Gilgo Beach Suspect Rex Heuermann Removed From Suicide Watch: Sheriff

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann has been removed from suicide watch, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon said.

Heuermann had been placed on suicide watch after entering the Suffolk County Correctional Facilityfollowing his July 13 arrest and was subject to evaluation by the county's health department staff.

The revelation came during a special show on Investigation Discovery, "ID Special Report: The Long Island Serial Killer," which was hosted by crime journalist and legal analyst Nancy Grace on Sunday night.

In a statement to Patch, Toulon said, "Mental health staff at the jail have made the determination to remove Rex Heuermann from suicide watch at this time."

"He will continue to be evaluated periodically," he said. "His housing and security protocols have not changed.”

Heuermann is still being held under "extra precautions," Toulon's spokeswoman Victoria DiStefano said.

Toulon previously told Patch that Heuermann did not have any reading material in his cell and had been reclining in his bed three out of the four times he had seen him in his rounds.

Toulon told Grace that Heuermann now has two books inside his cell and has participated in recreation. He could not say what the names of the books are.

Toulon has previously declined to say whether Heuermann is being housed in Yaphank or Riverside.

Heuermannm, a 59-year-old architect from Massapequa Park, has been charged with six counts of murder in connection with the slayings of Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, and Megan Waterman.

He is the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

All four women were sex workers whose bodies were found along Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach.

They would later become known as the Gilgo Four.

The four women's bodies were the first sets of remains found in the area. A total of 11 sets of remains were found, including that of a toddler and an Asian male.

Included in the set of 11 were the remains of Karen Vergata, whose feet and legs were first found in 1996 in Davis Park on Fire Island. Heuermann has not been named a suspect in Vergata's death.

Suffolk law enforcement authorities have said that their investigation is continuing.

In Grace's special, Suffolk Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said detectives are investigating the possibility of two killers, a theory that was previously raised.

Patch has reached out to Heuermann's attorney, Michael Brown of Central Islip, for comment.

Brown has maintained his client's innocence, saying that he is looking forward to his day in court.