Massapequa, its residents proudly proclaim, is a cop town. Perched on Long Island's idyllic South Shore, it is just an hour's journey via train from Manhattan. The community is home to New York Police Department (NYPD) detectives, multi-generational police families, officers from Nassau and Suffolk Counties, and members of myriad other law enforcement agencies.
And when body parts started to be discovered in 2010 on Gilgo Beach - not far from where local teens work as lifeguards and families gather in the summer - it became clear that a serial killer had been active on Long Island for years. The rumour mill went into overdrive. Was he local? Was he still hunting? And was he, after operating for so long without getting caught, perhaps even wearing a badge?
The 2023 arrest of architect Rex Heuermann put to rest those theories - and his admission in court this week to the murders of eight women has brought even further closure to Long Island police, they said. It's a great relief, said Craig Garland, a retired NYPD detective, Massapequa resident, and Little League baseball organizer. There were people out there trying to pin this on a cop and... it brings great closure to the law enforcement community at large [that] this wasn't a cop that was a serial killer.
Heuermann, a 62-year-old married father-of-two, was arrested in July 2023 in Manhattan after authorities obtained his DNA from a discarded piece of pizza outside his mid-town office. His daily commute from Massapequa Park to New York City took him right past the local police bar Johnny McGorey's, a popular pub directly next to a rail station where officers drank and discussed the hunt for the murderer as Heuermann made his way to and from his unkempt house just a few streets away.
The arrests and revelations surrounding the case have had a significant impact on the Massapequa community, traditionally known for its strong law enforcement ties. The shock and disbelief that such a heinous crime could unfold in their midst has left many grappling with the weight of their neighbor's dark secret. Despite the closure felt by law enforcement, there is a deep understanding among those connected to the victims that true closure may never come, highlighting the ongoing pain experienced by the families left behind.
