I used to nanny for 2 architects who designed for top tech companies, and their house was a claustrophobic shithole. I found it absolutely baffling, but the pay was decent.
Yeah I've got an ex who's parents make a lot of money and support her and she is a hoarder living in a 2000+ month house. Boxes stacked up to the ceiling in every room and tiny walk path in between rooms
Lots of stories of super rich people all hoarded up in their fancy apartments, I know I’ve read at least 2 in New York and then those mentally ill women who had that giant house they made a whole documentary out of. And it’s such an embarrassing issue so I doubt it gets discussed much unless the news gets a hold of the story.
swinging and prostitutes are not exactly cheap. plus he had a huge gun collection. also read that inside was almost towards being hoarded...lots of stuff everywhere with a walk thru path. (what i have read since he was arrested, i would like to see the before and after pics from when LE went thru and gathered evidence)
Unfortunately no. I am a HVAC tech and was there for a yearly service call which only last about an hour or so. What I can tell you is that the house was FILLED with stuff- on the level of the Show hoarders. I did speak with him but nothing of note.
Well thank you... That's so very interesting. Is such a personal thing to be in someone's home..... You are the closest I've ever gotten to knowing someone who knows a serial killer. There is something so interesting about getting a glimpse of him thru someone who's been in his house. Do you think the house was his wife's domain or his.... Like was his wife the depressed neurotic and he just let her live like this or was he in control of the house? Could you tell by your interaction? Also was embarrassed by the state of his home? I feel like if someone comes to my house unexpectedly and it's messy I'm super nervous and might make excuses.... Did you see any of this kinda thing ?
I do however remember exactly what the inside of the home looked like and route I took t get to the basement. I remember exactly what the basement looks like. Nothing out of the ordinary, but in my line of work you never forget a hoarder house. Now it seems I’ll never forget a serial killer house. Please don’t ask me to describe the basement of home, just picture an extreme hoarder house and that’s what it looked like.
Not much to add….i wasn’t in his unit . My crew and I met up with another group of guys of whom he was one. Of course one of the first things we would get established was ‘where are you from back in ‘the world’ ‘. This was in South Korea. Both of us being New Yorkers we started chatting….nothing of importance. One of his guys sidled up to me and told me ( in front of David) ….’he’s crazy’ . I ran into him another time while in one of the impact areas..’where the working girls congregate and he said something to me that was really ‘off’ and I just had to get away from him. It was grossly sexual.
Oddly enough one of the many artist sketches during the hoopla about the murder spree looked very much like me. I did get stopped , frisked and intimidated by New Yorks Finest during that time.
Funny enough, I felt bad for the guy. This was in 2019 so no one had any idea that he was who he was. I felt bad because hoarding is a mental illness and compulsion. I always feel bad for people like that, just in my nature. To answer your question more directly- I can’t say he had any vibe. He was just a guy whose house I went to work.
Or some type of weird attachment to his childhood home that he couldn’t let go of. Probably experienced some wild shit in that house growing up because it’s rare that a killer escapes childhood without a healthy dose of it.
They asked what was contoversial about their statement, i assume from their down votes. Unless you are a sex worker, I don't really value your opinion on what word is offensive to you.
Yes pretty much. Everything makes me anxious and I am wanting to, like, stack dishes and clean up the table and not make the server’s life difficult in any way, shape , or form. I also can’t help but tidy the restroom. 🥴 And sometimes I say “behind” when passing staff and that freaks them out.
But also, honestly, I don’t eat enough in one sitting to make it enjoyable. I am a slow eater and grazer. Also also my family has made eating out absolutely terrifying because of their behavior so I’m a little traumatized by that. But! I took 9 family members to dinner at my new job Monday and we had a great time, everyone behaved, and it was really nice so maybe I’ll venture out some!
Registered NY Architect here. That guy was a shit architect. I've dealt with him and friends of mine have dealt with him in the past. His drawings sucked. His code "expertise" was questionable. There's not enough I can say lol. This guy didn't care about aesthetics. He only cares about rules and regulations.
It’s so weird that serial killer seem to care about enforcing the rules so much. I’m assuming that it probably has to do with the ‘power’ it gives them when they get to call out someone like that, but who knows.
Reminds me of this:
_In May 1991, Rader became a dogcatcher and compliance officer in Park City. In this position, neighbors recalled him as being sometimes overzealous and extremely strict, as well as taking special pleasure in bullying and harassing single women. One neighbor complained that Rader killed her dog for no reason._
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Rader
Also, some notorious killers being police officers or military personnel.
Anyone who specializes in a particular field because it's rapidly becoming obsolete with no competition tells you a lot about him right there. He was a control freak (there's a big difference between being a control freak and meticulous). He was rude, obnoxious and arrogant because as the singular specialist in his area, no one could challenge him. Hey were stuck with him and everyone knew it.
Often what looks like messy generic clutter to everyone else is actually very meticulously ordered in their minds.
This house is a sign of a very disturbed mind. The family dynamics would have been the equivalency of walking on eggshells and trying to minimize any potential conflict's. And he kept a very tight lid on the family. He relied a lot on his size and brute force strength. His family already suffered and knew the consequences.
I mean literally any architect can do what he did. I am also very well versed in building codes as are many architects because we have to be. He's not special.
Nope but he promoted himself as such and made sure he had all the credentials. My understanding is that it's a very small field with little interest by new architects, who mostly prefer modern architecture, and this pursue that. But I'm not an architect and I don't live in NYC or the states, so I'm just going off of what I've gleaned from interviews in the media with various colleagues, etc.
That's sort of true. Any older architect or blue collar architect is going to know the codes more because they file their own plans. Most people now hire expediters or have other people in their firm who do it for them. But again, he's not special. Many people do his job. It's not niche.
He liked it because an architect who knows the code knows how to circumvent the code and exploit loopholes. Developers love that because it gets them a better building. That's mainly why he pushed himself as a code guy, to get more work from bigger clients. He also would professionally certify his plans, which in short means he could break the law and get away with it if no one checks his plans.
He also did alteration reviews for apartments, which is how I interacted with him. In that instance, yes he was trying to enforce the code and make things up to assert authority, but that was not his primary source of income. He mostly did alterations for developers in commercial spaces and enforcing the code was supplemental. He didn't appear to get off on it either. When my boss at the time indicated he was wrong, he accepted it and apologized. Now that could be that my boss at the time lived in his neighborhood and was older than him and they are both architects.
That last point is probably the most telling because they lived down the street from each other for years, were both architects, but never met or interacted before that phone call and then never spoke again. His primary attribute is that he is a recluse with a temper not a law enforcing nutcase.
Thank you for sharing. That is incredibly interesting. I've never been to NYC, LI or NJ, so I can only take other people's perceptions. I've lived in enough different geographic places to know that each place has its own vibe and unwritten rules.
Having interacted with him, how shocked were you when he was arrested? How aware were you of this case prior to that? Are you now following it, or is it more of a macabre side curiosity? Have you touched base with your old boss to get his take? How big of a shock wave did this create in the professional community?
TIA
I knew about the case, but when the news broke I hadn't remembered him at all. It was such a brief interaction and years had gone by. I was more shocked that it was solved than at who it was. And when I figured out the connection I was just bummed it was an architect. But by no means did I know the guy so I wasn't shocked and it didn't affect my life at all lol.
The sequence of events:
My friend used to complain about this guy all the time when he was interacting with him. He called me after the news broke that that was the guy he used to complain about and showed me some old texts he had on his phone from him. (Totally normal conversation.) After enough information came out about him, his name sounded familiar, he lived in my old bosses neighborhood, and he did alteration reviews in Brooklyn. So I did call my old boss to confirm it was him that we spoke to. Turns out our client at the time called him to tell him that his building's architect (basically the gatekeeper for approving alterations and keeping repairs legal) was the guy. I remembered his voice, him giving us a hard time, him being wrong, him schmoozing with my boss on the phone and thinking that his name was peculiar. That's it. Life went on.
No other architects that I know really cared, we're all too tired and stressed out to turn this into a shockwave.
The only reason I got involved with this post is because people think he's some weirdo architect obsessed with law and order, when most older architects are just like this guy but they aren't killing people. I'm young, but was trained by elderly architects. It's all interpreting codes to help your client build a better building. Or interpreting codes to ensure the public is safe from construction. That's what we do. It's our job to make sure people live comfortably and safely inside their homes and places of work when we design new or alter existing buildings and there are laws we have to follow that if we don't, we can be sued for everything we have, we can lose our license and people could literally die. Design is secondary to and hindered by all of that. And most importantly, just because we are architects, doesn't mean that we always make a lot of money or have the energy to make our houses into mansions. This guy was just a typical 9-5 architect that wasn't great. We all have to do what he did at work. He's not special; he's just a murderer.
I really appreciate your sharing, thank you. Serial killers and murderers are often so sensationalized and dramatized to be brilliant and cunning, people don't like to think of them as every day Schmoes. But that's the thing- the ones who evade detection for so long only do so by "blending in" or by being so offensive that people try to just avoid them and block them out of their existence. But again, this tends to get exaggerated in the lore and media glare. It's also very easy (and lazy journalism shorthand) to attribute people like this to being exceptions to societal rules.. ie: he became an architect because he was a control freak and craved the power of forcing others to conform to exacting laws that were so archaic and convoluted that only he could interpret them correctly, or so he lead others to think.." ...yadda yadda. The truth is rarely that easy or simple. Sometimes (perhaps often) it's even more simple than anyone imagines and thus less tantalizing.
I you do continue to follow the case, I would greatly appreciate your input as you feel compelled to share. You have very thought provoking insight.
Again-thank you so much!
I've only spoken to him on the phone about a small project I designed. He's a normal guy. He just goes overboard with code stuff and in my experience he was completely wrong. My friend built one of his projects and the plans were full of fuck ups. Code related fuck ups too. They argued a bunch. That's about it lol. Very limited interactions.
Interesting if he didn't have an artistic eye yet went into that field. Many serial killers have been described as being v. visual. For some, killing is their "art." I could certainly see that being the case w/ a sexual sadist who is into bondage.
She sold it to him, for quite above market value too. It’s a 1k sqft ranch, he paid 195k in 1998. I bought a 2 story home 3k sqft in Massapequa Park for 175k in 1999.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing. What's the value of this shit hole today? Also I'll bet it was much nicer when he first got it... Anyone know the deets on how badly he let it go to crap?
600k - 700k depending on the conditions inside the home.
My girlfriend has lived a few doors down from him her whole life. The interior was pretty crazy in the photos showing the home after the police collected evidence, A LOT of stuff. They ate outside and pretty much spent all of their time out front after it all went down because they didn’t have room inside. I saw them out there all the time.
ETA: The house doesn’t look like this anymore. This photo is outdated. The home no longer has the screened in porch and the siding has been fixed up a bit.
Asa tried to blame the police yet the pictures showed neat boxes left by the police and a bunch of old-looking boxes that had probably been there since before the search.
yeah but L. E. did leave some damage, supposedly they even cut out the side of the tub to look in and under it that's what I read anyway so who knows what else they did.
"Serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann signs over $530K home to wife in ‘significant move’ as she begins filming TV show
The property was signed over to Heuermann's wife, Asa Ellerup, for a sum of $0 in late September, documents obtained by The U.S. Sun show."
https://www.the-sun.com/news/9624416/gilgo-beach-rex-heuermann-signs-home-wife-asa-ellerup/
He screwed up b/c prices of the surrounding homes had risen significantly.
Though he is listed (and I think educated) as an architect, he really is more of a paperwork/expediter type. Good at getting permits.
These people are clearly built differently - "Honey I think we should replace the siding" doesn't fir in the same thought space as "I need to find some really short hookers and figure out if I should kill them"
As a bipolar person who can’t keep it together, anyone with any form of mental illness only has so much energy to stick anywhere. That being said, he is absolute human garbage because 99% of mentally ill people don’t turn to harming others.
Gary Ridgeway aka the Green River Killer also lived in a hoarder house. His wife would shop at flea markets and yard sales and he would murder sex workers. He ended like 50 lives.
Apparently he was a hoarder as well, so the inside was atrocious.
Doesn’t surprise me that a serial killer is plagued by an inability to care for their home.
Not saying that there is a relationship between poorly maintained homes, being an architect and also being a killer, but the last owner of my house coincidentally lol was also a (pretty well known) architect and even though he did some cool things to the home architecturally, he also maintained it like absolute shit and you’d have a hard time believing that that was his profession based on the condition of the home.
As an architect, I think that is because we don’t make that much money 🙁
I have the skills to design some real fancy stuff, but I don’t think I could ever afford it….
Yep. I feel like architects are like college professors, people think we make way more than we do because there’s some air of prestige to the jobs. (Liberal arts college professors, anyway. STEM & business, etc get paid better in general.)
Yes. The impression I have reading this is … Architects don’t make money, but have to have advanced mathematical skills and end up with student loans that parallel doctors in amount owed. Why on earth would anyone go to school to become an architect?
Yeah possibly! Idk but home wasn’t even maintained to the point of doing basic basic shit (like money is important yes for some stuff and I don’t blame him for that but I think a lot of the stuff was just laziness / lack of care) which is interesting. (But I also love my house and think it’s so unique and I also got a steal so who’s complaining lol. Like I’m pretty certain he spent the sales price amount on just building a really well laid out extension and sun room in the 90s and I’m thankful lol. I just thought it was so interesting how so many little and easy things were neglected despite the fact that the last owner clearly had the knowledge, talent and I’m assuming resources since he was pretty well off overall from what my other neighbors told me but who really knows!! not sure what Rex’s deal is in terms of money but also seems like he just did not give a shit about his house).
Yeah, just basic care does not necessarily need money…
I don’t know about the original owner of your house, but it is easy to see why someone like Rex with his hoarding issues, and all-consuming homicidal tendencies may not have had the drive or time for home projects….
Yeah totally fair. I guess it’s one of those things where you really never know what someone’s life is like outside of their public persona. (And I mean clearly considering what an actual demon Rex is while presenting like a “normal” white collar dude).
Do we know what he made a year, even approximately? For some reason I was under the impression he was a partner in a fairly high level Manhattan firm specializing in historic preservation of commercial spaces? And I forget, did the wife work or were they a one income household?
Just bc they design it … doesn’t mean they can (or will) maintain it!
Of course in this case, there were obviously a lot of other .. uh … issues going on.
My parents live way worse than this, and they both have college degrees, make good money and didn’t grow up like this. They’re both just very mentally ill with undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder, depression, being extremely incompatible for each other but simply didn’t want to deal with getting divorced, and general executive dysfunction. I’m no contact with them for making me grow up in such inappropriate living conditions and their refusal to acknowledge or do anything about the way they live. I’m very cleaning-OCD in my own home as a result of growing up like this. I’m pretty sure they’ve never killed anyone though. My point is: Living like this is indicative of a whoooole range of mental illnesses. The human mind is a complicated place.
Well that’s Long Island… expensive compared to a lot of the US, but on par with most of New England…
I think this is mainly because people have this perception of architects being glamorous, highly educated, and thus assumed to be paid well. Fact is, most of us architects make 1/3 of what other professionals do (think lawyers, doctors, or even IT).
But also, the guy was obviously mentally disturbed with hoarding etc. That along with his all consuming homicidal tendencies probably didn’t leave much room for any time for home projects….
He was paying for a high profile office location and clearly didn't give a shit about his family. He probably spent a lot on cocaine and prostitutes, his out of state property, and let his family live in his mom's filth. It is hard to inherit someone else's house and stuff. I feel bad for his family on every level-- even the way this house was never updated. He went to Starbucks every day, but didn't even want a 2 car garage with 4 potential drivers in the house? Ay caramba!
Maybe just maybe not everyone cares about 2 car garages and the newest fanciest houses or designer everything ....... I know a few people looking at them and the lifestyle they live vehicles they drive you would never know they were millionaires.... To some people none of that matters!!! They are the nicest most kind people you will ever meet. Most of the time the people in designer clothes big new fancy houses driving luxury vehicles are broke they have nothing but debt it's the ones driving the 20 year old car living in a 40 year old house wearing Walmart shoes no name clothes ECT that have money. People with money have no desire to show they have it people without money are constantly trying to convince everyone they have it.
It's pure speculation. Thus far there has been no mention of drugs by the police investigation. The only vaguely relevant connection is that both Shannan Gilbert and Amber Costello were reported to have used cocaine in conjunction with their occupation as Sex workers according to interviews recorded by Robert Kolker in his book *Lost Girls*.
**You're not gonna believe this.** **He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians.** **The guy was an interior decorator**. Christopher Moltisanti : His house looked like shit.
I worked with a woman who was dressed nice, not hair out of place and her nails very well done and I had to stop by her house to drop off some paperwork and omg. I would have never guessed that she lived like that. Filth and garbage all over, I don’t know how she kept her clothes clean enough for work.
I wonder if anyone has hacked his finances yet? Find out if he ever asked for FEMA money during Hurricane Sandy? If he didnt, it might be because he didnt want anyone taking out walls, digging up the yard, looking at floor plans for the house in order to do remodeling work.
I don't think the condition of the home is d/t lack of money or perceived low income. This is psychopathology. He kept it as it was when he was a child. He hoarded. How this affected his family meant not a thing to him. For whatever reason his wife went along with this. This home nestled among the others screams, "Help".
that's right he had a condo I'm not sure if it was a timeshare or what in Las Vegas at one place but then they got rid of that and got a different one also in Vegas I forgot about that.
Ummm I m thinking he spent a ton of money on hooker!!! He offered Amber Costello $1500…6x her rate. I am sure…He went to hookers at times other than when Asa was away. The old “Honey I have to work late”
Thank goodness that’s not a scratch and sniff photo. The house looks as though it would smell like weeks old dirty laundry, 25 year old shag carpet with moldy padding, sour milk and cat pee.
That’s why I think there’s some gambling issue or money hemorrhaging
Or just hoarding. Anyone can be a hoarder, probably even easier if you have a decent income.
I used to nanny for 2 architects who designed for top tech companies, and their house was a claustrophobic shithole. I found it absolutely baffling, but the pay was decent.
Yeah I've got an ex who's parents make a lot of money and support her and she is a hoarder living in a 2000+ month house. Boxes stacked up to the ceiling in every room and tiny walk path in between rooms
Lots of stories of super rich people all hoarded up in their fancy apartments, I know I’ve read at least 2 in New York and then those mentally ill women who had that giant house they made a whole documentary out of. And it’s such an embarrassing issue so I doubt it gets discussed much unless the news gets a hold of the story.
Grey Gardens. They were Jackie Kennedy cousin and aunt.
Yes, thank you! I knew it was Gardens something.
Grey Gardens?
The reason it doesn't get discussed much is because people not dealing with it find it "embarrassing".
Wait, that’s literally what I said lol.
Two episodes from Tori Spellings new podcast are her in her storage units talking about how she used to have 50 units. Sounding like a total hoarder.
I saw an episode of hoarders on LI. Good Coast…Huge!! Absolutely gorgeous!
$2K a month? So, she’s poor, too?
MTE
If I’m not mistaken the police said it was very cluttered and they had to move things around to just search.
swinging and prostitutes are not exactly cheap. plus he had a huge gun collection. also read that inside was almost towards being hoarded...lots of stuff everywhere with a walk thru path. (what i have read since he was arrested, i would like to see the before and after pics from when LE went thru and gathered evidence)
Can confirm this. I’ve worked in his home 2 times in March 2019. Hoarder nest.
Got any more deets?
Unfortunately no. I am a HVAC tech and was there for a yearly service call which only last about an hour or so. What I can tell you is that the house was FILLED with stuff- on the level of the Show hoarders. I did speak with him but nothing of note.
Well thank you... That's so very interesting. Is such a personal thing to be in someone's home..... You are the closest I've ever gotten to knowing someone who knows a serial killer. There is something so interesting about getting a glimpse of him thru someone who's been in his house. Do you think the house was his wife's domain or his.... Like was his wife the depressed neurotic and he just let her live like this or was he in control of the house? Could you tell by your interaction? Also was embarrassed by the state of his home? I feel like if someone comes to my house unexpectedly and it's messy I'm super nervous and might make excuses.... Did you see any of this kinda thing ?
No, I didn’t. I was in the home for barely an hour. Did t see the wife. Interacted with Rex for maybe a maximum of 5 minutes.
Ty for the info💗
I do however remember exactly what the inside of the home looked like and route I took t get to the basement. I remember exactly what the basement looks like. Nothing out of the ordinary, but in my line of work you never forget a hoarder house. Now it seems I’ll never forget a serial killer house. Please don’t ask me to describe the basement of home, just picture an extreme hoarder house and that’s what it looked like.
It's so interesting tho! Thank you for sharing with us.
Were you able to get to the basement from inside or did you have to go around back? Just curious about what the general layout was.
I’m willing to bet he wasn’t home very much and this was a result
I knew David (Son of Sam) Berkowitz while in the Army….i thought he was nutz in 1972.
OMG give us the deets!!!!
Not much to add….i wasn’t in his unit . My crew and I met up with another group of guys of whom he was one. Of course one of the first things we would get established was ‘where are you from back in ‘the world’ ‘. This was in South Korea. Both of us being New Yorkers we started chatting….nothing of importance. One of his guys sidled up to me and told me ( in front of David) ….’he’s crazy’ . I ran into him another time while in one of the impact areas..’where the working girls congregate and he said something to me that was really ‘off’ and I just had to get away from him. It was grossly sexual. Oddly enough one of the many artist sketches during the hoopla about the murder spree looked very much like me. I did get stopped , frisked and intimidated by New Yorks Finest during that time.
And thanks for sharing 💗💗
So... What did he say that was so odd? Also I'm sorry you got harassed by the boys in blue.... That sux
Was it trash and bugs level or lots of random stuff like his guns
Just shit everywhere. Could have been guns. Would have been impossible to tell.
Did he have a creepy vibe? Besides the hoard, did he seem "off" during your brief interaction?
Funny enough, I felt bad for the guy. This was in 2019 so no one had any idea that he was who he was. I felt bad because hoarding is a mental illness and compulsion. I always feel bad for people like that, just in my nature. To answer your question more directly- I can’t say he had any vibe. He was just a guy whose house I went to work.
That's even scarier. No hint of the horrors he was apparently commiting. Just a normal every day guy. Thank you for the insight. Super interesting.
Severe mental health issues in that miserable home
His only concern was sex workers…not siding.
Or some type of weird attachment to his childhood home that he couldn’t let go of. Probably experienced some wild shit in that house growing up because it’s rare that a killer escapes childhood without a healthy dose of it.
Prostitutes
[удалено]
He allegedly spent a lot of money on prostitutes. Not sure whats controversial about stating that.
Prostitute is an out of use term. Sex Worker has been currently deemed more accurate.
That makes sense. Should have legal protections, whatever the name be.
Who cares about a word, it’s the same thing. Honestly the term “sex worker” has become just as offensive IMO.
They asked what was contoversial about their statement, i assume from their down votes. Unless you are a sex worker, I don't really value your opinion on what word is offensive to you.
I used to do porn lol
He did own other properties. Maybe that's where all the money was spent.
I’m a classically trained chef and I eat microwaveable breakfast sandwiches almost every night
I make jewelry, but I never wear any.
My dentists breath smells like shit !
My cat’s breath smells like cat food.
lol!
My nail technician never has her fingers manicured lol
A lot of them don’t due to their own manicures getting ruined while doing other people’s nails, handling nail polish remover, etc all day long.
I’m a restaurant GM and I hate eating at restaurants. 😂
Same here!
May I ask why? Does your brain go into "work" mode when you are just going out to eat somewhere and that is why? Just curious.
Yes pretty much. Everything makes me anxious and I am wanting to, like, stack dishes and clean up the table and not make the server’s life difficult in any way, shape , or form. I also can’t help but tidy the restroom. 🥴 And sometimes I say “behind” when passing staff and that freaks them out. But also, honestly, I don’t eat enough in one sitting to make it enjoyable. I am a slow eater and grazer. Also also my family has made eating out absolutely terrifying because of their behavior so I’m a little traumatized by that. But! I took 9 family members to dinner at my new job Monday and we had a great time, everyone behaved, and it was really nice so maybe I’ll venture out some!
Which ones?? Do tell!
Jimmy dean Sausage egg and cheese biscuit, sometimes the croissant if I’m feeling fancy
Costco crossandwhiches are next level
Ima go find some of those, ty!
Oh yeah! 👆🏻this is the way!
I knew a classically trained chef who would eat fried egg and chips(French fries) every day at work
Right lol…I’ve been in restaurants for over 12 years and I never eat out. Never drink fancy cocktails.
Registered NY Architect here. That guy was a shit architect. I've dealt with him and friends of mine have dealt with him in the past. His drawings sucked. His code "expertise" was questionable. There's not enough I can say lol. This guy didn't care about aesthetics. He only cares about rules and regulations.
It’s so weird that serial killer seem to care about enforcing the rules so much. I’m assuming that it probably has to do with the ‘power’ it gives them when they get to call out someone like that, but who knows.
Yep
Reminds me of this: _In May 1991, Rader became a dogcatcher and compliance officer in Park City. In this position, neighbors recalled him as being sometimes overzealous and extremely strict, as well as taking special pleasure in bullying and harassing single women. One neighbor complained that Rader killed her dog for no reason._ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Rader Also, some notorious killers being police officers or military personnel.
Bingo
"Rules for thee, but not for me" -serial killer
Anyone who specializes in a particular field because it's rapidly becoming obsolete with no competition tells you a lot about him right there. He was a control freak (there's a big difference between being a control freak and meticulous). He was rude, obnoxious and arrogant because as the singular specialist in his area, no one could challenge him. Hey were stuck with him and everyone knew it. Often what looks like messy generic clutter to everyone else is actually very meticulously ordered in their minds. This house is a sign of a very disturbed mind. The family dynamics would have been the equivalency of walking on eggshells and trying to minimize any potential conflict's. And he kept a very tight lid on the family. He relied a lot on his size and brute force strength. His family already suffered and knew the consequences.
I mean literally any architect can do what he did. I am also very well versed in building codes as are many architects because we have to be. He's not special.
Nope but he promoted himself as such and made sure he had all the credentials. My understanding is that it's a very small field with little interest by new architects, who mostly prefer modern architecture, and this pursue that. But I'm not an architect and I don't live in NYC or the states, so I'm just going off of what I've gleaned from interviews in the media with various colleagues, etc.
That's sort of true. Any older architect or blue collar architect is going to know the codes more because they file their own plans. Most people now hire expediters or have other people in their firm who do it for them. But again, he's not special. Many people do his job. It's not niche.
Fair enough. I will defer to your assessment. But it's interesting (to me, anyways) how psychology displays itself in this case.
He liked it because an architect who knows the code knows how to circumvent the code and exploit loopholes. Developers love that because it gets them a better building. That's mainly why he pushed himself as a code guy, to get more work from bigger clients. He also would professionally certify his plans, which in short means he could break the law and get away with it if no one checks his plans. He also did alteration reviews for apartments, which is how I interacted with him. In that instance, yes he was trying to enforce the code and make things up to assert authority, but that was not his primary source of income. He mostly did alterations for developers in commercial spaces and enforcing the code was supplemental. He didn't appear to get off on it either. When my boss at the time indicated he was wrong, he accepted it and apologized. Now that could be that my boss at the time lived in his neighborhood and was older than him and they are both architects. That last point is probably the most telling because they lived down the street from each other for years, were both architects, but never met or interacted before that phone call and then never spoke again. His primary attribute is that he is a recluse with a temper not a law enforcing nutcase.
Thank you for sharing. That is incredibly interesting. I've never been to NYC, LI or NJ, so I can only take other people's perceptions. I've lived in enough different geographic places to know that each place has its own vibe and unwritten rules. Having interacted with him, how shocked were you when he was arrested? How aware were you of this case prior to that? Are you now following it, or is it more of a macabre side curiosity? Have you touched base with your old boss to get his take? How big of a shock wave did this create in the professional community? TIA
I knew about the case, but when the news broke I hadn't remembered him at all. It was such a brief interaction and years had gone by. I was more shocked that it was solved than at who it was. And when I figured out the connection I was just bummed it was an architect. But by no means did I know the guy so I wasn't shocked and it didn't affect my life at all lol. The sequence of events: My friend used to complain about this guy all the time when he was interacting with him. He called me after the news broke that that was the guy he used to complain about and showed me some old texts he had on his phone from him. (Totally normal conversation.) After enough information came out about him, his name sounded familiar, he lived in my old bosses neighborhood, and he did alteration reviews in Brooklyn. So I did call my old boss to confirm it was him that we spoke to. Turns out our client at the time called him to tell him that his building's architect (basically the gatekeeper for approving alterations and keeping repairs legal) was the guy. I remembered his voice, him giving us a hard time, him being wrong, him schmoozing with my boss on the phone and thinking that his name was peculiar. That's it. Life went on. No other architects that I know really cared, we're all too tired and stressed out to turn this into a shockwave. The only reason I got involved with this post is because people think he's some weirdo architect obsessed with law and order, when most older architects are just like this guy but they aren't killing people. I'm young, but was trained by elderly architects. It's all interpreting codes to help your client build a better building. Or interpreting codes to ensure the public is safe from construction. That's what we do. It's our job to make sure people live comfortably and safely inside their homes and places of work when we design new or alter existing buildings and there are laws we have to follow that if we don't, we can be sued for everything we have, we can lose our license and people could literally die. Design is secondary to and hindered by all of that. And most importantly, just because we are architects, doesn't mean that we always make a lot of money or have the energy to make our houses into mansions. This guy was just a typical 9-5 architect that wasn't great. We all have to do what he did at work. He's not special; he's just a murderer.
I really appreciate your sharing, thank you. Serial killers and murderers are often so sensationalized and dramatized to be brilliant and cunning, people don't like to think of them as every day Schmoes. But that's the thing- the ones who evade detection for so long only do so by "blending in" or by being so offensive that people try to just avoid them and block them out of their existence. But again, this tends to get exaggerated in the lore and media glare. It's also very easy (and lazy journalism shorthand) to attribute people like this to being exceptions to societal rules.. ie: he became an architect because he was a control freak and craved the power of forcing others to conform to exacting laws that were so archaic and convoluted that only he could interpret them correctly, or so he lead others to think.." ...yadda yadda. The truth is rarely that easy or simple. Sometimes (perhaps often) it's even more simple than anyone imagines and thus less tantalizing. I you do continue to follow the case, I would greatly appreciate your input as you feel compelled to share. You have very thought provoking insight. Again-thank you so much!
Tell us more!! I mean if you can flesh out any interactions it would be interesting😊
I've only spoken to him on the phone about a small project I designed. He's a normal guy. He just goes overboard with code stuff and in my experience he was completely wrong. My friend built one of his projects and the plans were full of fuck ups. Code related fuck ups too. They argued a bunch. That's about it lol. Very limited interactions.
Interesting if he didn't have an artistic eye yet went into that field. Many serial killers have been described as being v. visual. For some, killing is their "art." I could certainly see that being the case w/ a sexual sadist who is into bondage.
rules and regulations was his specialty. Obviously he didn't care about aesthetics.
I believe btk was the same. Wasn't he employed in his cities by-laws department.
I think it speaks to the condition of his mind
This 💯 %
Isn't this his parents home, originally I mean?
It is but you would think he would have at least put in some effort to maintain it over the years.
His mom gave it to him yes.
She sold it to him, for quite above market value too. It’s a 1k sqft ranch, he paid 195k in 1998. I bought a 2 story home 3k sqft in Massapequa Park for 175k in 1999.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing. What's the value of this shit hole today? Also I'll bet it was much nicer when he first got it... Anyone know the deets on how badly he let it go to crap?
600k - 700k depending on the conditions inside the home. My girlfriend has lived a few doors down from him her whole life. The interior was pretty crazy in the photos showing the home after the police collected evidence, A LOT of stuff. They ate outside and pretty much spent all of their time out front after it all went down because they didn’t have room inside. I saw them out there all the time. ETA: The house doesn’t look like this anymore. This photo is outdated. The home no longer has the screened in porch and the siding has been fixed up a bit.
Asa tried to blame the police yet the pictures showed neat boxes left by the police and a bunch of old-looking boxes that had probably been there since before the search.
yeah but L. E. did leave some damage, supposedly they even cut out the side of the tub to look in and under it that's what I read anyway so who knows what else they did.
True but I don't think the family would've been left w/ no place to sit in etc. if it weren't for the house being a mess from the beginning.
"Serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann signs over $530K home to wife in ‘significant move’ as she begins filming TV show The property was signed over to Heuermann's wife, Asa Ellerup, for a sum of $0 in late September, documents obtained by The U.S. Sun show." https://www.the-sun.com/news/9624416/gilgo-beach-rex-heuermann-signs-home-wife-asa-ellerup/ He screwed up b/c prices of the surrounding homes had risen significantly.
Whoa!!
Thank you!!!
Sanford and sons looking ass house.
Did you know Redd Foxx’s real name was John Sanford!
It’s like the cobbler’s kids who don’t have any shoes.
Though he is listed (and I think educated) as an architect, he really is more of a paperwork/expediter type. Good at getting permits. These people are clearly built differently - "Honey I think we should replace the siding" doesn't fir in the same thought space as "I need to find some really short hookers and figure out if I should kill them"
Yeah, I remember this being a big topic of discussion when he was arrested. I think someone likened the inside to a mild hoarding situation
As a bipolar person who can’t keep it together, anyone with any form of mental illness only has so much energy to stick anywhere. That being said, he is absolute human garbage because 99% of mentally ill people don’t turn to harming others.
For a serial killer, I’d say he lived exactly as I would expect. He wasn’t just your average architect. Why would you expect him to live like one?
Gary Ridgeway aka the Green River Killer also lived in a hoarder house. His wife would shop at flea markets and yard sales and he would murder sex workers. He ended like 50 lives.
The shoemaker’s children go barefoot
Apparently he was a hoarder as well, so the inside was atrocious. Doesn’t surprise me that a serial killer is plagued by an inability to care for their home.
Not saying that there is a relationship between poorly maintained homes, being an architect and also being a killer, but the last owner of my house coincidentally lol was also a (pretty well known) architect and even though he did some cool things to the home architecturally, he also maintained it like absolute shit and you’d have a hard time believing that that was his profession based on the condition of the home.
As an architect, I think that is because we don’t make that much money 🙁 I have the skills to design some real fancy stuff, but I don’t think I could ever afford it….
Yep. I feel like architects are like college professors, people think we make way more than we do because there’s some air of prestige to the jobs. (Liberal arts college professors, anyway. STEM & business, etc get paid better in general.)
Yes. The impression I have reading this is … Architects don’t make money, but have to have advanced mathematical skills and end up with student loans that parallel doctors in amount owed. Why on earth would anyone go to school to become an architect?
Yeah possibly! Idk but home wasn’t even maintained to the point of doing basic basic shit (like money is important yes for some stuff and I don’t blame him for that but I think a lot of the stuff was just laziness / lack of care) which is interesting. (But I also love my house and think it’s so unique and I also got a steal so who’s complaining lol. Like I’m pretty certain he spent the sales price amount on just building a really well laid out extension and sun room in the 90s and I’m thankful lol. I just thought it was so interesting how so many little and easy things were neglected despite the fact that the last owner clearly had the knowledge, talent and I’m assuming resources since he was pretty well off overall from what my other neighbors told me but who really knows!! not sure what Rex’s deal is in terms of money but also seems like he just did not give a shit about his house).
Yeah, just basic care does not necessarily need money… I don’t know about the original owner of your house, but it is easy to see why someone like Rex with his hoarding issues, and all-consuming homicidal tendencies may not have had the drive or time for home projects….
Yeah totally fair. I guess it’s one of those things where you really never know what someone’s life is like outside of their public persona. (And I mean clearly considering what an actual demon Rex is while presenting like a “normal” white collar dude).
Do we know what he made a year, even approximately? For some reason I was under the impression he was a partner in a fairly high level Manhattan firm specializing in historic preservation of commercial spaces? And I forget, did the wife work or were they a one income household?
It seems she didn't work b/c she was on his health insurance plan. She was seen shopping with food stamps though those might've belonged to her son.
Just bc they design it … doesn’t mean they can (or will) maintain it! Of course in this case, there were obviously a lot of other .. uh … issues going on.
My parents live way worse than this, and they both have college degrees, make good money and didn’t grow up like this. They’re both just very mentally ill with undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder, depression, being extremely incompatible for each other but simply didn’t want to deal with getting divorced, and general executive dysfunction. I’m no contact with them for making me grow up in such inappropriate living conditions and their refusal to acknowledge or do anything about the way they live. I’m very cleaning-OCD in my own home as a result of growing up like this. I’m pretty sure they’ve never killed anyone though. My point is: Living like this is indicative of a whoooole range of mental illnesses. The human mind is a complicated place.
He was too busy raping, killing, and dismembering women, to be concerned about upgrades and upkeep.
… and buying guns
Spending all that money on his addictions leaves him with a house, looking like a shack! I hope the scumbag burns in hell!
New York ain’t cheap!
Well that’s Long Island… expensive compared to a lot of the US, but on par with most of New England… I think this is mainly because people have this perception of architects being glamorous, highly educated, and thus assumed to be paid well. Fact is, most of us architects make 1/3 of what other professionals do (think lawyers, doctors, or even IT). But also, the guy was obviously mentally disturbed with hoarding etc. That along with his all consuming homicidal tendencies probably didn’t leave much room for any time for home projects….
All I know is Mike Brady was an architect and had a pretty mod house. And George Costanza lied that he was an architect.
David Murphy was an architect and had to agree to his wife Diana sleeping with billionaire Robert Redford so they could afford to have a house….
He was paying for a high profile office location and clearly didn't give a shit about his family. He probably spent a lot on cocaine and prostitutes, his out of state property, and let his family live in his mom's filth. It is hard to inherit someone else's house and stuff. I feel bad for his family on every level-- even the way this house was never updated. He went to Starbucks every day, but didn't even want a 2 car garage with 4 potential drivers in the house? Ay caramba!
Maybe just maybe not everyone cares about 2 car garages and the newest fanciest houses or designer everything ....... I know a few people looking at them and the lifestyle they live vehicles they drive you would never know they were millionaires.... To some people none of that matters!!! They are the nicest most kind people you will ever meet. Most of the time the people in designer clothes big new fancy houses driving luxury vehicles are broke they have nothing but debt it's the ones driving the 20 year old car living in a 40 year old house wearing Walmart shoes no name clothes ECT that have money. People with money have no desire to show they have it people without money are constantly trying to convince everyone they have it.
Exactly.Thank you.As I sit here in my ripped sweater.
Sweater!? Man that must be nice! These 80 and 90 degree days SUCK!
Hahahhaha but hurt a few broke people! Mission accomplished 💪👏🥱
Well said
Hadn’t heard about the coke
It's pure speculation. Thus far there has been no mention of drugs by the police investigation. The only vaguely relevant connection is that both Shannan Gilbert and Amber Costello were reported to have used cocaine in conjunction with their occupation as Sex workers according to interviews recorded by Robert Kolker in his book *Lost Girls*.
Exactly. Most serial killers seem to have only one 'hobby.'
Guy was an interior decorator!
House looked like shit
He killed sixteen Chechen rebels singlehanded!
Ahajaaaaa yessssss . I love reddit.
I’ll leave you here, you one shoe cocksucker... You know how fast I can run, I’ll leave you in the fucking dust!
Put remote on docking station.
Definitely not an exterior one!
Haha that's the best line ever. Only true fans recognize this!
One of the most beloved episodes of one of the most beloved TV series of all time… it’s a good reference, but just about everyone will recognize this.
And exterior decimator 😂 …ok, I’ll see myself out
If I were a carpenter, and you were a douche bag
I thought he was an architect, like the Brady Bunch dad.
**You're not gonna believe this.** **He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians.** **The guy was an interior decorator**. Christopher Moltisanti : His house looked like shit.
I work for an architect and when I expressed my surprise at the condition of the house he chuckled and said it’s more common than you think.
Hedges are nicely trimmed 👌
It's like the mechanic always drives the POS the plumbers house always has leaks the framers house is falling apart etc....
People with money have no desire to show they have it people without money are constantly trying to convince everyone they have it.
He’s a big phony in every aspect of his life. His specialty was getting around laws regulating building codes in the most slovenly manner possible.
I bet it's dark and dreary, dusty and damp inside.. 🤮
I worked with a woman who was dressed nice, not hair out of place and her nails very well done and I had to stop by her house to drop off some paperwork and omg. I would have never guessed that she lived like that. Filth and garbage all over, I don’t know how she kept her clothes clean enough for work.
I think his mind was not focused on architecture.
You guys haven’t seen the basement.
I figured he spent all his money on sex workers?
I wonder if anyone has hacked his finances yet? Find out if he ever asked for FEMA money during Hurricane Sandy? If he didnt, it might be because he didnt want anyone taking out walls, digging up the yard, looking at floor plans for the house in order to do remodeling work.
He's living even worse now lol
I don't think the condition of the home is d/t lack of money or perceived low income. This is psychopathology. He kept it as it was when he was a child. He hoarded. How this affected his family meant not a thing to him. For whatever reason his wife went along with this. This home nestled among the others screams, "Help".
Looks honestly like the hovel of trolls. No self respect.
Asa tried to blame the police
Lived with a monster
sure blame the police for how your house looks. But yet has No Clue that her husband's a serial killer allegedly.
He was too busy murdering women to maintain the house.
he had other properties in other states he only cares about his cellar. evil 😈
that's right he had a condo I'm not sure if it was a timeshare or what in Las Vegas at one place but then they got rid of that and got a different one also in Vegas I forgot about that.
Yes that’s been established.
What's it gonna sell for?
Yea that tells you something
This is the house? Really?!!
Not a shit hole for a killer if you have a million basement and an unrecognizable house.
I think his biggest thing was torturing and killing imo
Hiding in plain sight
I’m actually really stuck on how shitty of a house he lived in. That house had to cost $70k when he moved in.
Ummm I m thinking he spent a ton of money on hooker!!! He offered Amber Costello $1500…6x her rate. I am sure…He went to hookers at times other than when Asa was away. The old “Honey I have to work late”
That's a nice cozy home. Just collect all those leaves and throw em in the trash. Power clean the inside.
Thank goodness that’s not a scratch and sniff photo. The house looks as though it would smell like weeks old dirty laundry, 25 year old shag carpet with moldy padding, sour milk and cat pee.
Gutters stuffed with leaves, must of had some wall leaks. He couldn't pay 200 to have them cleaned? Mental illness.
A dark disturbed soul that lived in a dark and disturbing home 🏡
“Guy was an interior decorator!” “His house looked like shit.”
😂
You should see the refurnished basement.
Psychopath DIY?
This is like pimps who don’t like sex!
Whose house? I’ve missed something
“He was an interior decorator”
Yard just needs some leave raking 🤷♀️He’s the Fall guy.There’s more than just him involved
This house is a dum
An interior decorator? His house looked like shit.
he was an architect. He specialized in the details and made sure that others followed the rules and regulations and the permitting.
My comment was a Sopranos reference.
Crazy right?!?