Neighbors of Gilgo Beach murder suspect ‘joked there were BODY’s in his yard,’ say shocked local residents

Terrified locals have offered a chilling glimpse into the world of accused serial killer Rex Heuermann, whose gruesome reputation has led a neighbor to remember joking that his creepy, dilapidated house was full of bodies.

The Manhattan architect has seemingly led a nightmarish double life, as those who knew him often give dueling descriptions of a pedantic Manhattan architect who defied his job by living in a “dungeon”-style house.

The 59-year-old displayed disturbing and threatening behavior in his sleepy Massapequa Park community, residents say, which panicked the neighborhood and led some to order their children to avoid his home.

“We were going to cross the street,” Nicholas Ferchaw, 24, told police New York Times. “He was someone you don’t want to approach.”

Heuermann remains in New York custody and faces three charges of first-degree murder as investigators continue to try to link him to the infamous Gilgo Beach serial killer.

While those who lived near Heuermann described him as a cold, creepy person who dressed scruffy, others who met him as a Manhattan architect told a very different story.

“(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.

According to its website, Heuermann counted American Airlines and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection among its lucrative clients.

But while Kramberg said his 24-hour availability and attention to detail was a bonus, others were blown away by his antics.

Paul Tietelbaun, a former chairman of a construction board who hired Heuermann for renovations, 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.”

This image of a tense, ponderous Heuermann, however, is different from the man his neighbors know, who portray him as a troubled loner.

After hearing the news of his arrest, Ferchaw said he was “not surprised at all…because of all the creepiness.”

He added an eerie encounter with Heuermann where he went up to the architect on the street to say hello while he was chopping wood. He said the 59-year-old responded with silence, continuing to chop the wood while staring at him.

The gap between Heuermann’s life in Manhattan and his time on Long Island was noticed by neighbors soon after his arrest, when dozens of people flocked to get a glimpse of his home.

Locals told DailyMail.com that they felt like they were “living in a true crime documentary” when the details of the alleged killer’s secret crimes came to light.

“He was an architect, but his house looks like a dungeon,” says 57-year-old Bonni Petrone, whose sister graduated with Heuermann in the close-knit city.

The Heuermann house, where he had lived since he was a child, was noticed by everyone in the neighborhood as a creepy, dilapidated property, as one resident said it even caused concern.

Mike Schmidt, who has lived in the Massapequa Park neighborhood for a decade, said he often visits his friend whose property borders 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.

Heuermann remains in custody on first-degree murder charges in connection with the deaths of three victims, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. Authorities say he is also the “prime suspect” in another murder.

Police have released a laundry list of “red flags” that they say led to Heuermann as a suspect, with the first piece of evidence being a Chevrolet Avalanche owned by him that was linked to a witness’s murder of Costello.

According to documents filed with Suffolk County Court, investigators were then able to link that car to Heuermann’s cell phone records, which linked him to locations related to the murders, eventually leading to a DNA sample.

Police say Heuermann used Melissa Barthelemy’s phone to make harassing calls to her family from the victim’s phone, calls made just steps from his posh Manhattan office.

Following the identification of Heuermann as the owner of the Chevrolet, police issued more than 300 subpoenas, search warrants and other legal processes to obtain further evidence.

After the decade-long hunt for the killer seemingly ended this week, dramatic aerial footage revealed that forensic searches of his property were being conducted as authorities continue to try to link him to more unsolved murders.