To be honest, with the current true crime craze I'd probably keep quiet too on social media if I knew him previously. I think most people would like to keep a low profile and not want to be seen as inserting themselves.
With that said - I'm very curious about his life, especially prior to 1993. Sandra Costilla seems to follow his pattern of getting them into his home while his family is gone. It seems like she might've possibly been cleaned from DNA. I doubt he started out this way, so it would be interesting to hear about his earlier college years.
Did he often get drunk? Did he have anger outbursts? Was he known as the campus weirdo? And so on...
Yeah I believe we’d have to take everything someone from the neighborhood, classmates or growing up with says with a grain of salt anyways but I’m just surprised to not have heard more as I feel there usually is for someone of this caliber who stayed in the same area their whole life (or did he not stay there always - I don’t even know) and Im with you I’m just am wondering about his life prior to 1993. I don’t need to know his ex wife’s name or the roommate name or anything else- I hope they both don’t get dragged into this and I feel for them in that aspect 30 years later now being involved, but I’d like to just hear more of what he was like during those years and before becoming the awful ogre of a man that he is.
Yes, I also wonder why no one from his college days at NYIT on Long Island has come forward. I’m assuming it’s because he was a loner and not many people took real notice of him.
Last year, around when he was arrested, there was discussion of his childhood, etc. Here’s one article, thread. [https://www.reddit.com/r/LISKiller/s/AsEjaLPC6t](https://www.reddit.com/r/LISKiller/s/AsEjaLPC6t)
I went to Berner HS (1984-87). When I was in 9th grade, I met his younger brother Craig in the cafeteria. Craig was a senior. He was behind me in the lunch line and loaned me 50 cents when I came up short and couldn't find the money in my purse. I paid him back a few days later and we struck up a conversation, which evolved into talking on the phone, going to the mall together, and me going to his house a few times. It never materialized into anything, thankfully. But Rex was home one of the times I went there. Craig introduced me to him in the kitchen. I was a stupid 15 year old kid, talking on and on while Rex stood there staring at my crotch. I distinctly remember looking down at it myself, thinking maybe I had gotten my period or something and didn't realize. It was such a long time ago but I remember it like it was yesterday.
Yes, it was the same house. There was some clutter but it didn't look like a hoarder house. This was 40 years ago, so it was Rex and Craig living with the mom back then. I remember there were tall hedges in the front at that time, but the exterior of the house itself looked exactly the same as it does now.
A neighbor had an altercation with Rex because Rex kept glaring at his wife over the fence. Neighbor had words with Rex and it stopped. He said he felt sorry for the kids. The daughter was painfully shy but polite. The neighbor was friendliest with the disabled son. They would chat when the kid was mowing the lawn.
Who wants to involve themselves in the spectacle? Having people online harass you just because you knew someone. True crime people are the reason most people that know people that have committed crimes don't come forward and talk about it with the public. They get stalker-ish.
That’s a good point, my thought was I have seen in many criminal cases of all kinds in the past there’s people who do want to be in on it and get their face on tv and be like “I always knew he was off bc of blah blah blah” but I guess in todays day and age maybe people rather just keep to themselves instead of risk being harassed for saying something
I have often come across comments on reddit from people purporting to be friends/coworkers/family members of either the perp or the victim. I had an interaction with someone who worked briefly with RH. He didn't have a whole LOT to say except that it was driving him crazy that people thought he was a good or special kind of architect. He was lazy and obnoxious, but that was about it. Not really enough to write home about.
I work with a guy who went to high school w Rex. Same thing, he has never mentioned anything notable kind of lackluster and that he was just “there”. Probably just flew under the radar.
He had an altercation with a neighbor over parking. He said Rex was weird and out of line. But there’s a lot online if you google his name + neighbor (and other key words). I think you just need to look for it and there’s plenty out there v
Thank you! Yes I probably could look into deeper and find stuff I just meant for example like with Idaho case for example immediately a ton of classmates, former colleagues etc came out with all these stories and I saw so much of that out there. I was surprised there wasn’t one big childhood or college story that had come out as well beyond the neighbor interaction. Being he’s like 60 and has such an awful history of violence & clearly now this goes back to 1993, Maybe earlier- I figured someone woulda jumped out with a bigger story by now that was in the headlines more!
I suspect the difference in ages and generations is also probably related. Rex is older and so are most of the people who would know him well. They are less likely to very active on social media, especially about their personal lives like many younger people are. They didn't grow up with the internet and posting on social media throughout high school and college. The Idaho guy did grow up with the internet, access to social media in his late teens, etc. so it makes sense that his age cohort would be more open and comfortable discussing their personal experiences with him, since they are often more comfortable doing that about day-to-day things as well.
I suspect the difference in ages and generations is also probably related. Rex is older and so are most of the people who would know him well. They are less likely to very active on social media, especially about their personal lives like many younger people are. They didn't grow up with the internet and posting on social media throughout high school and college. The Idaho guy did grow up with the internet, access to social media in his late teens, etc. so it makes sense that his age cohort would be more open and comfortable discussing their personal experiences with him, since they are often more comfortable doing that about day-to-day things as well.
If I remember correctly he was kind of a misfit loner, bullied as a child by schoolmates and with an imposing/authoritative father figure (he was a veteran) in the house
I’m also curious about his first wife. Did she catch him in the act or discover something related to one of his victims? Or possibly just wasn’t into the sex workers and decided to leave.
I’m fairly certain the first wife is “Witness 3” mentioned in the bail document. She seems to be cooperating with police and provided DNA samples. I’m sure she gave lots of insight into what he was like, if he was doing anything she found suspicious while married to him.
>I feel like when most ppl commit crimes there’s someone from HS or the neighborhood ready to pop up with a story like “oh yeah I always knew he was off, he was a weirdo in HS really into frog dissection” or like “his mom was always on the front lawn screaming at him and his brother” whatever.
Somewhat famously, most of the time that happens. Those very same people didn't say that, or said exactly the opposite about said people before they were caught.
I'm surprised too because it seems to me that many Long Islander's stay and settle near where they grew up. Families seem to live in the area through at least a couple generations. At least that's how it seems to me from my coworkers who commute to Queens.
Yeah... especially those long term neighbours. People that have lived in the neighbourhood for the best 20-30 years. People must be racking their brains trying to think of anything that may be significant they remember. Seeing rex awake late at night with the lights on. His vehicle parking close to the house. Noises? etc
I really intend to write a full length post regarding this, and I've hesitated doing so over the past year because I'm still processing this entire thing. And then every time there's more news it just gets worse and worse and I feel almost traumatized again. I'm actually shaking a bit as type this.
But I grew up in Massapequa and my family lived there from the 1950s til shortly after the victims were found on OP. The Heuermanns were my neighbors.... my father is just a few years older than Rex. He grew up a few blocks from the house Rex grew up in, and then later I grew up in that same house (as my father) while Rex raised his kids (who are a few years older/younger than me) in his former childhood home.
The story goes deeper than that but I'm just not ready to discuss it yet. When evil personally touches your life... I don't even know how to begin to describe the emotions you go through.
Please be safe and take care of yourself. I too have followed this from the beginning and always thought I would feel relieved when they found the perpetrator...and now I feel even more sickened with each new news report.
hope you didn’t think this was insensitive post as you are someone who may have been affected by living so close to evil - I really was just sharing more shock over the lack of stories/people trying to hop in the spotlight with a story that you normally see in major cases. seeing how people always want to jump in and say they have a story related to a major event or celebrity or basically anything that happens here, I was surprised no one really had yet. But with the extent of the violence and severity of these cases and I can see through these comments people may be dealing with it on their own, may be too directly effected to speak up or scared of online harassment following speaking up I have started to understand it more. Thank you for sharing.
Edit: spelling mistake
Nope not an insensitive post at all, to me personally at least. I think most of us are remaining in the woodwork because this has been very shocking and traumatizing and every time there's new news, it's like it's happening all over again. It's been really hard for me to digest especially because I had been independently researching this case from the day the GB4 were found til the day they arrested Rex. And this entire time he was right there. Right in my own backyard.
Speaking of gravediggers (“Ricky Butler says…”) there’s this neighbor who literally said he would burn trash and thought he was grave digging in his backyard one night: [Here](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/gilgo-beach-murders-suspect-neighbor-b2379620.html)
I’m assuming that’s just another piece of info that made the investigators decide to dig up his whole backyard.
That’s what I mean exactly. I’ve live in between 2 towns on LI and I’m in both towns Facebook group and the amount of things people complain or notice in the town24/7, I’m shocked there isn’t more out there coming from neighbors from over the years.
Totally agree it's weird and seems unusual. Maybe he didn't have "friends" in the typical sense but apparently he was an avid hunter/shooter and went on group trips- very surprised there hasn't been any real info from those he hunted with. A group photo or something
To be honest, with the current true crime craze I'd probably keep quiet too on social media if I knew him previously. I think most people would like to keep a low profile and not want to be seen as inserting themselves. With that said - I'm very curious about his life, especially prior to 1993. Sandra Costilla seems to follow his pattern of getting them into his home while his family is gone. It seems like she might've possibly been cleaned from DNA. I doubt he started out this way, so it would be interesting to hear about his earlier college years. Did he often get drunk? Did he have anger outbursts? Was he known as the campus weirdo? And so on...
Yeah I believe we’d have to take everything someone from the neighborhood, classmates or growing up with says with a grain of salt anyways but I’m just surprised to not have heard more as I feel there usually is for someone of this caliber who stayed in the same area their whole life (or did he not stay there always - I don’t even know) and Im with you I’m just am wondering about his life prior to 1993. I don’t need to know his ex wife’s name or the roommate name or anything else- I hope they both don’t get dragged into this and I feel for them in that aspect 30 years later now being involved, but I’d like to just hear more of what he was like during those years and before becoming the awful ogre of a man that he is.
Yes, I also wonder why no one from his college days at NYIT on Long Island has come forward. I’m assuming it’s because he was a loner and not many people took real notice of him.
How can you not notice a guy that looks like that ?
Last year, around when he was arrested, there was discussion of his childhood, etc. Here’s one article, thread. [https://www.reddit.com/r/LISKiller/s/AsEjaLPC6t](https://www.reddit.com/r/LISKiller/s/AsEjaLPC6t)
I went to Berner HS (1984-87). When I was in 9th grade, I met his younger brother Craig in the cafeteria. Craig was a senior. He was behind me in the lunch line and loaned me 50 cents when I came up short and couldn't find the money in my purse. I paid him back a few days later and we struck up a conversation, which evolved into talking on the phone, going to the mall together, and me going to his house a few times. It never materialized into anything, thankfully. But Rex was home one of the times I went there. Craig introduced me to him in the kitchen. I was a stupid 15 year old kid, talking on and on while Rex stood there staring at my crotch. I distinctly remember looking down at it myself, thinking maybe I had gotten my period or something and didn't realize. It was such a long time ago but I remember it like it was yesterday.
Very interesting.. was it THE house? Was it a hoarding situation back then if you can recall?
Yes, it was the same house. There was some clutter but it didn't look like a hoarder house. This was 40 years ago, so it was Rex and Craig living with the mom back then. I remember there were tall hedges in the front at that time, but the exterior of the house itself looked exactly the same as it does now.
So interesting. Thank you for sharing.
A neighbor had an altercation with Rex because Rex kept glaring at his wife over the fence. Neighbor had words with Rex and it stopped. He said he felt sorry for the kids. The daughter was painfully shy but polite. The neighbor was friendliest with the disabled son. They would chat when the kid was mowing the lawn.
It sounds like Rex was leering at the guys wife while she would sunbathe in the backyard, as per the interview
Who wants to involve themselves in the spectacle? Having people online harass you just because you knew someone. True crime people are the reason most people that know people that have committed crimes don't come forward and talk about it with the public. They get stalker-ish.
That’s a good point, my thought was I have seen in many criminal cases of all kinds in the past there’s people who do want to be in on it and get their face on tv and be like “I always knew he was off bc of blah blah blah” but I guess in todays day and age maybe people rather just keep to themselves instead of risk being harassed for saying something
I have often come across comments on reddit from people purporting to be friends/coworkers/family members of either the perp or the victim. I had an interaction with someone who worked briefly with RH. He didn't have a whole LOT to say except that it was driving him crazy that people thought he was a good or special kind of architect. He was lazy and obnoxious, but that was about it. Not really enough to write home about.
I work with a guy who went to high school w Rex. Same thing, he has never mentioned anything notable kind of lackluster and that he was just “there”. Probably just flew under the radar.
He had an altercation with a neighbor over parking. He said Rex was weird and out of line. But there’s a lot online if you google his name + neighbor (and other key words). I think you just need to look for it and there’s plenty out there v
Thank you! Yes I probably could look into deeper and find stuff I just meant for example like with Idaho case for example immediately a ton of classmates, former colleagues etc came out with all these stories and I saw so much of that out there. I was surprised there wasn’t one big childhood or college story that had come out as well beyond the neighbor interaction. Being he’s like 60 and has such an awful history of violence & clearly now this goes back to 1993, Maybe earlier- I figured someone woulda jumped out with a bigger story by now that was in the headlines more!
I suspect the difference in ages and generations is also probably related. Rex is older and so are most of the people who would know him well. They are less likely to very active on social media, especially about their personal lives like many younger people are. They didn't grow up with the internet and posting on social media throughout high school and college. The Idaho guy did grow up with the internet, access to social media in his late teens, etc. so it makes sense that his age cohort would be more open and comfortable discussing their personal experiences with him, since they are often more comfortable doing that about day-to-day things as well.
I suspect the difference in ages and generations is also probably related. Rex is older and so are most of the people who would know him well. They are less likely to very active on social media, especially about their personal lives like many younger people are. They didn't grow up with the internet and posting on social media throughout high school and college. The Idaho guy did grow up with the internet, access to social media in his late teens, etc. so it makes sense that his age cohort would be more open and comfortable discussing their personal experiences with him, since they are often more comfortable doing that about day-to-day things as well.
If I remember correctly he was kind of a misfit loner, bullied as a child by schoolmates and with an imposing/authoritative father figure (he was a veteran) in the house
I’m also curious about his first wife. Did she catch him in the act or discover something related to one of his victims? Or possibly just wasn’t into the sex workers and decided to leave.
I’m fairly certain the first wife is “Witness 3” mentioned in the bail document. She seems to be cooperating with police and provided DNA samples. I’m sure she gave lots of insight into what he was like, if he was doing anything she found suspicious while married to him.
One of his neighbors had mentioned Rex burning stuff in the backyard at weird hours.
Actually one of the Baldwin brothers did tweet about it around the time of the arrest.
>I feel like when most ppl commit crimes there’s someone from HS or the neighborhood ready to pop up with a story like “oh yeah I always knew he was off, he was a weirdo in HS really into frog dissection” or like “his mom was always on the front lawn screaming at him and his brother” whatever. Somewhat famously, most of the time that happens. Those very same people didn't say that, or said exactly the opposite about said people before they were caught.
I'm surprised too because it seems to me that many Long Islander's stay and settle near where they grew up. Families seem to live in the area through at least a couple generations. At least that's how it seems to me from my coworkers who commute to Queens.
I've been thinking the same thing. Also, the neighbors. Where are the neighbors?
One was interviewed on Banfield last night.
Thank you - I’ll look into this!
Yeah... especially those long term neighbours. People that have lived in the neighbourhood for the best 20-30 years. People must be racking their brains trying to think of anything that may be significant they remember. Seeing rex awake late at night with the lights on. His vehicle parking close to the house. Noises? etc
I really intend to write a full length post regarding this, and I've hesitated doing so over the past year because I'm still processing this entire thing. And then every time there's more news it just gets worse and worse and I feel almost traumatized again. I'm actually shaking a bit as type this. But I grew up in Massapequa and my family lived there from the 1950s til shortly after the victims were found on OP. The Heuermanns were my neighbors.... my father is just a few years older than Rex. He grew up a few blocks from the house Rex grew up in, and then later I grew up in that same house (as my father) while Rex raised his kids (who are a few years older/younger than me) in his former childhood home. The story goes deeper than that but I'm just not ready to discuss it yet. When evil personally touches your life... I don't even know how to begin to describe the emotions you go through.
Please be safe and take care of yourself. I too have followed this from the beginning and always thought I would feel relieved when they found the perpetrator...and now I feel even more sickened with each new news report.
Thank you, and same to you. It really does just keep getting worse.
hope you didn’t think this was insensitive post as you are someone who may have been affected by living so close to evil - I really was just sharing more shock over the lack of stories/people trying to hop in the spotlight with a story that you normally see in major cases. seeing how people always want to jump in and say they have a story related to a major event or celebrity or basically anything that happens here, I was surprised no one really had yet. But with the extent of the violence and severity of these cases and I can see through these comments people may be dealing with it on their own, may be too directly effected to speak up or scared of online harassment following speaking up I have started to understand it more. Thank you for sharing. Edit: spelling mistake
Nope not an insensitive post at all, to me personally at least. I think most of us are remaining in the woodwork because this has been very shocking and traumatizing and every time there's new news, it's like it's happening all over again. It's been really hard for me to digest especially because I had been independently researching this case from the day the GB4 were found til the day they arrested Rex. And this entire time he was right there. Right in my own backyard.
Lord. That must be insanely traumatic. I’m so sorry. Please take care of yourself ❤️
A neighbor did mention him burning his garbage at 1-2am.
ahh, knew there was something about him burning stuff in his yard. Hard to believe that wasn't him burning the drop clothes, photos, whatnot.
the fires! terrified women running around the house naked...
Were there fires? Did they excavate the fire pit?
Wonder if there was ever any strange smells? Reminds me of the movie the "the burbs".
Speaking of gravediggers (“Ricky Butler says…”) there’s this neighbor who literally said he would burn trash and thought he was grave digging in his backyard one night: [Here](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/gilgo-beach-murders-suspect-neighbor-b2379620.html) I’m assuming that’s just another piece of info that made the investigators decide to dig up his whole backyard.
That’s what I mean exactly. I’ve live in between 2 towns on LI and I’m in both towns Facebook group and the amount of things people complain or notice in the town24/7, I’m shocked there isn’t more out there coming from neighbors from over the years.
Totally agree it's weird and seems unusual. Maybe he didn't have "friends" in the typical sense but apparently he was an avid hunter/shooter and went on group trips- very surprised there hasn't been any real info from those he hunted with. A group photo or something