Suffolk sheriff reveals details about Rex Heuermann's life behind bars
Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has been held at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverhead for nearly three years. News 12's Cecilia Dowd sat down with Suffolk Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr., who revealed details about Heuermann's life behind bars.
Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has spent more than 1,000 days in custody since his arrest, housed in voluntary segregation at the Riverhead jail.
Here are some of the many questions News 12's Cecilia Dowd asked Suffolk Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. about Heuermann's life behind bars.
Q: How does Rex Heuermann compare to other inmates you’ve encountered over the years?
A: “I started my career on Rikers Island in 1982 and had the opportunity to supervise individuals like John Gotti or the four individuals that killed New York City Police Officer Edward Byrne, Robert Chambers, Bernard Goetz, you know many high-profile individuals in our New York City system and I can tell you the one thing that’s different about Rex Heuermann than all those individuals is that at some point I did see some despair in those individuals when they were in their cells, yet every single time I have walked into that housing area and toured and saw Rex Heuermann, there seemed like there wasn’t a care in the world and also a little bit of smugness about his demeanor.”
Q: I wanted to talk about the mail and the amount he gets, is it from mostly New York? Around the country? The world? How can you sort of sum up the mail?
A: "He doesn't get a lot of mail but we have seen quite a bit of incarcerated individuals throughout the country, especially one in Oregon, that seem to want to communicate with him."
Q: What has he read?
A: "Most recently, one is the 'Devil's Banker,' and the second one is 'Westwind.' So those are the two books that he he most recently has taken out. He's an avid reader, because he's always taking out books. He's not uneducated, He's very well versed but he doesn't share much, his words are very short when you speak to him. He's not going to carry on a lengthy conversation. It's going to be a yes or a no, or 'hello, how are you doing' and that's about it."
Q: Does he attend religious services?
A: "Religious services comes to him. He does not leave his cell area....Rex does have a cleric come in and speak with him, whether it's religious guidance, whether it's him just talking, that does occur weekly...It's mostly someone from the Catholic faith, so it can be a priest or a nun."
Q: Does he go to the law library?
A: "Yes he does and because of the judge's order we provided a laptop so he can review all of the discovery in his case."
Q: Does he exercise?
A: "His exercise really consists of him doing laps in a yard-like setting. He doesn't play basketball, do pushups, dips or anything like that."
Q: How would you describe him?
A: "At times very aloof, but I do think when you look at him, you know, as I mentioned earlier, it seems like he's looking for something. And not necessarily looking to escape, it just seems like he's looking at you for something, so he's really looking at your whole person, whether how you're conducting yourself, how your gait is, how you speak to him. And so he does look to size you up and every time I’ve walked in there I know that he’s attempted that with me, so I’m pretty sure every officer that has worked in that unit has felt the same way."
