Rudy Giuliani sparks backlash with bizarre appearance at Gilgo Beach murder suspect’s home
Former New York mayor shows up at Rex Heuermann’s property to cover case for new livestreaming show
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Rudy Giuliani stirred backlash with a bizarre appearance at the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer’s home.
The former New York mayor was driven up to the property of suspect Rex Heuermann on Long Island as investigators continued to comb through it and remove items on Saturday following his arrest two days earlier.
Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer sat in his car and chatted with police officers outside the property in the Massapequa Park neighbourhood before driving away.
A spokesperson for Mr Giuliani told The New York Post that he was there to cover the case as part of a new livestream show.
“Mayor Rudy Giuliani – one of the most effective federal prosecutors in American history – was on scene to cover this heinous crime as part of his hit new livestream show, ‘America’s Mayor Live’,” said Ted Goodman, Mr Giuliani’s political adviser.
Gilgo Beach murders – live: Acquaintance recalls how Rex Heuermann liked talking about Long Island slayings
Arrest of suspect in Long Island serial killings brings both pain and relief to victims' families
Mother of Gilgo Beach murders victim hopes suspect ‘suffers at hands of other inmates’- How pizza crust helped link Rex Heuermann to the Gilgo Beach murders
How the Gilgo Beach serial killer turned the Long Island shore into a graveyard
“The mayor commends all involved in the case, but knows there is still work to be done in order to deliver justice.”
The drop-by visit drew confused reactions on social media, with users calling it “creepy” and “weird” that Mr Giuliani was inserting himself in the case.
Mr Heuermann, 59, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder in the first degree and three in the second degree over the deaths of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello.
The women are among the “Gilgo Four” whose bodies were found along a stretch of Ocean Parkway in Long Island in 2010.
Court documents state that Mr Heuermann is also the “prime suspect” in the murder of the fourth woman in that group, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, though he is not facing charges related to her death.
Mr Heuermann, a Manhattan architect who lives in Long Island’s Nassau County, just across the bay from the location the bodies were discovered, was arrested on Friday.
He was taken into custody more than a decade after the first set of remains was discovered on Gilgo Beach in Suffolk County.
The remains of 11 victims have so far been discovered, and investigations into the other deaths are ongoing.