Suspected Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann in court as hearing set on DNA evidence
Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann returned to court Wednesday on Long Island, where a judge set a March 28 date for what's called a Frye hearing to determine whether DNA evidence will be admissible during trial.
Heuermann, 61, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the deaths of seven women spanning from 1993 to 2011.
Investigators say they matched hair fibers that were found on the victims to Heuermann through a process called nuclear DNA testing, which has never been used before in a New York court. While Heuermann's defense team calls the process "magic," prosecutors say it's used throughout forensic science for things like preventing disease and identifying remains. They want the judge to accept what they call ever-evolving and advanced cutting edge DNA techniques.
"The burden is on us and, in laymen's terms, we have to establish that the science we are seeking to use is generally accepted in the relevant scientific community," Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.
"But all the scientists we speak to, the whole genome sequencing has absolutely no business to be used in a forensic, meaning a criminal, court," defense attorney Michael Brown said.
Both sides are expected to call a total of eight witnesses, including a doctor and other experts, over the next few months. They will be pre-trialing hearings before a judge, and there will not be a jury present.
Will there be 1 trial or many?
Heuermann's defense is also pushing to separate the case into five trials, saying it may influence the jury to have so many allegations presented together.
"You never want to use evidence that is unrelated, which would prejudice the jury's determination," Brown said.
Prosecutors, however, say there is overlapping evidence and call it a serial killer case.
"This is an individual who had the specific intent to kill, identify, locate, lure, obtain control over, and murder multiple victims," Tierney said.
The judge is expected to rule on that matter in the coming weeks.
Heuermann charged with 7 Gilgo Beach murders
The remains of 11 people were discovered around Gilgo Beach in 2010 and 2011, and investigators believe Heuermann may be linked to more than just the seven killings. Investigators have described a "blueprint" they say he used to "plan out his kills with excruciating detail."
Prosecutors say Heuermann worked at Jones Beach when he was in his 20s and became very familiar with Ocean Parkway, where bodies were scattered.
He was arrested on July 14, 2023 and initially charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello.
Heuermann was then charged last January in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, and indicted last June in the 1993 killing of Sandra Costilla and the 2003 killing of Jessica Taylor.
Then last December, he was charged with the murder of Valerie Mack, who had been known as Jane Doe Number 6 for years.
Heuermann has maintained his innocence, and his attorney has said he looks forward to his day in court.
