The arrest of suspected Gilgo Seaside killer Rex Heuermann may imply justice for an unknown variety of further victims because of a key piece of proof: Heuermann’s DNA, NYPD sources informed The Submit Saturday.
The division plans to match the accused serial killer’s genetic materials — obtained from a discarded pizza crust, then matched to DNA discovered on the physique of sufferer Megan Waterman — towards its backlog of chilly instances.
“His DNA was by no means within the system till they arrested him,” the supply stated. “Now we are able to examine it to different crimes.”
On Friday, Heuermann, 59, was charged in Suffolk County Felony Courtroom for the murders of Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello, whose our bodies had been discovered wrapped in burlap alongside Ocean Parkway on Lengthy Island’s South Shore in 2010. He’s thought of the primary suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
“If now we have 4, he in all probability did 10,” stated Wendell Stradford, a former NYPD chilly case detective. “As he received extra snug with it, he in all probability discovered learn how to do away with them.”
However the skilled sleuth, who was on the drive for practically 40 years, defined that matching effort received’t be so simple as it seems on tv crime reveals.
Investigators should establish related instances, then be certain that these victims’ DNA profiles have been added to the FBI’s CODIS (Mixed DNA Index System) database earlier than they will hunt for connections to the alleged killer, Stradford stated. CODIS incorporates DNA profiles from federal, state, and native forensic laboratories.
“Persons are beneath the impression that we submit every little thing to CODIS,” Stradford stated. “We don’t as a result of it’s very costly, and it’s important to have an excellent purpose for doing it as a result of the town is paying for it.”
Which means cops might have to return to their case information and laboriously submit outdated proof to the database earlier than any matches may be made, he added.
“The most important factor in intercourse assaults are fingernail scrapings,” Stradford stated — which health workers typically received’t take a look at in instances that lack a suspect.
“They’re like, ‘Do you have got a suspect,’” he stated. “If not . . . ‘We’ll maintain them on file within the occasion that you simply get a suspect after which we’ll take a look at.’ ”
Cops ‘not going to relaxation’
In the meantime, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison ripped Heuermann as “an animal” Saturday as he vowed to search out all of the killers chargeable for the murders of 10 victims – eight girls, one man, and a toddler – whose our bodies had been discovered throughout Lengthy Island in a string of grisly discoveries greater than a decade in the past.
“I’m not going to relaxation till we get all concerned that dedicated all of the crimes, whether or not it’s this animal — or another person,” Harrison stated in an unique interview with The Submit.
Harrison, the NYPD’s former chief of division, has been hailed for revamping the Suffolk County Police Division and lighting a fireplace beneath the dormant Gilgo Seaside investigation after 13 years of frustration.
“There’s some extra work that must be carried out,” he stated.
Who’s Gilgo Seaside serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann?
A suspected serial killer has been arrested over the notorious Gilgo Beach murders in Lengthy Island, The Submit can verify.
Rex Heuermann, 59, a married dad of two and architect at a New York Metropolis agency, has a house on 1st Avenue in Massapequa Park, sources informed The Submit.
His arrest is tied to the “Gilgo 4,” 4 girls — Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, Amber Lynn Costello, 27, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25 — discovered wrapped in burlap inside days of one another in 2010.
The physique of Barthelemy was first discovered alongside Ocean Parkway on Dec. 11, 2010, sparking fears of a serial killer within the space.
By spring 2011, the variety of our bodies had climbed to 10, together with eight girls in addition to an unidentified man and toddler.
Heuermann’s arrest comes after Suffolk County’s new police commissioner created a particular Gilgo Seaside Murder Investigation Job Pressure in February 2022.
In the meantime, video emerged Saturday of Heuermann’s arrest Thursday evening.
The accused killer may be seen strolling obliviously down a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk, a messenger bag slung over his shoulder, according to footage obtained by WABC.
All of the sudden, plainclothes officers may be seen stepping in entrance of and surrounding the architect, hustling him into custody.
The takedown occurred near his Fifth Avenue workplace.
A number of blocks away, on the Gardenia Deli at Eighth Ave. and thirty first St., proprietor Hassan Alborat stated Heuermann was an everyday who was final in his store about three weeks in the past.
“It’s disgusting,” Alborat stated of the accusations towards the daddy of two. “He by no means speak lots, simply purchase a sandwich, generally soda or water . . . Thank God they received him.”
Scouring household house
On Lengthy Island, authorities pored over Heuermann’s ramshackle Massapequa Park house for a second day.
“We’re simply going by way of his home trying to see if there’s any proof. If he has any trophies,” a police supply informed The Submit.
On the street outdoors, a throng of onlookers filmed investigators as they emerged with objects that ranged from the mundane — a cat scratch pole, a framed image, an empty bookcase — to the creepy: a child-sized collector’s doll with lengthy blond braids and a colourful costume, entombed in an elaborate glass show cupboard.
Regulation enforcement officers clad in powder blue caps, white jumpsuits and blue rubber gloves dotted the property, sifting the area for additional clues.
Former mayor Rudy Giuliani bizarrely turned up at the scene as well, grinning from the passenger seat of a darkish SUV that drove alongside the suspect’s block, and requested an officer how shut he may get to the alleged killer’s house.
Apparently sad with the response, the ex-prosecutor stayed in his automobile and drove off. He didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Heuermann appeared in court docket Friday afternoon and pleaded not guilty to a few counts of first-degree homicide and different fees associated to the deaths of the three girls over 10 years in the past. The life-long suburbanite, who was impassive in court docket, was additionally named the prime suspect within the fourth killing.
A lawyer for Heuermann didn’t instantly reply to a message searching for remark.
Further reporting by Larry Celona and Khristina Narizhnaya.
