DNA Questions In Accused Gilgo Killer Case; DA 'Begs' For Forfeiture $

LONG ISLAND, NY — Accused Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann appeared before Judge Timothy Mazzei for his next court appearance Wednesday — with his defense attorney raising questions about the validity of some of the DNA testing presented by the prosecution.

Also on Wednesday, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney brought up the expense of a case with such a voluminous amount of evidence, and said he'd like to use the county's $13 million forfeiture fund, which he said has been frozen due to a federal investigation.

Judge Timothy Mazzei said both the prosecution and the defense had engaged in a "lengthy" conference in chambers trying to come up with a schedule for possible hearings and ultimately, a trial date.

Michael Brown, Heuermann's defense attorney, said he was still waiting for additional discovery from the prosection and that he would hold off on any important motions until all that discovery had been received.

He said a Frye hearing may be necessary; a Frye hearing determines if scientific evidence is admissable in a trial.

Brown then said he had questions regarding the "admissiblity" of the nuclear DNA presented by the prosecution. The new, nuclear SNP — single nucleotide polymorphism , from a hair shaft — DNA has not yet been deemed admissible in New York State, Tierney said.

Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Santomartino said the defense had been given 99.9 percent of the raw data from the more than 400 electronic devices taken from the Heuermann home; in total, the prosecution has provided the defense with about 120 terabytes of material.

Heuermann's next court date is December 17. Mazzei asked Brown if, in December, he would have spoken with the DA and determined if the motion for the Frye hearing was necessary; if the hearing were to take place, Mazzei said he'd like to see it take place in the spring.

Because the nuclear DNA method is new, a "first impression" for Suffolk County, Mazei said Brown could review the DNA evidence and then he and Tierney could try to come to some kind of agreement about the parameters, possibly oblivating the need for a motion. He asked Brown if he had a DNA expert to review the evidence, Brown said he did.

Mazzei said that with the next conference in December, "we're moving in the right direction." He said he understood the enormous amount of discovery in the case and realized everyone had been working very hard.

But, he added, "very, very soon," he'd like to schedule any hearing and ultimately, the trial, possibly even on December 17. "I implore the DA's office to complete the discovery process by that date," he said, adding that he understood the complexity and volume involved.

Speaking with the media, Tierney said there was a "tremendous amount" of information and DNA analysis that needed to be provided to the defense by December 17. "We are pumping out an extraordinary amount of discovery."

He said all he could do was "try" to meet the deadline; professionals deserved to be "compensated for their hard work," he said. "That costs money. We don't have any more money. We have this pool of money that we can't get to."

Tierney said the Suffolk County DA's office has "forfeiture money" totaling about $13 million that has been frozen as a "result of an investigation that occurred prior to my administration. . . Especially when you look at this volume of discovery, in light of the ridiculous New York State discovery laws, which we have to comply with, it's a money issue, it's a budgetary issue. So I would love to have that money and be able to use it to bring this case to a resolution."

Tierney said he would go to the Department of Justice "once again, hat in hand, and I will beg them, 'Please, give me this money so I can litigate this very significant serial killer case' and we'll see what our federal government tells me."

He did not elaborate on why the money had been frozen, except to say it was related to an issue with forfeiture practice; the money — garnered from previous, for example, drug cases —was frozen during the last administration on September 11, 2020.

The DOJ did not immediately return a request for comment on why the funds were frozen.

Newsday reported in 2023 that feds were investigating how the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office used asset forfeiture funds in undercover money laundering operations during the tenure of ex-District Attorneys Thomas Spota and Timothy Sini, according to a letter from an official in the DA's office.

According to the Newsday report, the investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles and the FBI put the brakes on the DA Office's abilityto use federal asset forfeiture funds for more than two years.

Tierney described the situation as a "common sense issue. We have all this money, we can't use it, so let us use it."

If he receives the funds, Tierney said he'd pay the discovery expediters, analysts, and investigators. With more money, more employees can be put on the case and they could "work essentially 24 hours a day. But again that costs money that we have, but can't use. We're asking for this money not so we can redecorate our office — but so we can comply with the very ambitious discovery demands of this case."

He added that he thinks the timeline as it stands, "is very ambitious and very compressed. Again, given the ridiculous nature of our discovery laws, where I have to provide every single piece of paper that was generated in a case that started in 1993. It is a monumental amount. That's what our legislature told us was necessary to do. We'll do it. Just give us the money."

Tierney said the investigation continues on many different fronts, including possible victims. When asked about future charges he said he speaks through indictments and would speak if that occurred.

Heuermann's attorney speaks on possible new trial venue; severing cases

Brown, speaking with the media Wednesday, said the Frye hearing was very important to the defense.

He said the case, from the prosecution's standpoint, centers on the DNA evidence. "The Frye hearing is to determine whether this fellow on the West Coast who has come up with these results that try to point to our client are going to come in to the course of the trial as evidence. The judge is going to have to decide whether or not, in the scientific community, this is acceptable."

He added that the new, nuclear DNA analyses came after the mitochrondial DNA. "The crime lab in Suffolk County indicated under oath to a grand jury that these hairs we are talking about were unsuitable for nuclear DNA analysis."

The mitochondrial DNA analysis was "unconvincing", he said, with thousands of potential people who could be linked to them. "Then we were told that magically from the West Coast we now had nuclear DNA."

The crime lab on the West Coast, a for-profit company is not accredited in New York, he said; their work has not been subject to peer review, Brown accused.

He said the results are "not fair and should not come into evidence. There is no science behind it."

Should the judge deny the Frye hearing, Brown said, there will be no recourse.

Discussing the timelines, his client Heuermann, Brown said, "wants his trial. He wants his day in court. But we're moving forward, which we're happy about."

When asked about Heuermann was paying for the lengthy process, Brown said he was an assigned attorney and Heuermann was not paying out of his pocket; the court was responsible for payment, he said.

Brown said he's been discussing a change of venue. When asked where, Brown joked, "Mars. I say that in jest only because I don't know where it is that we'll be able to get a fair and impartial jury in Suffolk County."

He said former law enforcement officials and others have "poisoned our jury" with comments to the public and press that "have no place" including Heuermann's "stare" and his "devil eyes" and that he "has no emotion."

Brown also said it was critical to sever the fifth and sixth victims in the indictment from the first four; trying the cases separate and apart. "There is virtually no evidence in the last two cases and with the Gilgo Four, the evidence is very weak," he said.

Brown once again said that he believed that there were other possible suspects in the case — one of whom was dismissed over "two sentences" — and he said the investigation had been "suppressed" and wanted that investigated.

He also said that Shannan Gilbert should be included in the investigation; although she has never been included as a victim, and her death was deemed an accident, she was the only victim heard screaming that they "were going to kill her" and her remains were found near the Gilgo Four, he said.

Brown said Heuermann was still in isolation, unable to interact with other inmates or have socialization; he said he understands that the process would be lengthy. "He's anxious to get to trial. He understands that he will have his day in court but that may take awhile."

Asa Ellerup, Heuermann's estranged wife, was not in court Wednesday; she was in South Carolina, her attorney Robert Macedonio said.

Recently, lawyers for both his wife and children said the family is finally, after two exhaustive searches and a ransacked home, seeing some of their personal possessions returned.

This 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, MeganWaterman and Amber Costello, whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway in 2010.
Heuermann pleaded not guilty to those charges.

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 also pleaded not guilty to that charge.

Heuermann returned to court in July for a routine appearance where "voluminous amounts" of discovery were turned over to the defense, according to Tierney — and at the time, the DA said it was "safe to say" that he might be considered a suspect in the death of a seventh woman.

When asked if Heuermann may be charged in the death of Valerie Mack, whose remains were found in Manorville and near Cedar Beach, Tierney said: "It's safe to say he would be a suspect, yes."

New details were released recently about an Asian homicide victim found in the same areas as those associated with the Gilgo Beach killings, Tierney said — and law enforcement is appealing to the public to identify the individual and bring closure to his or her family.