Prosecutors in Gilgo Beach Murders Case Turn Over "Massive Amount” of Evidence Against Rex Heuermann
Accused serial killer Rex Heuermann, who's been charged in Long Island's Gilgo Beach murders, appeared in court Tuesday after pleading not guilty to killing three women whose bodies were found along the shore in 2010.
Heuermann’s attorney, Michael Brown, said in a press conference outside the Riverhead, New York court Tuesday that he was handed eight terabytes-worth of evidence from prosecutors during his client’s pre-trial conference hearing.
The 59-year-old architect was arrested July 13 and charged with three counts each of first- and second-degree murder in the deaths of Amber Costello, 27, Megan Waterman, 22, and Melissa Barthelemy, 24. He is also the main suspect in the death Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25.
After Heuermann’s arrest on July 13, investigators spent nearly two weeks combing through the accused’s home in Massapequa Park, Long Island.
Rex Heuermann is accused of murdering Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello, three of 11 people found dead along Long Island’s southern shore in 2010 and 2011. Photo: Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office
Heuermann’s wife, Asa Ellerup, has said her house is in ruins after the police raid on the residence she shared with the suspect, adding “my children cry themselves to sleep.”
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Tuesday that a “massive amount” of material has been collected over the span of the investigation.
RELATED: Rex Heuermann's Home Hasn't Been "Ruled Out" as Crime Scene, Prosecutors Say
“This is a 13-year case, so as you saw we have a great deal of information, evidence, photographs, reports to provide to the defense counsel,” Tierney told reporters.
The judge issued a protective order on Tuesday that prohibits the release of copies of evidence in the case, according to CNN, and set the next court date for September 27.
An excavator in the backyard of Rex Heuermann's home in Massapequa Park, NY. Photo: AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Investigators said that they collected DNA evidence off of pizza Heuermann threw out, which they said was a match for DNA in hairs found on the one of the burlap pieces used to wrap the victims’ bodies.
Tierney said Tuesday he is extremely confident in the decade-old DNA evidence.
“It’s all been tested, it’s all been deemed admissible in the court of law across the United States, so we’re confident in our science,” he said.
Heuermann has continued to deny involvement in the murders.
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“He’s looking forward to his day in court,” Brown said. “The press has convicted my client without seeing a shred of evidence."
Brown said of a future jury, “They can listen to the evidence and decide for themselves if they have the right guy.”
Tierney said some of the victims' family members were present at Tuesday's court proceedings and are “interested and engaged” in the investigation.
Investigators had reportedly been looking into whether Heuermann was linked to the killings of four female sex workers who were found dead in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, which is near Atlantic City. But prosecutor William Reynolds of Atlantic County said Tuesday that he believes the two cases are unrelated.
“There does not seem to be a connection between the suspect in the Gilgo Beach case and the Atlantic County homicides from 2006,” he said, according to the Associated Press, explaining that authorities came to this conclusion after looking at the “timelines, dates, methodologies, etc. of both cases.”
