Those that knew Rex Huermann are now opening up about his behavior before his arrest in connection with the Gilgo Beach murders.
The show “Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer” on Netflix premiered on Monday, March 31, and the focus during the third and final episode was on Huermann’s background. Following accusations of killing multiple women, Huermann’s family member, neighbor, and a past coworker spoke out.
In 2023, Huermann was arrested in connection to a case involving several women, such as Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla, and Jessica Taylor. These cases had remained unsolved for more than a decade before Huermann was charged with their deaths.
The investigation began in 2010 after Shannan Gilbert went missing following a visit to a client in Long Island she had met on Craigslist. The search for Gilbert led to the discovery of four bodies, exposing the presence of an active serial killer. Subsequent searches uncovered the remains of seven more individuals, including a toddler.
Gilbert was found dead in 2011 and police suspected that she got lost in the Gilgo Beach brush and died accidentally from either exposure or drowning. Huermann, meanwhile, has pleaded not guilty to all seven murders and denied involvement in any other potential disappearances.
Keep scrolling for the unfiltered quotes given to Netflix about Huermann:
Rex’s Longtime Neighbor
Etienne De Villiers wasn’t surprised when Huermann was arrested. “I went, ‘Oh my God. I’ve lived next to that thing for 28 years.’ Somebody from the neighborhood that knows him well came up and said, ‘What’s going on? I said, ‘They’ve got the Gilgo killer.’ The first name he mentioned was Huermann,” she said.
De Villiers recalled how Huermann “creeped a lot of people out” on their street. “Just by his size and the house,” he added. “During Halloween, kids when they reach his house, they would cross the street.”
Rex’s Former Coworker
Muriel Henriquez worked with Huermann for six years before his arrest.
“I was pretty much his right-hand person. You think back at all the times you were with him alone while working with him for so many years. It just brought me chills,” she told the producers. “We would go to meetings together and we would drive back to the office together.”
Henriquez recalled Huermann telling her about his time as a ranger, saying, “He seemed to know the ins and outs of that area pretty well.” She then recalled “one incident that was a little strange” to her.
“My friend Catherine — who is an interior designer — went to measure his house one time. She said when she got to the basement, he stood in front of the door and wouldn’t let her,” Henriquez said, recalling howHuermann claimed he was storing guns in his basement. “She said that was the one room he wouldn’t let her measure.”
Wife of Rex’s Cousin
A woman who went by Margaret for the doc offered insight as the wife of Huermann’s cousin.
“The cousins were just in shock and disbelief. It is hard to reconcile that he was able to disguise himself so well,” she explained. “He wasn’t an outsider in the family. He was an organizer of the family reunions. He was called our Dear Rex.”
Margaret heard stories from Huermann’s childhood about his “rage and anger issues.” She heard that Huermann’s now-late father was allegedly abusive.
“It was like walking on thin ice being around his father. You didn’t want to set him off,” she claimed, adding that “everybody was traumatized by” Huermann’s dad. “Rex actually lived in the house he grew up in as a child.
Margaret’s husband was “really creeped out” when he visited Huermann’s home which seemed to serve as “a capsule of time from his childhood.”
Rex’s Childhood Friend
Speaking of Huermann’s childhood, John Parisi was friends with him when they were younger. He called Huermann “very, very quiet.”
“He was almost too quiet. He was extremely introverted,” Parisi recalled. “He was getting picked on and they beat him up. He never fought back, he just took it. His father was very hard on him. He would be yelling and screaming at Rex.”
Huermann’s other family members were mentioned but did not participate in the doc. He was married to Asa Ellerup for nearly three decades before his arrest, but the pair have since reached a divorce settlement. They share a daughter and Huermann was a stepfather to Ellerup’s son from a previous relationship.
Ellerup has publicly defended Huermann after he was arrested.
Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer is currently streaming on Netflix.
