This idyllic US town was full of police families – and a serial killer in their midst
This idyllic US town was full of police families – and a serial killer in their midst
Massapequa, a town whose residents often boast about its status, is hailed as a “cop town.” Nestled on Long Island’s scenic South Shore, it lies just an hour from Manhattan by train. The community is populated by NYPD detectives, long-standing police families, officers from Nassau and Suffolk Counties, and representatives from various law enforcement agencies. The mystery deepened in 2010 when body parts were found on Gilgo Beach, a spot near where local teenagers serve as lifeguards and families gather during the summer months. This discovery sparked intense speculation: Was the killer local? Still active? Perhaps even wearing a badge?
The 2023 arrest of architect Rex Heuermann finally dispelled these suspicions. His recent court confession to the murders of eight women brought significant closure to Long Island’s law enforcement, according to Craig Garland, a retired NYPD detective and Massapequa resident. “There were people out there trying to pin this on a cop, and it brings great closure to the law enforcement community,” Garland reflected. “This wasn’t a cop who was a serial killer.”
“It’s a great relief,” said Garland. “There were people out there trying to pin this on a cop and… it brings great closure to the law enforcement community at large [that] this wasn’t a cop that was a serial killer.”
Heuermann, a 62-year-old married father of two, was apprehended in July 2023 in Manhattan after his DNA was recovered from a discarded pizza crust near his midtown office. His daily commute from Massapequa Park to the city took him past Johnny McGorey’s, a local pub situated adjacent to a rail station where officers often gathered to discuss the search for the killer. McGorey’s owner Joanne Fountain described how the homicide unit became a frequent presence at the bar. “They were our Friday night regular guys,” she said. “They would come in, and we would be like, ‘What the hell is going on down at the beach, at Ocean Parkway?’ Then it was all day, every day, on the news.”
Fountain highlighted the tight-knit nature of Massapequa’s law enforcement families, using one of her bar staff as an example. “His dad was a cop, his grandpa was a cop, and he just got hired onto NYPD too,” she explained. The town’s police families are deeply embedded in the community, “eating, sleeping, and breathing” the work, she added. This legacy extends beyond police; Massapequa is also home to firefighters, medics, and officers from other agencies. The town faced a major test on 9/11, with Nassau County losing around 350 lives, including many first responders.
However, the Gilgo Beach killings added another layer of challenge. “As an administrator and someone who was a cop, it was very frustrating that it took so long to discover [who’s] responsible for these murders,” said John Azzata, Nassau County’s retired head of homicide. The case was further complicated when Suffolk County Police Chief Jimmy Burke, overseeing the investigation, was arrested in 2013 on charges involving sex toys, pornography, witness coercion, and a cover-up. Burke had entered the home of Christopher Loeb, a man arrested for probation violations, to retrieve stolen items from his department-issued SUV. He then beat Loeb in custody and attempted to conceal the incident. Burke pleaded guilty in 2016 to reduced charges and received a 46-month prison sentence.
The scandal also led to charges against former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J Spota and Christopher McPartland, the former chief of investigations for the District Attorney’s Office. The fallout underscored the tension within the community, where law enforcement and the public grappled with the idea that someone from their own ranks could be responsible for such crimes.
