Alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann must submit a cheek swab for analysis, a judge has ruled – after a mitochondrial DNA profile from a pizza crust he discarded from his Manhattan office linked him to one of the murders .
The verdict, delivered by Judge Timothy Mazzei on Wednesday, is a victory for prosecutors who fought for the motion – based on the assumption that DNA found on the pizza crust and an accompanying napkin would provide further physical evidence.
The analysis will take place Aug. 15, Judge Mazzei said — about a month after the 59-year-old Long Islander was arrested outside his Midtown architectural office.
He has since been held in a Suffolk County jail cell accused of killing Megan Waterman, 22, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27, whose bodies were discovered on a Long Island beach in December 2010.
The women’s bodies had been bound with belts or red tape and wrapped in burlap containing DNA matching samples from the discarded meal.
The DNA was collected during the police’s secret surveillance of Heuermann last year and is likely to be a key factor in the case given the time between the murders and the architect’s arrest. He is also the prime suspect in a fourth murder but has yet to be charged.
Rex Heuermann, 59, is accused of killing Megan Waterman, 22, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27, whose bodies were discovered near Gilgo Beach in 2010. He was ordered to turn over a DNA sample that prosecutors believe could link him to one of the murders
Heuermann was linked to one of the murders through a mitochondrial DNA profile obtained from a pizza crust and a used napkin he discarded from his midtown Manhattan office
“In view of the foregoing, the court concludes that a comparison of the defendant’s sample with the evidence received … the DNA found on the pizza crust and napkin will provide conclusive evidence,” Mazzei’s court filings said.
The lawyer added to his decision: “The court concludes that, contrary to the allegations made by the defendant, there is probable cause to believe that the defendant committed the offenses with which he is charged and that there is therefore a basis to force a buccal swab.”
The judge also announced that one of Heuermann’s lawyers will be present during the smear trial – after fighting tirelessly to avoid such analysis amid an alleged lack of evidence that her client committed the crimes he was accused of.
Still, prosecutors on Tuesday revealed some of the evidence collected against the alleged killer — including some 2,500 pages of documents, crime scene photos, autopsy reports and hundreds of hours of video footage recorded at Heuermann’s home and office.
That treasure was revealed in a brief preliminary hearing where prosecutors turned over four hard drives containing the evidence to Suffolk County Superior Court Judge and Heuermann’s attorney Michael Brown after weeks of being unsure of the merits of their arguments.
The judge has scheduled the next pre-trial hearing for September 27, when the swab results will be available.
Danielle Coysh, representing Heuermann, had argued that the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office was “a far cry” from the legal standard needed to force the architect to back down, but was shot down with Mazzei’s order on Tuesday.
“The allegations contained in the individuals’ moving papers could be construed to reach the level of reasonable suspicion, but that is a far cry from the standard of probable cause required to justify issuing the order,” Coysh had said said.
The verdict, delivered by Judge Timothy Mazzei on Wednesday, is a victory for prosecutors who fought to get the request – based on the assumption that DNA found on the discarded meal would provide further evidence. The lawyer and Heuermann can be seen in a sketch of a hearing last week
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the first and second degree murders. He was arrested on July 13 and remains in prison awaiting trial
A forensic photographer leans over the tray of unearthed items in the backyard of Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park. Prosecutors say “nothing of note” was discovered in the backyard, but said on Tuesday they had a wealth of evidence against the suspect
More than a week after his arrest on July 14, investigators conducted a thorough search of the home
It remains unclear which victim had the DNA discovered — a fact prosecutors will wait until the results of the swab are available.
Brown, meanwhile, recently claimed his client still maintains he is innocent – and is prepared to challenge the allegations against him in court.
He remains incarcerated without bail on a single count at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility – a place where his children and now ex-wife refuse to visit him.
Both adults, descendants of suspected serial killer Victoria Heuermann and copycat Christopher Sheridan, are 26 and 33 years old respectively.
In a statement from the siblings’ lawyer, also aired on Wednesday, they declined to ever speak to him again – but also said they would not make a rushed decision.
The pair also declined to discuss the allegations against Heuermann and declined to give their opinion on his alleged crimes.
Her mother, 59-year-old Asa Ellerup, has also not yet visited her former spouse, who she divorced just days after his arrest to “protect” her from future lawsuits, her lawyer told this week .
This revelation – which gives a glimpse of the family’s condition weeks after they were rocked by the headline-grabbing case – comes just over a week after they were seen returning to the ransacked residence in Massapequa Park where they were housed had lived with Heurmann since 1994.
Victoria Heuermann, 26, and her step-brother Christopher Sheridan, 33, aired Wednesday in a statement from the siblings’ attorney, saying they “wouldn’t rule out” seeing their father in his Suffolk County incarceration, but did so do not rush to make a decision
Christopher, who was from his mother Asa Ellerup’s previous marriage and reportedly has special needs, became emotional while sitting with his mother on a bench outside the property on July 27, the first time since she had been searched by the police FBI were allowed home Last month
The homecoming came almost two weeks after Heuermann’s arrest as a result of an in-depth investigation by federal investigators and was somewhat marred by the mass media on display eyeing the family.
Ellerup and her two children appeared serious when they arrived back at the destroyed property at 10.30am on July 27 – after it had been searched by the government – and Suffolk County police officers escorted the clan back inside before they searched for about an hour went back later.
Christopher, who was from Ellerup’s previous marriage, got emotional as he sat on a bench outside the property with his mother, who also appeared overwhelmed.
The 59-year-old filed for divorce less than a week after her ex’s jailing – and while she has yet to personally visit her husband, of whom she has been married for more than 20 years, she told that she had spoken on the phone.
Speaking to The US Sun on Wednesday – a day after Heuermann appeared in court for the first time since being charged – family lawyer Vess Mitev gave an insight into how her children were dealing with the arrest and subsequent media attention bypassed.
“They don’t do foreclosures [seeing him] But nothing has been decided yet,” Mitev said, noting that “an investigation is ongoing.”
“They take care of it every minute,” said Mitev of the Mitev law firm, based in Stony Brook. “Everything can change at any time and they are aware of that.”
The update comes less than a day after a revelation by Ellerup’s own lawyer, who told that the Iceland native’s decision to split from Heuermann was largely a precautionary measure to ensure she was not faced with possible lawsuits from the families the victim is confronted with.
Speaking to on Wednesday from the family home, she told she no longer wanted to “walk down the street” because of the amount of attention she and her children have been receiving since moving back home.
Her father, 59-year-old Rex Heuermann, appeared in court on Tuesday on three murder charges but said nothing as he stared at the judge and his handcuffed wrists. He has not yet received a visitor in prison
Heuermann is being held at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility apart from other inmates, in a cell with a television. Police said the suspect vowed to be “docile” while awaiting trial. Almost a month after his arrest, he has yet to receive a visitor, including family
Asa Ellerup and her two children appeared serious when they arrived back at the ruined property at 10.30am on July 27 – after it was searched by police – and Suffolk County police officers escorted the clan back inside before they found about a went back an hour later
The family’s return came after they were evicted from the house they had lived in with Heuermann for nearly 30 years, allowing police to search it within 12 days
Police have remained silent about what was found at the family home but called the search “fruitful” in terms of evidence.
Daughter Victoria, meanwhile, worked as a receptionist at her father’s Big Apple firm, an architect
The New York Times reported that son Christopher has special needs. Here he is after moving back in last month
Christopher got emotional as he sat on a bench outside the property with his mother, who also appeared overwhelmed
“The neighbors want the house gone,” she said. “They want it bulldozed.”
She got emotional as she spoke about how she’s been trying to cope with intense media scrutiny and neighborhood gossip.
“Look, I don’t want to walk down the street.” I’ve heard what people have said about us. “I heard it,” said Ellerup, who was married to her ex for more than 27 years before their split, and began to cry.
“I heard the other people in the neighborhood. “They want the house leveled,” she added, revealing how her neighbors were now put off by the proximity to a place where the suspect was believed to have committed unspeakable atrocities.
‘Do you understand?’ she asked on the phone, becoming increasingly disturbed. “Please, I can’t talk anymore.”
Her husband, meanwhile, is accused of murdering at least three women – Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello – but investigators investigating the case are concerned there may be other bodies linked to him could.
As the prime suspect in the Maureen Brainard-Barnes murder case, which disappeared in 2007, since his arrest he has had no visitors at the Suffolk Country Correctional Facility where he is being held – other than his lawyer.
Officials at the facility have since said the alleged serial killer is “very comfortable” in his cell, where he has a TV, and is kept away from other inmates – despite being under simultaneous suicide surveillance.
His ex’s attorney, Bob Macedonio, told that Ellerup was at home in front of his midtown Manhattan office at the time of her husband’s arrest and that authorities stepped in to search the home at the same time.
“When they made the arrest, they were executing the search warrants at exactly the same time, so there’s no indication for anyone to destroy any evidence,” Macedonio said.
“When they picked him up in Manhattan, a team was already waiting outside to do it as soon as they caught him so he wouldn’t call and say ‘Hey.'”
The suspect’s home is just north of Gilgo Beach across from South Oyster Bay
The first victim, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, was discovered by Suffolk County Police on December 11, 2010. The body of Megan Waterman, 22, was found two days later
Maureen Brainard-Barnes was 25 when she went missing (left). Amber Lynn Costello was 27 years old. Their bodies were found near Barthelemy’s the same day
An aerial view of the area near Gilgo Beach and Ocean Parkway on Long Island
A “major dig” was taking place at Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park. Pictured are state police investigators gathering evidence at the crime scene
The police investigation into the murders is still ongoing. Late last month officers were seen outside the home trying to prevent the media from getting too close
When asked if Ellerup ever knew of her husband’s alleged crimes, he said “no comment” but said she had spoken to her husband since his arrest.
Ellerup – whose hair was found at one of the crime scenes but was not an accomplice – attended Farmingdale High School and married briefly in her 20s, but divorced in the early 1990s.
It remains unclear if she had a professional life outside of her home.
Her daughter Victoria, meanwhile, worked as a receptionist at her father’s company in the Big Apple. The New York Times reported that son Christopher has special needs.
With Heuermann’s incarceration pending a trial, the family has been largely forced to remain indoors, rarely venturing out since being allowed back inside following an extensive 12-day search by the FBI and local authorities.
Police kept quiet about what was found at the family home, but called the search “fruitful” in terms of evidence.
It is known that the police recovered more than 250 weapons from the apartment building and also discovered a walk-in vault in the basement.
However, police investigations into the murders are still ongoing after ten groups of human remains found in Wantagh on 15 April 2011 have been linked to Heuermann.
Police believe the victims were killed by the same person.