The Roommate Who Saw the Gilgo Beach Killer's Face

Amber Costello's roommate Dave Schaller came face to face with the killer and described him as an ogre driving a green Chevrolet Avalanche. He gave that description to police in 2010. The tip sat in files for 12 years.

All sources cited in this episode are available at https://nbn.fm/rex-the-gilgo-beach-architect/episode/ep8.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Dave Shawler came face to face with the man who killed Amberlynn Costello. He described him as an ogre towering empty gaze, driving a first-generation Chevrolet avalanche. In the winter of 2010, Shawler told detectives everything the description, the vehicle. Nobody followed up for 12 years.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

I mean, you really have to think about the absolute gravity of that failure. You have a witness who didn't just, you know, see a suspect from a distance.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

No, he physically fought the guy.

SPEAKER_00 1:02

Exactly. He physically sought a serial offender, survived the encounter, and then handed the exact physical dimensions and a highly distinct vehicle profile directly to law enforcement.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Yeah, and that critical intelligence just sat in a filing cabinet.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Completely ignored. The investigation stalled for over a decade while they had the answer the entire time.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

We are listening to Rex, the Gilgo Beach architect.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

And just a reminder that every document and source cited in the broadcast is available on the Neural Broadcast Network website.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

So we need to shift our focus entirely to the victim here. Amberlynn Costelli was 27 years old. She lived in Babylon, New York.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

Right. Specifically, she was a resident of West Babylon, working as an escort.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

And when you examine the forensic timeline, her disappearance is localized between September 2nd and September 3rd, 2010.

SPEAKER_00 1:48

The documented sequence of events shows she was contacted via a burner phone. The caller offered$1,500 for a meeting.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Yeah, she walked out of her residence without her purse and, you know, without her cell phone, and she never returned.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

Never came back.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

Right. I want to stop and look at the geography of Babylon for a moment because you really cannot understand this case without understanding the map.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

Yeah, Babylon is located on the south shore of Long Island, positioned just minutes away from Gilgo Beach and Ocean Parkway.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

I mean, a driver can just access the Robert Moses Causeway and cross the bridge directly into the area where the victims were ultimately concealed.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

And that geographic proximity is just a central piece of the forensic puzzle here.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

Because on December 13th, 2010, a police canine unit was conducting a sweep of the brush along that roadway.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

And that is when they discovered her remains. She had been wrapped in burlap and deposited along Ocean Parkway.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

Which officially made her one of the Gilgo four.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

Right. Let us break down the investigative profile for these four victims, because it was uniformly consistent across the board.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

We are talking about petite women, approximately five feet tall, weighing around 100 pounds, all utilizing online platforms to work as escorts.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

But I want to push back on the environment where they were found, because Ocean Parkway is not just a road.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

No, it is a geographical fortress.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

That is the exact right way to frame it. I mean, Ocean Carkway runs along a narrow barrier island.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

And the north side of that roadway provides distinct logistical advantages for someone trying to hide a body.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Exactly. The municipal infrastructure is deliberately sparse there. There are no security cameras monitoring the traffic flow at all.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

There are no streetlights illuminating the pavement or the shoulder. Furthermore, parking is completely prohibited along that side of the road. I'm looking at the document here, and it specifically says the north side of Ocean Parkway consists of dense, tick-infested underbrush, poison ivy, and evergreens, making it virtually impenetrable on foot.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

The vegetation acts as a dense natural wall just ten feet off the pavement.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

So a perpetrator stopping a vehicle on that shoulder would only need to move a few yards into the brush to be completely obscured from passing traffic.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Right. The lack of lighting and surveillance creates a blind spot in the middle of a major thoroughfare. I mean, if you take two steps off the pavement, you vanish from the world.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Which brings us to a major question regarding the proximity. Costello lived minutes from that exact burial site.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

Right. Among all the victims discovered along that stretch, she was geographically the closest to Ocean Parkway.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

So do you think Rex Hurriman targeted her specifically because she was sitting right in his established dumping ground, or was that just a coincidence?

SPEAKER_00 4:35

Well, in behavioral analysis, you rarely see coincidences of that magnitude. You know, serial offenders routinely map out an operational radius.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

They calculate the distance between their anchor points where they live, where they work, and the locations where they interact with victims.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

Exactly. Costello's residence in West Babylon placed her directly along the exact transit corridor Hurriman would use to drive from his home in Massapo Park to the barrier island.

SPEAKER_01 5:01

So by selecting a victim within that specific radius, he is intentionally reducing his window of exposure.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

Exactly. Because the longer a perpetrator is transporting a victim in a vehicle, the higher the probability of a traffic stop, an accident, or a witness observation.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

By targeting someone just minutes from the disposal site, the killer minimizes transit time and controls the logistical variables.

SPEAKER_00 5:24

Right. He kept his operations tightly within a zone he already knew and controlled.

SPEAKER_01 5:29

But to understand how Dave Shawler ended up face to face with this man, you have to understand the specific trap he and Amberlynn Costello were setting.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Yeah, they executed a targeted extortion scheme against her clients.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

And the anatomy of this con was built entirely around intimidation and surprise. Costello would arrange an appointment and invite a client into their residence.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Right, so the client arrives expecting a vulnerable, isolated interaction.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Once the client was inside the home and his guard was down, Schaller would forcefully enter the room.

SPEAKER_00 5:59

He operated under the guise of an outraged boyfriend discovering an illicit transaction.

SPEAKER_01 6:04

So the objective was to aggressively scare the client off the property while pocketing the cash the client had brought for the session.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

And you really have to look at the psychological and physical mechanics of this scheme. This was not a passive surveillance operation.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Right. Shawler was not looking through a window.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

No. And he was not taking down license plates from down the street.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

The mechanics of the confrontier forced a high adrenaline face-to-face confrontation. I mean, he was stepping directly into the personal space of these men.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Right. So in those moments of confrontation, Schaller is observing these clients under extreme stress.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

He is looking directly into the faces of the men visiting Costello.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

He is registering their facial features, their height, their build.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

Their immediate physical reactions to conflict and the specific vehicles they use to flee the scene.

SPEAKER_00 6:52

And uh the irony here carries immense weight. An illegal extortion scheme generated the single most valuable eyewitness encounter in the entire investigation.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

Because of the mechanics of that con, Schaller had direct, close quarters physical interaction with multiple clients.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Including the man eventually identified as Rex Heuerman.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

I have to play devil's advocate regarding how law enforcement handled this though.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

Okay, go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

If a guy walks into a precinct and says he was running an illegal extortion scam and saw a suspect, wouldn't detectives naturally view that with skepticism? Did police discount Schaller's testimony simply because he openly admitted to running a con?

SPEAKER_00 7:31

I mean, investigators routinely evaluate witness credibility, sure, but dismissing a precise physical description of a suspect in a specific vehicle based on a witness's involvement in a localized extortion scheme represents a fundamental failure in threat assessment.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Right. Predators actively rely on police ignoring marginalized groups.

SPEAKER_00 7:50

Exactly. They target sex workers and individuals operating on the fringes of the law, precisely because they anticipate law enforcement will dismiss witness testimony from those communities.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

So let us detail the specific encounter with the client who returned to the West Babylon residence. When Schaller described the man to police, he used a very specific word.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

Right. He called him an ogre.

SPEAKER_01 8:13

He stated the individual was towering, heavily built, and possessed an empty gaze.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

And he did not stop at the physical dimensions. Shawler documented the suspect's vehicle with exact precision.

SPEAKER_01 8:25

He stated the man drove a dark green, first generation Chevrolet Avalanche.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

He did not describe a generic truck, he did not describe a standard four-door sedan. He identified a highly specific make, model, and manufacturing generation.

SPEAKER_01 8:39

In the winter of 2010, shortly after the remains of the Gilgo 4 were discovered by the canine units, Schaller voluntarily went to detectives.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

Right. He recognized the potential connection between the man he fought in his living room and the women found on Ocean Parkway.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

He initiated the contact with law enforcement. He handed them the physical metrics and the automotive data.

SPEAKER_00 8:59

And we must cross-reference that intelligence with the established facts. Look at the specificity of the word ogre compared to the documented physical metrics of Rex Hewerman.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

Arrest records and medical documentation list Hewerman at 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 240 pounds.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

So the descriptor shawler utilized matches the physical reality of the suspect perfectly.

SPEAKER_01 9:22

A man of that stature, forcibly entering a room, leaves a permanent visual impression. You do not forget fighting a man who is six feet four inches tall and 240 pounds.

SPEAKER_00 9:33

No, you don't. And you also do not forget that specific vehicle. The vehicle description requires the same level of forensic matching.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

A first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche, manufactured between 2002 and 2006, possesses a unique automotive silhouette.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

Right.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

I'm looking at the document here, and it specifically says Schaller provided a detailed physical description and a specific vehicle make, model, and generation.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

Think about the design of that specific truck. I mean, it features distinctive plastic body cladding along the lower half of the doors and the truck bed.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

It is a hybrid between a full-size sport utility vehicle and a pickup truck, featuring structural sail panels behind the rear cab window.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

And the dark green paint code further narrows the statistical probability of a false match.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

Right. This is not a vehicle that blends into a line of standard traffic. It stands out in any environment.

SPEAKER_00 10:24

But despite the precision of the physical description and the unique profile of the vehicle, Schaller's tip became a dead end.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

The intelligence was received in the winter of 2010. It was placed into a case file and completely overlooked for 12 years.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

High-ranking officials directing the investigation between 2011 and 2013 later stated on the record they never heard anything about a witness statement describing the suspect and his avalanche.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

How does a piece of evidence that specific just vanish inside a police department?

SPEAKER_00 10:56

It's a great question. I mean, are we looking at active suppression by corrupt leadership attempting to control the flow of information?

SPEAKER_01 11:03

Or did frontline detectives unilaterally deprioritize the intelligence?

SPEAKER_00 11:07

Well, you have to examine the institutional mechanics of Suffolk County law enforcement during that era. The structural corruption was uh extensive.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Chief James Burke was actively blocking the Federal Bureau investigation from participating in the Gilgo Beach Inquiry.

SPEAKER_00 11:23

Right. And District Attorney Thomas Boda was simultaneously suppressing evidence of Burke's misconduct.

SPEAKER_01 11:29

So you have a disorganized, siloed police department where leadership is prioritizing self-preservation over a homicide investigation.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

Precisely. When command staff is focused on blocking federal oversight, the internal data becomes compartmentalized.

SPEAKER_01 11:44

Information is hoarded rather than shared.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

Exactly. A tip gets written down, placed in a file, and buried within the archives because there is no functional cohesive strategy to process evidence.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

And that leadership vacuum ultimately led to three officials being sentenced to federal prison.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

Yeah, the failure to act on Schaller's intelligence occurred within this exact environment of suppression and departmental chaos.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

The forensic timeline jumps to February 2022. A reconstituted interagency task force operating under Commissioner Rodney Harrison and District Attorney Ray Tierney initiated a comprehensive review of the cold case evidence.

SPEAKER_00 12:20

And they extracted Shahler's initial statement from the winter of 2010.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

The matching mechanics utilized by the new task force show exactly how solvable this was.

SPEAKER_00 12:29

They ran Schaller's specific vehicle description, a dark green first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche through modern vehicle registration databases.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

They set the parameters to cross-reference that vehicle with individuals residing within the geographic operational radius.

SPEAKER_00 12:45

And the database returned a direct hit. Rex Hewerman owned a dark green first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche from 2002 until 2012.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

Registration records indicate he later transferred the title to his brother. The task force eventually located and seized the physical vehicle in South Carolina.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

Once they had the vehicle match, they corroborated the data by analyzing cellular telemetry.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

They tracked the burner phone calls made to Amberlynn Costello.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

Right. By mapping the signals from those calls, they traced them to cell towers located in Massapo Park.

SPEAKER_01 13:18

Investigators designated this specific geographic cluster of towers as the box.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

And Huerman resided squarely within that defined perimeter.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

So by combining Schaller's 12-year-old vehicle description with the cellular tower data, the reconstituted task force identified the suspect in just six weeks.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

Six weeks of active investigation utilizing data that had been in police custody since 2010.

SPEAKER_01 13:42

The timeline of inaction is stark. Dave Shawler gave detectives the physical dimensions of the suspect and the exact vehicle description in the winter of 2010.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

Rex Heerman was not arrested until July 13, 2023.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

That is a gap of nearly 13 years.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

During that entire 13-year period, the Gilgo Beach case stood as one of the most prominent unsolved serial murder investigations in American history.

SPEAKER_01 14:07

Massive resources were deployed to search the brush along Ocean Parkway. Millions of dollars were spent.

SPEAKER_00 14:13

Yet the key to identifying the suspect sat idle in a local filing cabinet.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

The technology required to run a vehicle registration database existed in 2010.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

Right. Detectives had the capacity to input the make, model, and generation of the Chevrolet Avalanche and cross-reference it with the cellular tower data pinging from Massive Pickle Park immediately after the Gilgo 4 were discovered.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

The tragic weight of this delay cannot be overstated. You have to ask the central haunting question. What if someone had run Schaller's vehicle description through a database in the winter of 2010?

SPEAKER_00 14:48

How many more women might still be alive? Framing the investigation through that lens reveals the most damning indictment of the original command structure.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

The failure was not a lack of evidence. It was a total institutional failure to process the evidence already in their possession. Absolutely. Dave Schaller gave police the description in the vehicle in 2010. Nobody followed up until 2022, 12 years.

SPEAKER_00 15:12

The question this episode asks is not how Huerman got away with it. It's what if someone had followed up on Schaller's tip in 2010?

SPEAKER_01 15:20

Next time, Norwich, Connecticut.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

Everything we cited is sourced on the Neural Broadcast Network website.