DNA evidence against suspected Long Island serial killer is “flawed,” defense attorney says

October 16, 2024, 11:40 p.m. • Last updated: October 16, 2024, 11:40 p.m

Suspected Gilgo serial killer Rex Heuermann appears with his attorney Michael Brown in Judge Timothy P. Mazzei’s courtroom at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, NY on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. Heuermann is charged with the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. (James Carbone/Newsday via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyer for Long Island serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann is requesting a hearing to challenge the use of what he called “flawed” DNA evidence that he says was analyzed by a dubious West Coast crime lab.

Much of the evidence against Heuermann, 61, a Massapequa architect charged with six murders, comes from DNA, and the suspect’s attorney, Michael Brown, said he didn’t think it was good enough.

“The wizard on the West Coast, that crime lab, they’re not accredited here in New York state,” Brown said after a hearing Wednesday in a Riverhead courtroom

“I don’t know if they are accredited for forensic analysis anywhere in the country,” he added. “Your work has not been peer reviewed. The peer-reviewed article we reviewed shows that their analysis is flawed.”

However, Suffolk County Prosecutor Ray Tierney said he was not concerned about the DNA evidence being ruled inadmissible.

What worries him, he said, is the money his office needs to meet “ambitious” investigative deadlines and produce more evidence.

State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei has given prosecutors until Dec. 17 to comply. But Tierney said his department needs the U.S. Justice Department to release frozen assets from the DA’s office as part of an investigation into a former district attorney.

“We’re talking millions of dollars — $13 million,” Tierney said. “I would like to have this money and be able to use it to bring this case to a resolution.”

Heuermann was first charged in July 2023 with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. In January, Heuermann was additionally charged in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

Since then, investigators have charged him with two other murders – the 2003 death of Jessica Taylor and the 1993 murder of Sandra Costilla.

Heuermann pleaded not guilty to the murders, which spanned three decades. He is currently being held without bail.

Investigators have found 11 bodies on a stretch of beach on Long Island’s south shore.

Last month, the task force investigating the Gilgo Beach murders released sketches of an unidentified victim known only as “Asian Doe.”

Forensic scientists and anthropologists used the recovered remains to create new depictions of what the subject likely would have looked like, officials said.

The victim – a biological male who wore women’s clothing – may have been a sex worker before his disappearance in 2006 and likely spent time in New York City, Tierney said.

Heuermann has not been named as a suspect in this victim’s death.