Gilgo Beach serial killing suspect Rex Heuermann in court as attorneys fight DNA evidence
The man charged in a string of murders known as the Gilgo Beach serial killings appeared in court Tuesday after his attorney asked a judge to toss out DNA evidence and break up the cases against him.
Rex Heuermann, 61, has pleaded not guilty to the murders of seven women who were killed over the course of nearly two decades starting in the 1990s. Many of their remains were found on Gilgo Beach in 2010 and 2011, and authorities have been working to identify them.
In 2023, Heurmann was arrested and charged in connection with the deaths of Megan Waterman, 22; Melissa Barthelemy, 24; and Amber Costello, 27. In 2024, he was charged with the murders of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25; Jessica Taylor, 20; and Sandra Costilla, 28. In December, Heuermann, a former New York architect who lived for decades across a bay from where many of the remains were found, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Valerie Mack, 24.
Justice Timothy P. Mazzei said Tuesday Heuermann's attorneys must file additional paperwork by March 12 to support their motion to stop prosecutors from trying Heuermann for all seven murders at once, WABC-TV reported. Mazzei was expected to set a date for a pretrial hearing on the admissibility of certain DNA evidence, according to the television station, but the defense team said it is still waiting on data from the California lab that performed the analysis.
Technique to obtain DNA evidence at issue
Heuermann's attorney, Michael J. Brown, argued late last month that the technique used to link DNA obtained from hairs found at most of crime scenes to Heuermann has not yet been deemed admissible in New York courts, according to The New York Times. Prosecutors expressed confidence results from the cutting edge technique known as whole genome sequencing would be deemed admissible.
"For over 30 years, New York State courts have continuously adapted to embrace advancements in DNA technology," Assistant District Attorney Andrew Lee said, according to ABC News. "The advancement of forensic science and nuclear DNA analysis involving Whole Genome Sequencing has allowed law enforcement to now link genetic profiles consistent with the defendant, and/or individuals who have resided with him, to six of the seven victims through hairs found at the crime scene and/or on the victims."
DA will fight request for separate trials
Brown also argued the evidence in some of the killings is weaker than others, and Heurmann could be improperly convicted because of the “cumulative effect” of prosecutors trying him for all seven deaths at once, the Associated Press reported.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has said his office will fight the request for separate trials, The New York Times reported.
In addition to the DNA evidence, investigators have also found violent pornography Heuermann owned, which included methods consistent with the injuries to one of the victims, a document on a hard drive that Heuermann allegedly used to meticulously plan his crimes and newspaper and magazine articles about the Gilgo Beach killings investigation through the years, according to prosecutors.
Contributing: Thao Nguyen and Jeanine Santucci, Paste BN