Gilgo beach serial killer Rex Heuermann, also known as the Long Island serial killer, is reportedly passing time behind bars by reading books centered around violence and death.
Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon provided a list of books the convicted serial killer has been reading while in voluntary segregation at the Riverhead Correctional Facility, including:
- “Chosen to Die” by Lisa Jackson
- “Portrait in Death” by Nora Roberts
- “The Dead Girl” by Melanie Thernstrom
Experts told ABC News that Heuermann is likely checking those specific-type books from the jail library in an attempt to relive the fantasies of killing in his mind.
Clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Rachel Toles stated that the crime books are often interlinked with the power serial killers once held on the outside.
“What we often see is a person who has spent years developing fantasies of power, control, significance, or dominance,” Toles said. “He lives off his memory museum.”
Heuermann, a former Manhattan-based architect, has also spent time corresponding with fellow serial killer Keith Jesperson, also known as the Happy Face killer, who had “reached out a few times” before Heuermann responded, according to Toulon.
Meanwhile, Toulon said Heuermann remains unemotional and detached, showing little regard for anything, which is how he has been since 2023 arrest.
“No change of emotion, no change in facial expressions. I really think he’s a sociopath,” Toulon claimed.
In April, Heuermann pleaded guilty to murdering numerous women, as part of plea deal, which he took, in part, to shield his family from the grueling trial and a media frenzy.
Four of the victims, collectively known as “The Gilgo Four,” have been identified as:
- Melissa Barthelemy
- Maureen Brainard-Barnes
- Megan Waterman
- Amber Lynn Costello
All four victims were found wrapped in burlap and dumped near Gilgo Beach in Long Island, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. All four women were discovered within days of each other, in December 2010.
“Each of the four victims were found similarly positioned, bound in a similar fashion by either belts or tape,” court documents read.
Authorities later indicted Heuermann for the deaths of Jessica Taylor, Valerie Mack, and Sandra Castilla. The women’s remains were found scattered along different areas in Long Island.
As part of a plea deal, Heuermann also pleaded guilty to killing Karen Vergata, although he was never formally indicted.
His sentencing is scheduled for June 17, before State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei at the Arthur M. Cromarty Court Complex in Riverhead.
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[Featured image via Suffolk County SO]
