Accused Gilgo Killer's Defense Files Motion To Try Cases Separately

LONG ISLAND, NY — A defense attorney has filed a motion asking that charges against accused Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann be tried separately in court.

The motion, filed on January 21 by Bohemia attorney, Sabato Caponi, a member of Heuermann's defense team, asks the judge to weigh the order at his next court appearance, scheduled for Wednesday, January 29.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has previously said he would oppose the motion.

Heurmann is facing a 10-count indictment and the motion ask that he be tried separately for counts 1 to 6 and 7 to 10, and also that 7 to 10 be tried individually.

Counts 1 through 3 charge Heuermann with first-degree murder in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. Counts 4 to 6 charge Heuermann with three counts of second-degree murder and involve the same three victims, the order said.

Counts 7 through 10 charge Heuermann with second-degree murder. Count 7 relates to the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Count 8 to the murder of Jessica Taylor, Count 9 to Valerie Mack, and Count 10 to victim Sandra Costilla.

The first three counts involve homicides that occurred within the same 24-month period, the motion states.

However, all four of the murders charged in Counts 7 through 10 are "separated by years from one another and from the three murders alleged in Counts 1 through 6," the motion said. In addition, all four of the murders in Counts 7 through 10 fall outside of the 24-month period for the "multiple murder element of the murder in the first degree charges alleged in Counts 1 through 3," the motion read.

And, the motion continued, the identity of the "perpetrator(s)" of the seven murders is still "as yet, unresolved" with the "People's proof . . . largely, if not entirely, circumstantial," the motion read. The admissibility of evidence including cell phone and cell tower data "coupled with DNA evidence acquired through suspect and unproven methods" is "subject to challenge and fiercely contested by the defense," the motion said.

Defense attorney Michael Browne has said he planned to file a motion for a Frye hearing to determine if the nuclear DNA evidence presented by the prosecution, never before deemed admissible in New York State, would be allowed in this case.

The motion for severance also said there were "substantial differences" in the seven murders.

A "substantial disparity risks an improper conviction based impermissibly upon the cumulative effect of the evidence," the motion said. "That risk is exacerbated by the heinous nature of the accusations. The abhorrent nature of the crimes combined with the human tendency to more readily believe a person guilty when it is suspected that the accused engaged in similar crimes creates potential for prejudice so great as to outweigh any concerns of convenience or economy."

In December, Heuermann was charged with the death of a seventh victim, Valerie Mack. In June, Heuermann was slapped with new second-degree murder charges in the deaths of two additional women, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla, according to a superceding bail application released to the press before the proceedings — bringing the total number of his alleged victims to six.

In July 2023, Heuermann was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder charges and three counts of second-degree murder charges in the deaths of sex workers Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway in 2010.

A total of 11 sets of remains were found in the Gilgo Beach murders, which rocked Long Island. The remains included that of a toddler and an Asian male.

Heuermann was also charged with the murder of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, in January. New DNA evidence helped connect Heuermann to all four of the deaths, said Tierney, who is prosecuting the case.

Heuermann was charged with second-degree murder, an A-1 violent felony, in the death of Brainard-Barnes on July 9, 2007. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all charges.