Pal reveals the moment he was convinced Rex Heuermann ‘was Gilgo Beach murderer': ‘I'm the best friend of a serial killer'
City architect David Jimenez, 63, reveals in his first public interview in the new Peacock docu-series, 'The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets' that it only took one prison visit with suspect Rex Heuermann to come to that realization.
'I expected to hear, 'David, I'm innocent, can you help me out?' ' Jimenez said of his unsettling 2023 jailhouse chat with the 61-year-old married Manhattan architect. 'And that's when I get the feeling.
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'I think he did it,' the shattered friend told the show, which began airing Monday.
6 David Jimenez says he formed a tight friendship with fellow city architect Rex Heuermann but that he now believes he's guilty of seven murders.
Peacock
Jimenez said he only wanted to hear Heuermann deny the sickening allegations — but that the response he got fell far short of giving him any comfort.
' 'Did you do it?' ' Jimenez said he asked the suspect. 'He teared up a little bit, and he started crying. I'm like, 'Rex, this is really bad.' I said, 'It's like it looks like you did it. It looks really bad.' And it's like, 'Can you tell me something?'
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'I said, 'They're even accusing you of killing prostitutes in Vegas,'' Jimenez recalled. 'And he had a very visceral reaction: 'All I did was gamble and drink there.' '
Jimenez said he still struggles to reconcile how the gifted architect he once buddied up to could possibly be the monster accused of one of the most notorious serial killer cases in the US.
'I'm in a story that I never wanted to be [in]. I'm the best friend of a serial killer,' Jimenez said. 'It's like I hit Lotto, but I didn't win any money. You know, like not a good Lotto.
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'He was a great friend,' Jimenez said. 'I feel like it's a loss because he was my buddy.'
6 David Jimenez said he quickly bonded with Rex Heuermann in 2006 over their mutual interests, including guns.
Peacock
The hulking Heuermann was arrested in July 2023 at his Midtown office and charged with three cold-case murders of young sex workers on Long Island in a case that shocked the nation.
Suffolk County prosecutors later charged him with the murder and mutilation of four more missing women, with all of the victims sex workers whose bodies were dumped in the area of Ocean Parkway over nearly 30 years, bringing the murderous tally to at least seven.
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DNA and other evidence definitively linked the dad of two to the slayings, officials have said. Heuermann allegedly kept news clips of the brutal killings in his basement.
Jimenez told the filmmakers he met Heuermann in 2006, when the 'family man' architect walked into a New York City Building Department office, where Jimenez was working, to discuss his latest project.
The two men quickly bonded over their shared passions: architecture, guns and a fondness for antiques.
'I could tell he's a confident man, and he's very secure,' Jimenez said. 'And he comes across as, you know, sort of a tough guy, but he was, he's still very nice.
6 The Gilgo Four were the first four of Rex Heuermann's alleged victims. From top left clockwise, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello and Megan Waterman.
Suffolk County Police Department
'Because we were both architects we have a lot of things in common, certain political views, the scotch, the cigars, the guns,' he added. 'All the macho stuff. He was easy to be friends with.'
Jimenez said the pair took frequent trips to shooting ranges and gun shows, including one in Las Vegas. He said he was given a tour of Heuermann's massive gun collection in his basement vault, where he stored as many as 300 weapons, according to Suffolk County prosecutors.
The pal said Heuermann's family — wife Asa Ellerup and their adult children Victoria and Christopher — appeared respectful of his friend, who was clearly the man of the house.
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6 Rex Heuermann is now charged with killing and mutilating seven sex workers dating back nearly 30 years.
Newsday
6 David Jimenez said he thought Rex Heuermann was 'a family man' who doted over his sickly wife, Asa Ellerup.
Peacock
Ellerup, in her own interview with the show, has called Heuermann her 'hero' and described falling in love with him all over again when she first saw him behind bars.
'He was a family man,' Jimenez said of his accused buddy. 'He's the man of the house, and there was a certain respect when [his family] would speak with him.'
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Then the close kinship between the two men came to a crashing halt July 14, 2023.
6 David Jimenez remembers the call from is son on July 14, 2023, telling him his best friend was an accused serial killer.
Peacock
Jimenez told Peacock he was driving to a Building Department office in Brooklyn when he got a call from his son, who wanted to know how to spell Heuermann's last name.
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'I freaked out,' the friend said when told why his son wanted to know. 'I was completely shocked. I pulled over because I couldn't drive anymore, and I just stood there. How could it be? It's like, it can't be.'
Additional reporting by David DeTurris
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There is also a cement truck which appears to have been involved in the crash. Live Traffic NSW are advising motorists to slow down to 40km/h and plan for their commute to take extra time. - NewsWire Sydney has been plunged into traffic chaos after a five-vehicle crash on the Anzac Bridge, with cars backed all the way up to Leichhardt. The crash happened in the eastbound lanes about 6.30am on Monday. Live traffic cameras show three of the four eastbound lanes are blocked, and the gridlock stretches back almost 3km down the A44. The right-hand westbound lane is also blocked by emergency response vehicles. An Ambulance NSW spokesman said five vehicles were involved in the crash; three cars, a motorbike and a truck. All people who needed to be checked by paramedics had minor injuries, the spokesman said. The male motorbike rider was still however taken to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Images show at least four police vehicles and two road crews are on scene. A damaged dark-coloured sedan stopped sideways across two lanes was put onto a tow truck about 7am. There is also a cement truck which appears to have been involved in the crash. Live Traffic NSW are advising motorists to slow down to 40km/h and plan for their commute to take extra time. - NewsWire Qantas set for big fine after illegally sacking workers Australia's largest airline is staring down the barrel of another nine-figure fine for illegally sacking more than 1800 workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Court will hand down a hefty penalty to Qantas on Monday in what will be the latest court blow for the airline after a scandal-plagued recent tenure. Qantas outsourced its baggage handlers, cleaners and ground staff in 2020, in a move the court ruled was designed to curb union bargaining power in wage negotiations. It appealed the ruling to the High Court but the decision was not overturned, paving the way for Monday's penalty. The Transport Workers Union has sought the maximum penalty of $121 million, while Qantas has urged Justice Michael Lee to impose a "mid-range" penalty between $40 million and $80 million. Qantas will cop the fine on top of a $120 million compensation payment it has made to the ground staff for their economic loss, pain and suffering since their jobs were outsourced during the pandemic. It has argued the actions were a mistake, not a deliberate breach of the law. Qantas also sold tickets to cancelled flights for several years, triggering more legal turmoil and a $100 million fine after it was sued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The carrier, which was under the control of Alan Joyce at the time of the illegal sacking, lost billions of dollars during the pandemic, which decimated the aviation sector. But the former CEO did not address the scandal when he spoke at an aviation conference on Thursday, instead spruiking his ability to keep the airline afloat in unprecedented times. "But here's the real insight: resilience isn't a reaction … it's a decision made years in advance, often when it's uncomfortable, even unpopular," he said. "Qantas was the only major Australian airline not to go bankrupt during or after the pandemic … that wasn't luck. That was resilience." Australia's largest airline is staring down the barrel of another nine-figure fine for illegally sacking more than 1800 workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Court will hand down a hefty penalty to Qantas on Monday in what will be the latest court blow for the airline after a scandal-plagued recent tenure. Qantas outsourced its baggage handlers, cleaners and ground staff in 2020, in a move the court ruled was designed to curb union bargaining power in wage negotiations. It appealed the ruling to the High Court but the decision was not overturned, paving the way for Monday's penalty. The Transport Workers Union has sought the maximum penalty of $121 million, while Qantas has urged Justice Michael Lee to impose a "mid-range" penalty between $40 million and $80 million. Qantas will cop the fine on top of a $120 million compensation payment it has made to the ground staff for their economic loss, pain and suffering since their jobs were outsourced during the pandemic. It has argued the actions were a mistake, not a deliberate breach of the law. Qantas also sold tickets to cancelled flights for several years, triggering more legal turmoil and a $100 million fine after it was sued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The carrier, which was under the control of Alan Joyce at the time of the illegal sacking, lost billions of dollars during the pandemic, which decimated the aviation sector. But the former CEO did not address the scandal when he spoke at an aviation conference on Thursday, instead spruiking his ability to keep the airline afloat in unprecedented times. "But here's the real insight: resilience isn't a reaction … it's a decision made years in advance, often when it's uncomfortable, even unpopular," he said. "Qantas was the only major Australian airline not to go bankrupt during or after the pandemic … that wasn't luck. That was resilience."
