34: How Much Torment Did Rex Heuermann Expose His Family To Every Day?

In the most recent episode of "Hidden Killers," host Tony Brueski
and retired FBI Special Agent and Chief of the
Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program, Robin Dreeke,
delved into the chilling case of an accused serial killer from
Atlantic City. They hypothesized the intriguing evidence and
behaviors, considering the accused's peculiar habits and
collections and the potentially skewed perspectives of his family
members living in the same household.
 
"There is a lot of conjecture involved," said Dreeke, noting the
necessity to don a "big conjecture hat" for this episode. They
discussed the accused, an alleged murderer who has never used
firearms in his crimes but is known to collect them. Dreeke
theorized that this was part of a collection trend, reminiscent
of the profiler's hypothesis for the Atlantic City killer who was
believed to collect victims' shoes as trophies.
 
"I think we're going to see collections of victims," Dreeke
proposed, suggesting that this pattern of gathering objects could
connect the accused to the murders. "It was so definitive,
apparently to the prosecutors that we got the right guy."
 
Brueski agreed, noting that the sheer volume of guns indicated
hoarding behavior rather than simple collecting. Furthermore, he
observed that pictures from the suspect's house did not appear
significantly disturbed by the FBI's search, implying it may have
already been a "hoarder house" before the search.
 
In their discussion, the hosts tackled the potential
psychological ramifications for the family. Dreeke explained the
often-distorted perception from family members, especially if the
only context they have known is the environment established by
the accused.

"It's always challenging to listen to a spouse or anyone that
lives in the house of someone that's been accused of a crime
because they don't have a different context," Dreeke noted.
 
The hosts brought up an unusual statement from the wife of the
accused about her adult children crying themselves to sleep at
night. Brueski called this "off," suggesting that it hinted at an
unhealthy level of control exerted by the accused, identified as
Rex.
 
Dreeke agreed with Brueski's insight, explaining that the
children's perceived 'normalcy' was due to their father
normalizing the behavior. "What's fascinating, it'll be
interesting to see what comes out about how he treated his family
as a tool," Dreeke speculated, suggesting that the family might
have been objectified and used to serve the accused's
needs.
 
Discussing the family's decision to return to their home after
the arrest, Dreeke theorized it was likely due to the familiarity
and perceived safety of the environment, despite its tainted
history. He conjectured that Rex's control may have instilled
fear of the outside world in his family members.
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