Just weeks after accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann was arrested on July 14, objects related to the case are now starting to appear for sale online, News 12 Long Island reports.
On eBay, users can find Heuermann’s junior high school yearbook from 1977. The price: $995.
A copy of the New York Post with Heuermann on the front page is also for sale for $7.99, not including the cost of shipping, in addition to copies of PEOPLE magazine with the suspect’s mug on the cover.
Andy Kahan, director of victim services for Crime Stoppers, said these are likely just the first examples of people trying to profit directly from the case.
Kahan describes the items as “murderabilia,” a combination of the words “murder” and “memorabilia.”
“I’ve been dealing with the murderabilia industry for over 20-some odd years and one thing I’ve learned is that when who is attached or charged with serial killings, items will be put up for sale,” Kahan told the television station.
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Some states have attempted to outlaw people selling items related to crimes. That includes laws making it illegal for criminals themselves and friends and family from selling stories to the media or earning fees from books. Laws also have been passed to block third parties from benefitting financially from crimes.
In New York, the state Legislature passed the first such “Son of Sam” law following the arrest of serial killer David Berkowitz in the 1970s. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the law unanimously in 1991 as unconstitutional.
As for Heuermann, prosecutors have charged him with first- and second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Amber Costello, Melissa Barthelemy and Megan Waterman, and he is the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
He has pleaded not guilty and remains in jail without bond.
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[Feature Photo: Rex Heuermann/Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office via AP]
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