Female interior designer says Rex Heuermann asked her about the Gilgo Beach murders

Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann once asked a female interior decorator if she knew about the infamous murders and said he made her feel “uncomfortable.”

Dominique Vidal told ABC 7 she was in a networking organization with the 59-year-old architect in February, and soon he began recording her voicemails.

In one of these messages, Vidal reported, “he asked me if I knew about the Gilgo Beach murders.”

Heuermann is now behind bars on Long Island, charged with premeditated and premeditated murder in the deaths of three Gilgo Beach victims: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. He is also the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Those who have worked with him say he was picky, impressed some of his clients and annoyed others with his attention to detail.

Those who knew Heuermann have given varying descriptions, with some seeing him as a successful but devious Manhattan architect, while others seeing him as a creepy loner.

Vidal said she felt “uncomfortable” in Heuermann’s presence — even before she knew about his alleged crimes.

When he started leaving her voicemails in late February, she said, “I assumed he just wanted to work together, but he always made me a little uncomfortable.”

At one point, she said, Heuermann brought up the Gilgo Beach murders seemingly unsolicited.

“At the time I’d say, ‘Oh, you know he’s just from that area, maybe you know, he’s just a local talking about [it] and would think I would find it interesting.

“But now I see it as a serial killer trying to push it in someone’s face.”

In a TikTok video, Vidal added that she told Heuermann that she likes true crime and that he wanted to know if she had a “favorite case.” When he brought up the topic of the Gilgo Beach murders and said he lived nearby, he laughed when she told him, “Anyone could be a serial killer.”

“I just can’t stop repeating that conversation over and over in my head, and I’m really insane,” she said.

“I’m still processing all of this, thinking over and over about how I shook his hand and how his hand felt. And I listen to his voicemails on my phone, and I go through his emails and look at the pictures of us all at the Christmas party and the pictures of him at our networking events and I just see a monster hiding in plain sight.

“It all makes so much sense. He was so full of himself.’

Law enforcement sources have told DailyMail.com that Heuermann, an accomplished architect and father of two, has been on their radar since last year.

Prosecutors allege he used burner phones and multiple email accounts to search for sexual assault images sites, reach sex workers, and keep track of the investigation into the murders.

He also allegedly used fake names for email accounts and phones “to conduct thousands of searches related to sex workers, sadistic, torture-related pornography and child pornography.”

Many of the search terms, prosecutors allege, focused on violent sexual acts involving minors.

Authorities say that in the days following her disappearance, Barthelemy’s phone was also used to make “ridiculous calls” to her relatives, with a male voice admitting to killing and sexually assaulting her.

The suspect’s home is located immediately north of Gilgo Beach across the South Oyster Bay

The calls were later traced to a location near Heuermann’s Manhattan office.

It was in that office that Heuermann built a reputation for redeveloping the New York City skyline, and Heuermann himself has said he has worked for clients such as Catholic Charitie, NYC Department of Environmental Protection Sewerage Treatment, American Airlines, and other major tenants at John F. Kennedy. International airport.

“For more than 20 years, RH has been adding beauty and structure with concept-driven design at multiple scales, from educational facilities, residential works, as well as mixed-use and office design, public works and master planning,” reads the company’s website.

“RH also actively supports sustainability along with the preservation of historic landmarks,” the site adds, noting that it has “more than 30 years of service with the New York City building code, the New York City Department of Buildings, and all major city ​​agencies. .’

One of the company’s most recent projects is the new Target store in Manhattan’s posh SoHo Cast Iron District.

For that project, Heuermann’s company worked with Target’s design team to integrate the store’s aesthetic into the affluent neighborhood.

It worked to add elevators and escalators to the historic landmark building built in 1884, restructured several floors of the building and provided new ADA-compliant entrances for the store.

RH also partnered with Burlington Coat Factory to build its newest store in Brooklyn, and worked closely with a homeowner on a major renovation of a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment overlooking Central Park West.

“(He’s) a gem to deal with, very knowledgeable,” said Steve Kramberg, a Brooklyn property manager who has worked with Heuermann for 30 years.

He described him as a “big dork” who was “a bit on the nerdy side,” which manifested as a dedicated worker who was more than detailed in his work.

But not all of Heuermann’s projects have proved popular.

Among Heuermann’s most recent projects are the new Target store in Manhattan’s posh SoHo Cast Iron District and a Burlington Coat Factory store in Brooklyn

He also worked closely with a homeowner on a major renovation of a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment overlooking Central Park West (pictured)

In 2007, more than two dozen families were kicked out of their crumbling Harlem apartment building after Heuermann falsely identified it as vacant.

Heuermann was hired at the time to renovate the seven-story building, which had more than 700 house rule violations, according to the New York daily news.

Paul Tietelbaun, a former chairman of a construction board who hired Heuermann for renovations, also said he displayed an attitude of, “I’m the expert, you’re lucky to have me.”

“(He was) a very cold and distant person, kind of creepy,” he added.

Another member of the board of directors, Kelly Parisi, echoed this as she recalled how the building’s managers eventually fired Heuermann for being “overly picky” and “hostile to everyone.”

Drone footage from the Heuermann home shows police outside the one-story building

Investigators were seen Saturday outside Heuermann’s home in Massapequa removing several items while trying to see if he had left “trophies” of his alleged victims

New York State Police have removed a massive amount of guns from Heuermann’s Long Island home after searching the property to determine if he left “trophies” of his three victims.

Some neighbors of Heuermann’s dungeon-like home in suburban Massapequa Park also said they found him creepy.

Mike Schmidt, who has lived in the area for a decade, said he often visits his friend whose property is adjacent to Heuermann’s.

He said if they were drinking beer in the backyard, they’d look at the house and remark, “He probably has bodies there.”

Schmidt recalled that while kids often avoid the spooky house on Halloween, last year he and his friend brought their kids to the house — purely to satisfy their curiosity and get a peek inside.

He said they were greeted at the door by Heuermann, who surprised them by handing out pumpkins full of candy to the children.

However, Schmidt told the Times that his wife was shocked when she found out where the candy came from and forced him to throw it away.

Another resident, Tara Alonzo, revealed she had a disturbing encounter with Heuermann at the Whole Foods where she works on Long Island.

She told DailyMail.com that he stole oranges from the store’s kids’ club, where parents leave their children while they shop. When spoken to by staff, she said he replied, “If I wore a suit like I wear most days, you wouldn’t talk to me like that.”

She said he then walked out of the store with five or six oranges in his hands, leaving staff perplexed by the “weird” customer.