Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann appeared at his second court hearing in New York court Tuesday, and stood stone-faced as prosecutors handed over evidence.
“This is a 13-year case, so as you see we have a great deal of information, evidence, photographs, reports to provide to the defense counsel,” Suffolk DA Raymond Tierney told the media, following the hearing at the Suffolk County court.
“We’ve begun that process. And that’s just the beginning. We’re gonna continue to do that on a rolling basis.”
AP News reports that prosecution handed over “about 100 hours of surveillance video” taken outside of the defendant’s Massapequa Park home prior to his arrest on July 13. They also handed over around 8 terabytes of evidence, which equaled around “2,500 pages of records.”
“You’re talking about 13 years of investigation,” Tierney added. “It’s a massive amount of material.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Heuermann has been connected with the deaths of three of the four women known collectively as the “Gilgo Four.” The bodies were found within days of each other on Gilgo Beach in December 2010. All four women were buried in burlap sacks.
He’s now charged with six counts of murder in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Megan Waterman, 22; and Amber Lynn Costello, 27; and is the prime suspect in the death of 25-year-old Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
Heuermann remained silent during the hearing, which started late after the prosecution, defense, and Judge Timothy Mazzei met privately to discuss the schedule for handing over evidence.
A confidentiality agreement was reached between prosecutors and defense, which will ban the public from obtaining copies of the evidence. The evidence, in part, reportedly includes sensitive photographs of the victims.
“The press has convicted my client without seeing a shred of evidence,” Heuermann’s lawyer, Michael Brown, said after the hearing.
“Today was the first time I was handed any evidence in this case and it was in the form of terabytes,. I can’t read terabytes with my hands or my eyes.
“Do you believe everything the government says? I don’t….I don’t believe everything the government says, so I’m going to wait until I get the evidence, I’m going to look at the evidence, and we’ll move forward from there.
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years — the government makes allegations all the time. Sometimes they are true, sometimes they are not.”
Long Island Press reports that although “many had been anticipating” prosecutors filing charges against Heuermann for Brainard-Barnes’s death, no additional charges were filed at the hearing.
Meanwhile, Heuermann remains behind bars at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility without bail. Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon said Heuermann is in an isolated cell alone and appears to be “comfortable.”
“He’s in the cell by himself, he’s receiving all the services that any other person who’s incarcerated will receive,” Toulon previously told WCBS 880.
“It seems like he’s very comfortable in his cell and his surroundings. He’s indicated to my staff that he would not be any issue to us and would be extremely compliant, so we’ll see how that plays out in the days and weeks ahead.”
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Rex A. Heuermann, the architect accused of murdering at least three women near Long Island’s Gilgo Beach, appears before Judge Timothy P. Mazzei in Suffolk County Court, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Riverhead, N.Y. (James Carbone/Newsday via AP, Pool)]
