Gilgo Beach murders suspect fighting efforts to provide DNA sample, report says
Cheek swab is requested to be tested against DNA profile from pizza crust and used napkin
Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann is fighting against the prosecutor’s request for a DNA swab.
Danielle Coysh, the attorney for Mr Heuermann, argued in a new court filing that the prosecutors have not adequately shown sufficient evidence of probable cause connecting Mr Heuermann to the murders of three women, according to the newspaper Newsday.
Mr Heuermann, a professional architect, was charged with three counts of first-degree murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello last month.
All of their remains were found near Gilgo Beach.
He is also the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes – who was last seen alive in early June 2007 in New York City and who, together with the three other women, is known as part of the “Gilgo Four”.
All four women worked as sex workers and disappeared after going to meet a client. In December 2010, their remains were located within a quarter-mile radius of each other. They were discovered bound by either belts or tape, with some of the bodies wrapped in burlap.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Last week, Suffolk County prosecutors filed a motion in court to obtain a cheek swab from Mr Heuermann to conduct DNA testing.
“The assertions contained the people’s moving papers might be construed as rising to the level of a reasonable suspicion, but that is a far cry from the standard of probable cause required to justify granting the order sought be the people,” the attorney for Mr Heuermann wrote.
Key evidence came this year in the case when investigators recovered the suspect’s DNA from leftover pizza crust thrown and a used napkin into the trash close to his office in Manhattan.
The new DNA swab will be used to test against a DNA profile developed from the pizza crust and napkin which was found to be matching to a hair sample found on a burlap used to “restrain and transport” Waterman’s remains.
Ms Coysh argued in court papers that the prosecution has failed to establish that Mr Heuermann touched the pizza crust or the napkin.
“The people essentially concede that they have no evidence establishing the defendant Rex A Heuermann actually ever came into contact with the pizza crust or used napkin found in the discarded pizza box,” Ms Coysh wrote.
“Thus, by the people’s own admission, the nexus between the partially eaten pizza crust and used napkin and the defendant Rex A Heuermann is at best a matter of conjecture and assumption, not fact.”
The attorney also requested that if the judge approves of the cheek swab, a defence team member should be present to ensure the process doesn’t violate Heuermann’s rights, by preventing any escalation while interacting with law enforcement officials.