Former Colleague Recalls Working With Alleged Serial Killer
To those who knew him professionally, Rex Heuermann appeared to be a typical hardworking family man – a dedicated architect, a father of two, and a seemingly ordinary colleague in his Manhattan design firm. Yet according to a former office manager who worked alongside him for years, this respectable facade concealed what she describes as a terrifying Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde personality, allegedly hiding a secret life as the notorious Gilgo Beach serial killer.
Office Politics and Gun Conversations
Muriel Henriquez first encountered Heuermann in the early 1990s when she served as office manager at his architectural design practice in New York City. In exclusive revelations, she describes a working relationship filled with ordinary office friction – political disagreements about his Republican and Donald Trump support, arguments over bookkeeping practices, and frequent conversations about his passion for firearms.
"He'd always invite me to the gun range and say, 'I'll show you how to shoot a gun,'" Henriquez recalled. "I'm like, 'I'm not interested in how to shoot guns.'" She would similarly decline his offers of deer meat from hunting trips, never imagining that while he stalked deer, he was allegedly stalking Craigslist for victims.
The Chilling Cruise Incident
Despite their differences, Henriquez maintained she never felt endangered during their daily interactions. That perception shifted slightly during a 2004 cruise she took to celebrate her 40th birthday, when Heuermann began persistently questioning her about her travel plans. "He kept harassing me. He kept asking me where was I going," she remembered.
More disturbingly, he told her: "I can find you anywhere." When she dismissed this as impossible while in the middle of the ocean, she returned to her cabin one day to find a white card slipped under her door. The message read: "I told you I could find you anywhere," signed simply "Rex."
"Fear went through my head like, 'Is he on this ship?'" Henriquez said. "Then I told myself, 'No, he can't be.'" At the time, she felt more annoyed than threatened, discarding the note and later confronting him. When asked how he managed it, Heuermann reportedly smirked and replied: "Oh, I have my ways."
Business Quirks and Unknowing Involvement
Henriquez described numerous professional irritations with Heuermann's management style:
- Late tax payments and delayed W2 forms for employees
- Offering timeshare properties instead of monetary bonuses
- Frequent requests to move his illegally parked vehicle to avoid tickets
Most chillingly, that vehicle was a green Chevrolet Avalanche – the same truck prosecutors would later identify as Heuermann's alleged "kill car" used to transport victims. Henriquez regularly drove this truck between meetings, completely unaware of its grim future significance in murder investigations.
"We were alone all the time working late hours," she reflected. "He would annoy me a lot. We would argue about different things, but I never felt unsafe with him."
The Shocking Revelation
Everything changed in July 2023 when Heuermann was arrested and charged with seven counts of murder, including the killings known as the Gilgo Four. Henriquez was stunned, left shaking by the news about her former colleague.
"This was a person I'd worked so closely with," she said. "It was shocking." Her sister remarked: "Oh, my God, I can't believe you used to argue with a serial killer. He could have killed you."
Investigators later discovered that many alleged murders occurred when Heuermann's wife and children were traveling – the same family he frequently discussed in the office. Henriquez now views even seemingly benign memories through a darker lens, including an Icelandic sweater he gave her that his wife brought back from vacation.
Lasting Impact and Legal Proceedings
Today, seeing Heuermann on television gives Henriquez unsettling chills. She continues to ponder how the man she knew – who talked about his family, argued about politics, and ran a design business – could allegedly have led such a horrific double life for over thirteen years.
Rex Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all charges, with his trial expected to commence after Labor Day. For Muriel Henriquez, the revelations have transformed ordinary workplace memories into disturbing reminders of how little we may truly know those we work alongside every day.
