A former colleague of Rex Heuerman claims he shamed female workers, shared graphic accounts of butchering animals and threatened to shoot down a rival company started by one of his former employees.
Mary Schell wrote a detailed account of her experience working at the architecture firm RH Consultants & Associates, founded in 1994 by the 59-year-old.
Schell was hired as an ‘explorer’ to cut through the city’s red tape, and described in a New York magazine article that he ‘went red’ when he met Human.
‘Like a shy teenage boy who surprises a hot girl in the cafeteria,’ he continued.
Schell said most of the women in the office described her as ‘young and petite, the girl-next-door type’ and added that although they knew she was married, the suspected serial killer never talked about them.
A former colleague of Rex Heuerman claims he shamed female workers, shared graphic accounts of animal slaughter and threatened to shoot up his rival architecture firm.
The first victim, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, was discovered by Suffolk County police on Dec. 11, 2010. Megan Waterman, 22, was found two days later.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes was 25 when she disappeared (left). Amber Lynn Costello was 27 years old. Their bodies were found near Barthelemy on the same day
Schell began his employment at the firm in September 2007, noting that Heuerman took the life of his first victim, 25-year-old Maureen Brainard-Barnes, just months after police said.
Schell said colleagues said he ‘thought particularly of his bear-hunting trips: baiting an area and waiting.’
‘ More than once, he gleefully describes the process of setting up the game, seeming to delight in letting his employees out.
Dressing game refers to the removal of entrails and organs from an animal that has just been slaughtered to cool the meat as quickly as possible.
‘Once, on a job site, he saw a client approaching and said to my boss on the phone, ‘Target in sight.’
Heuermann pitched himself to clients as a master of navigating building-code and zoning analysis and believed there were “political implications, and he tried to convince others, too,” Schell said.
Heuerman was taken into custody on July 13 for the gruesome murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, whose remains were found in Gilgo Beach in 2010. He pleaded not guilty
After working at the firm for two and a half years, Heuerman offered Shell a job. He claimed to be working directly with the father-of-two by June 2010, when he made allegations against the next victim, Megan Waterman.
By August, Shell said he had left the firm. “A few weeks later, Heurman allegedly killed Amber Lynn Costello,” he said.
The 59-year-old architect was taken into custody on July 13 for the gruesome murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, whose remains were found on Gilgo Beach in 2010. He pleaded not guilty
Heuerman is the prime suspect in the 2007 disappearance and subsequent murder of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, although he has not yet been charged.
He is also being investigated for the murders of six others found at Gilgo Beach in 2011.
Since his bombshell arrest in Manhattan, the once quiet block where Heuermann lived has become the scene of a media circus and a popular destination for crime junkies.
Dozens of people from all over Long Island and further afield stopped by to catch a glimpse of the active crime scene, as forensic teams combed the Massapequa Park home for evidence.
The sleepy neighborhood turned upside down after Heuerman — who is currently incarcerated in a Suffolk County jail — was charged with the murders of three escorts. He is scheduled to appear in court on August 1.
Investigators revealed on July 14 that they had moved to arrest Heuerman out of fear that the suspected killer might strike again.
Since Heuerman’s bombshell arrest in Manhattan, the once quiet block where the married father of two lived has become the scene of a media circus and a popular destination for crime junkies.
Nassau County police slap grieving tourists with $150 fines outside suspected serial killer Rex Heuerman’s Long Island home
Police had kept Heuerman under surveillance since last year and planned to follow him as they built their case.
They decided to make the arrest in the interest of ‘public safety,’ Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.
For more than a decade, questions have been raised as to why it took so long for investigators to finally nab the alleged killer.
Ahead of his appearance, prosecutors released their bombshell evidence against him, including:
His wife’s DNA was found on three bodies
· A hair of his own was found on the body of one of the victims
· Cell phone calls made to victims from a burner phone were traced to his office
· A call made to one of the victim’s sisters after the death was found in his office
· Her Tinder profile with her picture was linked to the burner phone
· His Chevrolet pick-up truck was witnessed by a victim missing
· He matches the description of an ‘ogre’, as a man he met with a victim before disappearing
· Heuerman conducted graphic searches for child pornography and images of sexually abused women
· He searched Google for updates on the case, searching for ‘why law enforcement couldn’t trace calls made by Long Island serial killer’
As forensic police continue to comb Huraman’s home, the 59-year-old unearths mysterious objects in his backyard.
Haunting images show officers crowded over a hole in the ground as they survey small pieces on a board.
Some experts have speculated that they could be human remains, while others have warned that they could be animals or something else.
Investigators have been digging through boxes of belongings from the home for the past week as they desperately search for any evidence linked to the infamous murder.
They discover a large cache of guns and investigate the idea that some of the victims may have been killed in the home.
A doctor and a bone expert analyzed the photos for DailyMail.com and are divided on the nature of the object – but said ‘human remains cannot be ruled out.’
‘From a real distance they must be human or animal. But it is far from knowing for sure,’ said a doctor.
‘DNA testing is essential: we doctors are used to close-ups.’
Another expert, a forensic anthropologist, told DailyMail.com: ‘From my experience, they look very rectangular like humans. I would not immediately recognize any of these objects as human remains.
‘But the black spot on them suggests we’re looking at organic material, and the context in which they were found means I wouldn’t rule out human remains.’
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said investigators could not confirm whether any of the victims had ever been to Heuerman’s home.
“We’re doing a full investigation around the house to see if there’s anything we need to take a closer look at,” he said.
A forensic photographer is seen bending over a tray of objects found in Heuerman’s home
‘Can we confirm that someone was killed inside the house? We cannot confirm that at the moment.’
Police believe Human’s wife, Asa Ellarup, 59, and children were not involved in the murder.
An analysis of phone records showed Ellarup was out of town in 2009 and 2010 when Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello disappeared.
He was in Iceland, where he was born, and visiting friends in New Jersey.
Ellerup filed for divorce last week, and has not returned to the home, which remains closed.