Rex Heuermann, the man known as the Gilgo Beach killer, admitted to killing eight women over a span of decades, and the FBI is now looking into what motivated the 62-year-old to carry out his crimes to help capture other criminals in the future.
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As part of his guilty plea agreement, Heuermann will now have to cooperate with investigators from the FBI’s behavioral analysis units.
District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney of Suffolk County, New York, said at a press conference Wednesday that the deal will help officials learn about Heuermann’s motivation, describing the behind-closed-doors interviews as “sort of an academic exercise.”
“They’re going to hopefully gain insight into the things that created him, that drove him, what causes this,” he said.
Behavioral analysts at the FBI use the agency’s “psychological research and operational experience to better understand criminal behavior and assist in solving cases,” according to the agency’s website. Analysts study all types of crimes and cases, including terrorism, cybercrime and violent crimes against children and adults.
But experts in criminal behavior say that the Gilgo case offers officials a unique window into the mind of the person who sent shock waves through Long Island and captivated the nation more than 15 years ago.
Molly Amman, a former profiler with one of the FBI’s behavioral analysis units, said Heuermann “was exactly the kind of guy you want to interview” because of how prolific he was.
Heuermann admitted to killing eight women between 1993 and 2010, dumping their bodies across several neighborhoods on Long Island and successfully evading detection from authorities.
“How was he so successful? What were his practical considerations to avoid detection? Did he give a lot of thought to avoiding detection? Was there an element of luck?” Amman asked. “Did he almost get caught sometimes? And if so, what did you do that almost got you caught again?”
“They’ll take that along with interviews of other serial killers over time to try to create guidance for law enforcement investigators all over the world,” she added.
Ann Burgess, an author and renowned researcher of criminal violence, spent her career studying interviews the FBI conducted with serial killers, including Edmund Kemper, Ted Bundy and Charles Manson, and interviewing killers herself, including Erik Menendez.
She said investigators will most likely start the interview process by looking into Heuermann’s childhood.
“How early did the fantasy develop around killing and sexually killing? Where does that come from?” Burgess asked.
Amman said that investigators will also want to learn about how Heuermann chose his victims. The eight women Heuermann killed were all petite-framed women in their 20s who were sex workers. She said victim selection comes down to three variables: desirability, availability and vulnerability.
“You have this need to act out, but how pressing was it? Were you very controlled? And so you were able to take your time and look for your most desirable victim first and then maybe strike out a couple times before you found one that was available and vulnerable,” she said. “Or was the psychological need pressing so hard on you that you had to offend and offend right now?”
Robin Dreeke, the former head of the FBI’s behavioral analysis program, said that investigators will possibly use information they gain from interviewing Heuermann to look at how serial killers evolve.
“Say you have 10 people that were murdered over a course of, say, 10 years, 15 years or 20 years, and they all looked a little different so you weren’t quite sure if it’s the same person or not,” said Dreeke. “Well, studying him, and what he did over his long period of time and how he evolved, they could zero in and say: ‘Hey, because of what we saw from Heuermann, this is possible that it is one person that did this because of this evolution pattern.”
Dreeke said that the FBI routinely interviews criminals and said it would have tried to do so regardless of the deal Heuermann made. Now, “it’ll just be easier access and potential cooperation,” he added.
“His life wasn’t on the line, but if he saw the writing on the wall that he’s going to get convicted no matter what, his best course of action in his own mind might have been, ‘All right, how do I maximize this to my advantage?’” Dreeke said.
Regardless, Dreeke called Heuermann’s cooperation “very valuable.”
“There’s no such thing as bad intelligence,” he said.
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