Daughter's DNA Helped Link Gilgo Suspect Rex Heuermann To Murders: DA

RIVERHEAD, NY — Rex Heuermann, the man charged in three of the Gilgo Beach murders, has been charged with the murder of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. And new DNA evidence revealed Tuesday helped connect Heuermann to all four of the deaths, he said.

Heuermann was charged with second-degree murder, an A-1 violent felony, in the death of Brainard-Barnes on July 9, 2007, Tierney said.

His attorney Michael Brown said Heuermann pleaded not guilty; Heuermann will next appear in court on Feb. 6.

Last July, Heuermann, of Massapequa Park, 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. Heuermann also pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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

Tierney said Monday that he and other members of the Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force were set to announce a "significant development" in the case Tuesday.

Melissa Cann, Brainard-Barnes' sister and her daughter Nicolette Brainard-Barnes appeared in the courtroom Tuesday, as did Asa Ellerup, Heuermann's estranged wife.

According to the bail report, Ellerup and the couple's children were also out of town on the date that Brainard-Barnes went missing; they were also away for the previous murders, according to the DA.

According to the bail report, additional burner phones and online activity were linked to Heuermann. The burner phones revealed communications with sex workers as well as a new email account of Heuermann's, which was subscribed to the fictitious name of Andrew Roberts, Tierney. said.

That "Sandbagger" account was utilized as recently as April 2021, to access and conduct searches related to "pornography, rape, torture and sex workers several thousand times," the bail report said. Heuermann, the report said, also searched for information regarding the Gilgo Beach investigation and the victim's relatives.

An analysis of his laptop indicated the use of a file shredding software on July 9, 2009, shortly before he was to meet Barthelemy; investigators believe it was an attempt to "shred" any digital evidence of the laptop computer utilized to search for her prostitution advertisement, the report said.

An analysis of his laptop revealed that on September 1, 2010, at 9:03 p.m. Heuermann accessed Amber Costello's Backstage ad; about two hours later, a burner phone linked to Heuermann had communications with Costello's phone, the report said, adding that during those. communicatios, the burner cellphone connected to cell site towers in West Amityville and Massapequa Park. Later, the cellphone traveled to West Babylon, near Costello's home, and again had contact with her phone on Sept. 2, 2010, which is when witnesses said he arrived at her residence, the report said.

"Despite Defendant Heuermann's attempts to 'wipe out' or 'scrub' his laptop computer, he was unsuccesful in concealing his access to Ms. Costello's Backpage ad," the report said.

DNA analysis

Tierney said the Suffolk County Crime lab as well as two outside forensic laboratories, conducting testing of hairs recovered on various victims, specifically compared the DNA profiles generated from those hairs recovered at the crime scenes to DNA profiles developed from Heuermann and members of his immediate family.

In September, a cheek swab taken recently from Heuermann matched DNA found on pizza crust disposed of by Heuermann — a key part of evidence that officials say led to his arrest.

Members of the Gilgo Beach task force met with Heuermann's wife Asa Ellerup and his daughter, Victoria Heuermann, and stepson, Christopher Sheridan, to obtain buccal swab. The swabs were tested against 11 bottles found in garbage cans placed in front of Heuermann's home on July 21, 2022, as well as a "Monster Java" can, the report said.

Investigators saw Victoria Heuermann drinking from the can while on a Long Island Rail Road train; they took the can after she discarded it in a trash bin, the bail report said.

Throughout the investigation, key evidence has included the five hairs found on the victims. Nuclear DNA testing helped provide more accurate results, Tierney said.

Nuclear DNA is found in the cell nucleus; mitochondrial DNA is found in cell cytoplasm, according to reports.

Brainard-Barnes, the report said, had been left restrained by three leather belts, one of which was used to tie her feet, ankles, and legs together. A female human hair was found on the buckle.

The DNA profile generated from the female hair on Barnes, recovered from the belt buckle "is 7.9 trillion times more likely to have come from a person genetically identical to Asa Ellerup's SNP Genotype file than from an unrelated individual," the bail report said.

Two female hairs were found on Megan Waterman; a DNA profile generated said the hair was 2.374 x 10 to the 48th power, to have come from a person genetically linked to Ellerup's profile than to an unrelated individual, the report said. The second hair, recovered from the tape from Waterman's head area, is 2.778 x 10 to the 480th power to come from a person genetically identical to Ellerup's profile, the report said.

A female hair found on Costello, after a one-to-one autosomal nuclear DNA comparison, said it was 4.654 x 10 to the 63d power more likely to have come from a person genetically linked to Victoria Heuermann's SNP Genotype file than from an unrelated individual, the report said. At the time of Costello's disappearance and murder, Victoria Heuermann would have been about a month shy of her 14th birthday, the report said.

Two forensic labs have independently determined that the female hairs recovered on Waterman and Costello are derived from a person genetically identical to the SNP Genotype files of members of Heuermann's family, specifically Asa Ellerup and Victoria Heuermann, the report said. Because they were away and out of state at the time of the murders, it "provides further support that Rex A. Heuermann murdered, restrained and transported the remains of the victims to Gilgo Beach until they were ultimately discovered in December 2010, the report said

A male hair found on Waterman was also linked to Heuermann, according to the report.

Speaking with the media after the court proceeding, Robert Macedonio, representing Ellerup and the family, said the bail report "makes clear that Asa Ellerup and her children were not involved, or even in the jurisdiction when these murders took place. The murders of all four victims occurred at times when the defendant's wife and children were traveling out of the state. We have said consistently, since Day 1, July 13" when Heuermann was arrested, "was a surprise to Asa Ellerup and her children. This life that existed or may have existed, they were completely unaware of. She has no involvement in this and has never had any involvement in this. The DA's superceding indictment again makes that clear."

Michael Brown, attorney for Heuermann, also addressed the media. He said he just received the new charge regarding the additional victim named and didn't have much information yet.

"We entered a not guilty plea," he said. "He has maintained his innocence since Day 1. He's looking forward to fighting these charges."

When asked about any reaction from Heuermann about the link between the hairs found on the victims and his wife and daughter's DNA, Brown said: "All along we have been told that the evidence is unsuitable for nuclear DNA testing. This morning was the first time in these 13-plus years that, miraculously, nuclear DNA testing and results have come forward."

Mitochondrial DNA testing revealed statistics, Brown said, "that, quite frankly, were not that convincing." He said the initial mitochondrial testing for "what they claimed was his wife was 28 out of 10,000" would have the same DNA results. Another hair indicated 4 out of 10,000 would have the same results, he said. "What it simply says is that she is not excluded" and 28 people would have the same DNA.

"We are certainly going to look into the lab reports, the lab testing and the transfer of evidence," he said. "It's somewhat disturbing to hear that now, for the first time in 13 years, we finally have nuclear DNA testing."

Brown also questioned the burner phones and said there was pinging of cellphones in Massapequa Park, where 17,000 live; there are hundreds of thousands of people who were using the cell sites in New York City, he said. Brown said his client was under surveillance for a year and a half. "If there was any suspicious activity, anything nefarious about my client, we would have heard about it," he said.

When he was arrested, Brown said, there were videos capturing conversation. "My client was bewildered, stunned — had no idea he was being arrested," he said.

Brown also said there was nothing Heuermann was doing in a year and a half while under surveillance that was suspicious in any way. As he has said in the past, the guns Heuermann had were legal; only a handful were not registered because they were antique collectibles.

"There's nothing to suggest that those guns were utilized in the commission of any crime," he said. "What's the point of putting it out there other than to poison the jury?"

When asked about Heuermann's computer searches, Brown said people should ask themselves about their own internet searches. He said he would not comment on whether or not Heuermann patronized sex workers. "Many people patronize prostitutes," he said. "That doesn't mean they're killers."

Brown was also asked how Heuermann was doing. "You're talking about a gentlemen who has never been arrested before. He's claiming he didn't do this. Obviously, it's troubling and he's dealing with it one day at a time but he's looking forward to having his day in court."

Brown said there are more than 1,000 leads and suspects in the case. When asked if Brown would consider moving the trial, he said there was "good likelihood" that may submit the motion for a new venue but that he also had great faith in the people of Long Island. And, he said, "Where are you going to go? With the internet, everyone knows about this case."

Tierney also spoke about the new charge. He thanked all involved in the investigation and said the timing "didn't work out" for a first-degree murder charge. To be charged with first-degree murder, three murders would have had been committed in a 24-month period, he said.

"This indictment marks a change in the investigation," he said. "The grand jury investigation of the so-called Gilgo Four is over. It has been concluded."

The same grand jury will continue to investigate the other murders but he did not disclose which cases would be investigated first or how many victims would be part of the ongoing investigation, except to say it would be "comprehensive."

He discussed the laptops, smart phones, and tablets that were reviewed in the investigation, as well as the applications used to "wipe" data and erase evidence.

The biggest change, he added, was the new DNA evidence involved with the 5 hairs; nuclear DNA has now been determined for all. At the first arraignment, only mitrochondrial DNA for three hairs was discussed. A mother and a child will have identical mitochondrial DNA profiles; nuclear DNA profiles are separate, he said.

"We believe these DNA results are significant," Tierney said. "Nuclear DNA is much more discriminate." He added: "The science has caught up. I would say that's a good break for justice, a good break for the investigation."

The SNP technology utilize allows for DNA results from hair and is "cutting edge," he said. "It is scientifically accepted in the medical and forensic community. The science is certainly extremely solid." The technology allowed for the differentiation between the "Victoria Heuermann and Asa Ellerup hairs."

The second phase will now be the prosecution of the four cases, Tierney said.

When asked why Brainard-Barnes' case took longer, Tierney said they were awaiting the nuclear DNA result.

The new charge, Tierney said, "means a lot because it provides a small measure of closure to the families. It's nice to be able to let the families know that we always focused the case in the right direction and kept the victims in mind."

Gloria Allred, attorney for the families, also spoke, as did Melissa Cann, Brainard-Barnes sister, and Nicolette, Brainard-Barnes' daughter. She was just 7 years old when her mother was murdered; she is 24 today.

"Failing to afford sex workers access to justice sends a message to men who victimize them that the victimizers may never face consequences for their wrongful and criminal acts," Allred said. "This is 2024. Will there be justice for women who just needed some money to help support their children or themselves? It is long overdue to provide justice for vulnerable women who are missing and murdered."

Nicolette Brainard-Barnes, she said, has never done an interview before. "She's very brave because this is heartbreaking for her."

"I wish she was here today — but she was taken from us," Nicolette said.