seek for Gilbert in dense thicket near the seaside, police found the stays of one other lady.

Inside a matter of days, the stays of three extra victims had been discovered shut by.

By spring 2011, the stays of a complete of 10 victims had been discovered together with eight ladies, a person, and a toddler. Police have lengthy thought that it might be the work of a number of serial killers.

Gilbert’s physique was then present in December 2011. Her trigger of demise is broadly contested with authorities lengthy claiming that it’s not related to the serial killer or killers however that she died from unintentional drowning as she fled from the consumer’s home.

Nonetheless, an unbiased post-mortem commissioned by her household dominated that she died by strangulation and her mom believes she was murdered.

Like Gilbert, most of the victims focused had been intercourse employees whereas some are but to be recognized.