Neighbor Described Alleged Long Island Serial Killer As a ‘Very Quiet’ Woodworker, Kept to Himself

A neighbor of alleged Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann says he was a very quiet person who kept to himself.

Although the neighbor, who asked not to be identified, lived at his Massapequa Park, New York home for 22 years, he told PEOPLE he rarely spoke to Heuermann.

“He did a lot of woodworking and stuff in his garage and in his… his driveway,” the neighbor said. “I hope he wasn’t building coffins.”

“It came down to it that when we first moved here, he made his mark,” the neighbor said of Heuermann. “He had no interest in being [in] any kind of relations, so I said that’s it. If I saw him at the train station, I didn’t acknowledge him at all. He didn’t acknowledge me.”

The neighbor also said Heuermann “never said two words to me,” adding that the suspected killer gave him a “creepy” vibe. But, still, says he was surprised when he heard of his arrest for the killings.

“I can’t believe it,” the neighbor said, before noting that other criminal cases in Massapequa Park were giving the city a poor reputation. “It’s giving Massapequa Park people a really bad name. But I got to tell you, this is one of the best communities to live in. I mean, we got a great school system,” he continued.

Heuermann, an architect with an office in Manhattan, was arrested Friday. He is the prime suspect in the Long Island Serial Killer case that dates back to December 2010 after the bodies of Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, Megan Waterman, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes were reportedly found wrapped in burlap and buried in the marsh on Gilgo Beach, Long Island.

The women went missing between 2007 and 2010.

Heuermann was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Costello, Barthelemy, and Waterman.

He has not been charged in connection with Brainard-Barnes’ death.

During a press conference, authorities said Heuermann was allegedly linked to the killings through cellular data from his burner phones, his car, and hairs reportedly found at the crime scene.