Suspected New York serial killer may have had female accomplice, asked police if he was 'in the news'

More information has emerged regarding the man charged with killing three women near Long Island's Gilgo Beach in 2010. Rex Heuermann, who is also suspected of murdering a fourth woman three years earlier, was originally believed to have worked alone, however new details suggest that he had a female accomplice.

Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect, also allegedly asked his jailers if he was "in the news," indicating that he was concerned with his own notoriety.



According to CNN, Heuermann was arraigned on Friday and pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder. He was hauled into Suffolk County Jail, where he is currently being held without bail. Throughout the procedure, he allegedly only had one question for authorities: "Is it in the news?" 

Heuermann is accused of killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello, who along with another victim have come to be known as the "Gilgo Four."

Between 2010 and 2011, 11 sets of human remains were found along Long Island's south shore, including those belonging to Shannan Gilbert and Jessica Taylor. Though the additional deaths have not been officially connected to Heuermann, the lawyer for the pair's families, John Ray, has speculated that the suspected serial killer will be found responsible.

As the US Sun reports, Ray also claimed that there was evidence Heuermann had worked in concert with another person, likely a woman. He explained that one of the 11 aforementioned victims, who has yet to be identified, was found with her 10-month-old daughter in 2011, and pointed to the fact that the baby was wrapped up in a blanket.

"It's that kind of thing that, if you're such a depraved murderer, you don't take time to do," he said. "That, to me, seems like an act of a mother." 

Ray also suggested that some of the victims may have been "lured by a woman" before being killed.

As CNN reports, DNA belonging to both Heuermann and his wife have been found on the victims' bodies, however, she has not been tied to the murders. Authorities have since searched their home, and discovered hundreds of firearms in a walled-off vault behind a locked door in the basement.
 

When asked whether investigators expect to connect him to more victims, Suffolk County Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Carter said, "as we continue to gather evidence, anything is possible."