(NewsNation) — A former escort who claims to have gone a date with Rex Heuermann in 2015 says she was “weirded out” by the man who is accused of killing three women in Long Island’s Gilgo Beach over a decade ago.
Nicole Brass, who now works as a hairstylist and is engaged to be married, recounted the story in an exclusive prime-time interview Wednesday on “CUOMO.”
She says Heuermann asked her to come to his home for the date, but she refused. They went to a restaurant instead, where she says he was extremely interested in talking about the Gilgo Beach killings.
“It didn’t seem like a true crime fan who just wanted to talk about it. His body language kind of changed and his eyes were, like, as if he was in (a) different place, like he was picturing it all over again,” Brass said. “The way he talked about it seemed like somebody who really wanted to be able to brag about what they did but can’t.”
As her date with Heuermann proceeded, Brass said he became “agitated” that she didn’t want to go home with him. After she told him that she didn’t feel comfortable driving to Nassau County where he lived, Brass claims he offered to drive her back to his house.
“That really weirded me out,” she said.
Brass also said Heuermann spoke about the burlap sacks in which the Gilgo Beach victims were wrapped, even though, on reflection, she isn’t sure that information was public at the time.
“(At one point) I said, ‘Who do you think it is, hypothetically?’ and he tried to put the blame on somebody and kind of relate it to the burlap sacks, just, I guess, to make me feel more comfortable,” Brass said.
Brass is confident Heuermann is the man she met.
“There’s no not recognizing him,” she said. “I think I’m very lucky I trusted my gut and thought something was wrong with him and got out of there.”
Heuermann, 59, has been charged in connection with the deaths of three women whose bodies were found in 2010 and 2011 along a stretch of highway on Long Island’s Gilgo Beach. He’s the lead suspect in a fourth death. All of the women were sex workers and were found wrapped in burlap sacks.
Police say Heuermann used seven burner phones to solicit sex from the women and also used the phone of one of the victims to call and taunt her family.
He has pleaded not guilty to three charges of first-degree murder and three charges of second-degree murder in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. Authorities are continuing to work toward charging him for the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
Heuermann’s attorney has denied the murder allegations and said the evidence made public at this point is circumstantial.