Gilgo Beach Murder Case Set To Face New Twist As Judge Makes Bombshell Ruling On DNA Evidence

The man accused in the Gilgo Beach serial killings has been left to reconsider his defense approach after a Long Island judge ruled that advanced DNA evidence would be admissible in court.

Rex Heuermann stands accused of orchestrating the murders of 7 sex workers as DNA analysis linked him to the corpses.

Rex Heuermann's lawyer, Michael Brown, had challenged the DNA evidence and requested that his client be tried separately for each of the alleged killings.

A Gilgo Beach judge's ruling has dealt a heavy blow to the defense of Rex Heuermann, the man who's alleged to have murdered seven sex workers in a lonely part of Long Island.

In what could prove to be a breaking point in the case, Suffolk County Judge Timothy Mazzei ruled on Tuesday that prosecutors can use advanced DNA evidence against Heuermann, according to the New York Post.

Earlier this month, Judge Mazzei ruled that crucial DNA evidence could be used in the case against him, but his lawyer, Michael Brown, challenged the ruling and sought for him to be tried separately for each of the killings he's accused of carrying out, which is what led to Tuesday's trial.

Mazzei's decision could prove pivotal for Suffolk County D.A. Ray Tierney, who has largely built his case against Heuermann on DNA.

"If I wasn't confident in this case, I would've never brought it to trial," Tierney said.

Heuermann's legal battle stems from serial killings that took place in the Long Island strip and had previously remained unsolved.

The 61-year-old accused serial killer became the prime suspect when his DNA matched that found alongside the bodies of the slain sex workers: Valerie Mack, Melissa Taylor, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla, and Amber Lynn Costello.

The bodies were dumped between 1993 and 2010, but largely remained unsolved until former NYPD officer Rodney Harrison took over as Suffolk County police commissioner and reopened the case, leading to Heuermann's arrest in July 2023.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and would face just one trial for all seven murder charges, as Judge Mazzei also rejected the defense's argument to separate them in his ruling.

Heuermann's legal woes got compounded when law enforcement carried out a thorough search of his home in Massapequa Park and discovered a gruesome "planning document" allegedly kept by the accused killer, including a "lessons learned" section.

"I think a big consideration by the court, which was stated in their decision, was that planning document," Tierney said. "That planning document talks about murders that have occurred, that are about to occur, and that are going to occur in the future."

He has since been held without bail as the case proceeds to trial.

Meanwhile, Heuermann's lawyer has remained adamant that the DNA evidence should not be admissible in court, calling it "magic" and requesting that the judge dismiss it.

"We're not making motions for the sake of making motions," Brown told reporters, per the NewYork Post. "We're making motions because we are confident in the law and confident in our position.

"Ultimately, we do not make the decision," he added.

He argued that the company that processed the DNA, Astrea Labs, was not licensed in the state of New York, and that admitting the evidence would contravene the state's health laws.

It appears that the D.A. is ready to have a field day with the overwhelming accounts in their custody that seemingly implicate Heuermann in the murders.

According to the news outlet, Tierney said that he plans to call "well over" 100 witnesses from 15 different states to testify against Heuermann in the upcoming trial, as more than 6.5 million documents have been entered into evidence.

The suspect's lawyer, Brown, referred to the 100 terabytes of evidence as "a mountain of a mountain," but noted that it was due to the lengthy duration of the investigation.

"You've got to remember we're talking about 30 years of investigation," he said. "We're talking about seven victims. So, it is an enormous amount of discovery."