RIVERHEAD, NY – The case in opposition to the suspect within the Gilgo Seashore serial murders. Rex Herman’s physique might develop to incorporate different our bodies discovered through the years alongside a stretch of seashore on Lengthy Island, prosecutors stated Wednesday.
Heuerman, 59, appeared briefly in courtroom in Riverhead, New York, to attend the preliminary convention, sporting a sports activities coat, a white shirt and tan pants.
He has already been charged with three counts of homicide, within the alleged murders of Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27. Prosecutors beforehand stated he was the prime suspect within the disappearance of a fourth girl: a 25-year-old. Yr-old Maureen Brainard Barnes, who disappeared in 2007.
The ladies had been known as the “Gilgo 4,” a reference to Gilgo Seashore, alongside Lengthy Island’s south shore, the place the our bodies had been discovered.
“Now we have now expanded our investigation to incorporate different our bodies recovered in that space,” Suffolk District Lawyer Ray Tierney informed the courtroom.
Exterior the courtroom, he declined to say when extra expenses may very well be introduced in opposition to Heuerman.
“We’re ready to press expenses in relation to 3 of Gilgo’s 4 victims,” Tierney stated. “We’re engaged on the fourth sufferer of Gilgo and now we have now expanded our investigations to incorporate different our bodies recovered in that space.”
Prosecutors additionally revealed that Herman’s DNA swab, taken after his arrest, matched organic materials from male hair collected from burlap on Waterman’s physique.
Investigators said earlier They matched DNA from a pizza crust that Heuerman allegedly threw in a trash can in New York Metropolis. Now the state claims to have DNA instantly from Heuerman’s mouth, linking him to the stays of the pizza and Aquaman.
Protection lawyer Michael Brown downplayed the potential DNA proof.
“DNA may be transferred from me to the photographer and shake his hand,” Brown informed reporters outdoors courtroom.
Heuerman has been in custody since his arrest in New York Metropolis on July 13.
The suspect informed the choose Wednesday that he was reviewing the state’s proof in opposition to him for 2 or three hours a day.
“From the start, he stated he was not responsible,” Brown stated. “He’s a person who has been working, has by no means been arrested, has a spouse and kids, and is a productive member of society.”
For the reason that finish of August, prosecutors have offered the protection with about 13,000 pages of fabric that may very well be used in opposition to the architectural guide from Massapequa Park, a village in Nassau County.
The defendant’s subsequent courtroom look is scheduled for November 15.
Brittany Kopiko And Madison Lambert Contributed.