Gilgo Beach murder suspect ‘popped out of the woods and pestered Long Island woman two weeks ago

A Long Island woman claims she fled from a Long Island park after suspected Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann snuck up behind her wearing ‘filthy clothes’ just two weeks ago before he was arrested.

The 25-year-old, who would only give her first name Ally, was out for a bike ride in Brady Park – a short drive from Heuermann’s Massapequa home on July 3 when he came so close she could feel him ‘breathing’ behind her.

‘He came up behind me and he asked me what time it was,’ Ally said, describing Heuermann as having ‘popped right out of the woods’, and said his advances became creepier as he continued to ask her questions. 

‘He was trying to compliment me. Asking me if I came here often. Asking me my name,’ added Ally, becoming yet another neighbor to recall an off-putting encounter with Heuermann.

Ally described Heuermann as having ‘very dirty clothes on’ and approached her at least twice during her bike ride – just days before he was arrested at his home nearby on July 14.

The 25-year-old, who would only give her first name Ally, said that she was going for a bike ride in Brady Park, just a short driver from Heuermann’s Massapequa home where he was arrested Friday

‘The first time he came up behind me I felt like breathing behind me. Then he asked me what time it was and he saw the picture of me and my boyfriend on my phone. So he was just asking me questions,’ she said.

She became so upset by Heuermann pestering her that she phoned her sister to pick her up from the park, despite having her bike with her. 

Ally said that she filed a police report shortly after but was left in shock when two weeks later, she saw a photo of Heuermann being arrested in connection with the Gilgo Beach killings.

‘My mom showed me the picture and I started screaming. I got so nervous because I realized that that was him,’ Ally told the New York Post.

It’s unclear if Long Island police have followed up with Ally after she filed her report. 

Heuermann, 59, was dramatically arrested Thursday night in midtown Manhattan outside his architectural office on Fifth Avenue, 13 years after the victims’ bodies were found on an isolated Long Island beach. 

On Friday after Heuermann’s arrest, the Chevy – which appeared to be in pristine condition – was seen being towed away by cops. 

Dominique Vidal, an interior designer who was in a networking organization with Rex Heuermann, said he once asked her if she knew of the Gilgo Beach murders

On Sunday, state police, FBI and Crime Lab officials were seen removing evidence from Heuermann’s Long Island home – including what appeared to be a clear plastic bag of stuffed animals.

Since his arrest, many of Heuermann’s neighbors and associates have, like Ally, come forward to share their experiences with him – including interior designer, Dominique Vidal, who revealed the creepy voicemail message he had left on her phone in February.

Vidal said she had previously been in the same networking organization as Heuermann, who had asked her if she knew about the Gilgo Beach murders.

Heuermann has been charged with the murders of three Gilgo Beach victims – Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. He has pleaded not guilty. 

He is also considered the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, whose body was bound and hidden in thick underbrush along a remote beach highway, authorities said.

A fleet of forensic investigators continue to comb through Heuermann’s home in hopes of finding further evidence in the serial murder case that stumped investigators for over a decade.

At a press conference on Friday, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Heuermann said cops investigating him over the course of a year cited a number of red flags, saying that Heuermann ‘continued to patronize sex workers,’ was using false IDs and burner phones, and had permits for an astonishing 92 firearms. 

Police, FBI and Crime Lab officials take what looks like toys and stuffed animals from Rex Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park, NY, in afternoon on Sunday, July 16, 2023

Police, FBI and Crime Lab officials were seen going in-and-out of Rex Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park, NY, in afternoon on Sunday, July 16, 2023 

Cops take evidence from Rex Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park, NY, in afternoon on Sunday, July 16, 2023

Above Rex Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park, NY, on Sunday, July 16, 2023

New York state police have removed a massive haul of weapons from suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann’s Long Island home a day after scouring the property to determine whether he left any ‘trophies’ from his three victims

On Saturday, cops were seen carrying out a child-sized blonde doll that was kept in a large wooden and glass case adorned with flowers.

The creepy doll with a red bow adorned on top of its head, wearing a red outfit, was just one of several items officers clad in hazmat suits, gloves and masks took out of the home and filled into a truck.

‘We’re just going through his house, looking to see if there’s any evidence,’ a police source told the New York Post. ‘If he has any trophies’ from the victims whose bodies he dumped at Gilgo Beach.

Neighbors have previously said that the suspected serial killer had always been creepy, leading some adults to instruct their children to avoid the suburban home.

Now, a criminal profiler who pegged the serial killer as an ‘average Joe’ back in 2011 says it is ‘gratifying’ to see he was spot-on.

‘When I heard the news yesterday, I sort of had to smile to myself because it was pretty much what I had predicted,’ Scott Bonn, a criminologist, author and serial-killer researcher who has spoken about the Gilgo Beach killings, said.

A fleet of forensic investigators continue to comb through Heuermann’s home in hopes of finding further evidence in the serial murder case that stumped investigators for over a decade

An officer was seen removing two addition firearms from the home on Sunday 

Officers combing through the property loaded several blue plastic containers with weapons into them into a waiting truck

The removal of the firearms comes days after it was revealed the Rex Heuermann had permits for an astonishing 92 weapons 

He predicted back in 2011 — when the investigation into a possible serial killer began — that the killer would be ‘someone who can walk into a room and seem like your average Joe.’

Bonn added that the man would be well-organized and careful about his work.

Additionally, he said, the killer was ‘persuasive enough and rational enough’ to convince his victims to met him on his terms.

‘Who is more organized, who is more meticulous than someone who studied engineering and architecture?’ 

Scott Bonn, a criminologist, author and serial-killer researcher who has spoken about the Gilgo Beach killings, predicted the serial killer was an ‘average Joe’

Others told the New York Times that the suspect was likely either married or in a long-term relationship, well-educated, financially secure with a steady job, owning an expensive car or truck and living near where the bodies were found.

At the time of the slayings, police have said, Heuermann owned a Chevrolet Avalanche.

‘The thing about serial killers — at least the ones that are more prolific — is that they are often extraordinarily ordinary,’ said James Alan Fox, a professor at Northeastern University who has studied serial killers for more than 40 years.

He added that they tend to be extremely careful not to leave behind any evidence.

‘They generally have jobs and families and they kill part time,’ Fox explained. ‘It’s not their sole activity in life.’

Investigators were seen Saturday outside Heuermann’s Massapequa home removing various items as they try to see if he left behind any ‘trophies’ from his alleged victims

New York State police are pictured loading a truck with items from Heuermann’s suburban home on Saturday

Investigators filled blue bins full of items from the house before they loaded them into a truck

A New York State police officer moved a wooden panel as law enforcement searched the house

One item that the police carried out was so large it needed two men to carry it

New York State police officers move a metal cabinet outside of the home

The suspect’s house sits directly north of Gilgo Beach across the South Oyster Bay  

Those who have worked with Heuermann say he was fastidious, impressing some of his clients while annoying others with his attention to detail.

‘(He is) a gem to deal with, highly knowledgeable,’ said Steve Kramberg, a property manager in Brooklyn who worked with Heuermann for 30 years. 

He described him as a ‘big goofy guy’ who was ‘a little bit on the nerdy side’, which manifested as a dedicated worker who was more than detailed in his work.

According to his website, Heuermann counted American Airlines and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection among his lucrative clients. 

But while Kramberg said his round-the-clock availability and attention to specifics was a bonus, others were rubbed the wrong way by his antics. 

Paul Tietelbaun, a former president of a building’s board that hired Heuermann for renovations, said he exhibited an attitude of: ‘I’m the expert, you’re lucky to have me.’ 

‘(He was) a really kind of cold and distant person, kind of creepy,’ he added. 

Another member of the board, Kelly Parisi, echoed this as she recalled how the building’s managers eventually fired Heuermann because he was ‘overly fastidious’ and ‘adversarial with everyone.’ 

But neighbors saw him differently, with Nicholas Ferchaw saying that when he was a kid ‘we would cross the street,’ calling Heuermann ‘somebody you don’t want to approach.’  

A crime laboratory officer removed evidence in a small envelope from Heuermann’s home

All of the items were packaged into blue crates and loaded onto a truck

Drone footage of Heuermann’s home shows police outside the one-story building

Others told DailyMail.com they weren’t surprised when they found out about Heuermann’s alleged crimes.

Mike Schmidt, who has lived in the Massapequa Park neighborhood for a decade, said he often visits his friend whose property backs onto Heuermann’s.

He said when they drink beers in the backyard, they would look at the home and remark: ‘He probably has bodies there.’ 

Schmidt recalled that while children often avoid the creepy home on Halloween, last year he and his friend took their kids to the home – purely to satisfy their curiosity and take a look inside. 

He said they were greeted by Heuermann at the door, who surprised them by giving out full pumpkins of candy to the children. 

However, Schmidt told the Times that his wife was appalled to find out where the candy was from and made him throw it out. 

Another resident, Tara Alonzo, revealed she had a disturbing run-in with Heuermann in the Whole Foods where she works in Long Island. 

She told DailyMail.com that he stole oranges from the store’s kid’s club, where parents leave their children while they shop. When he was confronted by staff, she says he responded: ‘If I was wearing a suit like I wear most days, you wouldn’t be talking to me like this.’

She said he then strolled out of the store with five or six oranges in his hands, leaving the staff perplexed by the ‘weird’ customer.

Rex Heuermann is shown in one of his Tinder profile pictures. Police tracked the fictitious email account he used on the profile and his burner phone number to the case

Those who knew Heuermann have given varying descriptions, with some seeing him as a successful but cumbersome Manhattan architect while others saw him as a creepy loner

Heuermann’s yearbook photo 

Cops have released a laundry list of ‘red flags’ that they say led them to Heuermann as a suspect, with the first piece of evidence being a Chevrolet Avalanche owned by him and linked to the murder of Costello by a witness.

According to documents filed in Suffolk County court, investigators were then able to link that car to Heuermann’s cellphone records, which tied him to locations related to the murders, which eventually led to a DNA sample.

Cops say that Heuermann used Melissa Barthelemy’s phone to make taunting phone calls to her family from the victim’s phone, calls that were made steps from his swanky Manhattan office.

Following the identification of Heuermann as the owner of the Chevrolet, cops issued over 300 subpoenas, search warrants and other legal processes to obtain further evidence.

After the decade-long hunt for the killer seemingly ended this week, dramatic aerial footage revealed forensic searches of his property were being carried out as authorities continue to try and link him to more unsolved homicides.