Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann may have met disgraced ex-police commissioner James Burke on a gay cruising tour of Long Island, prosecutors say.
John Ray, an attorney for the families of two women found dead in eastern New York Peninsula, said multiple sources contacted him in the past month and told him they had previously met Heuermann while looking for casual sex in the area.
This comes after former Gilgo police officer Burke was arrested for allegedly offering oral sex to an undercover male park ranger at Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Park in Farmingville – an area known for “gay cruising”.
Cruising in this context is walking or driving through a local “cruise area” in search of an anonymous, one-time partner.
Reportedly, Long Island is dotted with gay cruising areas, including the area where Burke was arrested and colloquially known as “Pickle Park.”
Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann (pictured) may have met disgraced ex-police chief James Burke on a Long Island gay cruising tour, prosecutors say
Former Gilgo police officer James Burke (pictured) was arrested last week for allegedly offering oral sex to an undercover male park ranger at Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Park in Farmingville – an area known for “gay cruising”.
John Ray (pictured), an attorney for the families of two women found dead in eastern New York Peninsula, said multiple sources contacted him over the past month and told him they had previously told Heuermann he was looking for casual sex in the would have hit the area
Some longtime Suffolk County residents, who asked not to be named, told DailyMail.com that there are many pickle parks across the island and that they are a “breeding ground for sexual activity, prostitution and drugs”.
Attorney Ray has also addressed these hunting grounds as part of his decades-long campaign to ensure justice for the women who have been killed.
He said he was told by multiple sources that prime suspect Heuermann, 59, was known in the local gay cruising scene – and there was “no question” that connection could have put him in touch with Burke, 59 .
“I’ve had several people contact me because they don’t want to talk to the police because they have real fears and don’t want their families to know, but they’ve let me know.” [Rex Heuermann] “is a cruiser,” Ray told dem US Sun.
“Of course, this is all word of mouth and proof is hard to find, but several people have told me the same thing.”
Ray added that he urges Suffolk County Police to investigate any possible social links between the two men.
Burke was charged August 22 with sexual assault, indecent exposure, public indecency and criminal incitement in the fifth degree after he was arrested near Pickle Park.
It comes just a month after DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that Burke had screwed up the investigation into the Gilgo Beach murders and lived a double life that allegedly included smoking crack, cross-dressing and relationships with prostitutes.
DailyMail.com has contacted the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and Heuermann’s attorney regarding Ray’s claims.
Ray said he was told by multiple sources that prime suspect Heuermann (pictured) was well known in the local gay cruising community – and there was “no question” that connection put him in touch with 59-year-old Burke could have
Burke (pictured) was charged on August 22 after being arrested near Pickle Park.
“I’ve had several people contact me because they don’t want to talk to the police because they have real fears and don’t want their families to know, but they’ve let me know.” [Rex Heuermann] “is a cruiser,” Ray said
A lone serial killer is believed to be behind the murders of 11 women, mostly prostitutes, who advertised on Craigslist in Gilgo Beach between 1996 and 2011.
Their bodies were discovered on South Shore Beach over several months in 2010 and 2011 after a police investigation was sparked by the disappearance of 23-year-old companion Shannan Gilbert.
In December 2010, the remains of four victims who became known as “The Gilgo Four” were found within a quarter mile of each other near the beach.
In early 2011, six more remains were found in Suffolk and Nassau counties, which police say predate the bodies on the beach.
The serial killer went undetected for more than a decade — until police charged Long Island architect Heuermann with the murders of three of the “Gilgo Four” victims — Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello.
