Gilgo Beach serial killer’s pen pal and reading list as sheriff details his life behind bars
Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann told ex-wife he killed seven of eight victims at their home
Rex Heuermann, the Manhattan architect who admitted to being the Gilgo Beach serial killer, has spent his time in prison reading crime novels and exchanging letters with another murderer.
Heuermann, who has been held in a segregated cell since his arrest in July 2023, briefly corresponded with Keith Hunter Jesperson, the infamous “Happy Face Killer,” who initiated contact, though Heuermann only replied once and has since ignored follow-up letters.
Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon expressed concern over Heuermann’s preference for violent crime novels. Some of the works he’s recently borrowed from the jail library include J.D. Robb’s “Portrait in Death,” John Sandford’s “Secret Prey,” Heather Graham’s “Picture Me Dead,” Sue Grafton’s “N is for Noose” and Lisa Jackson’s “Chosen to Die,” according to Toulon.
“He’s not taking out sports books or cooking books, you know,” the sheriff said. “He’s choosing to read about this.”
Sheriff Toulon described Heuermann’s demeanour as consistently stoic, showing no emotion, despair, or remorse throughout his incarceration, maintaining the same look seen in court. Heuermann is due to be sentenced on Wednesday, facing life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to eight murders, though his ex-wife and children will not attend out of respect for the victims’ families.
