New York
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At the coronary heart of the case against the man accused of the Gilgo Beach killings is DNA proof — however the novel method that proof was examined could now decide whether or not prosecutors can use it against their prime suspect, Long Island architect and household man Rex Heuermann.
A Suffolk County decide is ready to resolve Wednesday whether or not the outcomes of that testing method, which has by no means been used in a New York courtroom, needs to be permitted in Heuermann’s trial, which could begin subsequent yr.
Heuermann is charged with murder in the deaths of no less than seven women spanning three many years. He has pleaded not responsible.
In arguments earlier than the decide earlier this yr, prosectors argued the expertise they used in the Gilgo case – referred to as entire genome sequencing – bolsters testing that’s already broadly accepted and helps to extract proof that might in any other case be unattainable to get, equivalent to from rootless hairs or degraded samples. Investigators used the expertise to find out hairs discovered on a number of of the victims belonged to Heuermann or somebody in his quick household, courtroom information present.
Heuermann’s protection group, in the meantime, argues the expertise is basically unproven.
“It’s a critical ruling as much as anything that has to do with something as powerful as DNA evidence. It’s going to move the needle,” stated NCS authorized analyst Joey Jackson. “It would be a huge win for the prosecutors if it were admitted and a huge blow to the defense.”
Jackson stated the proof could be devastating for Heuermann as a result of prosecutors would have the ability to make the case for jurors that he was with the victims in their remaining moments. Without it, the protection would have a neater time arguing its case figuring out a key piece of proof wouldn’t be thought-about by a jury.
If Judge Timothy Mazzei guidelines against prosecutors, nonetheless, they nonetheless have extra to work with.
“At the end of the day, they have so many bites of the apple with this guy,” Jackson stated. “There’s so much other evidence. The judge can sleep at night and say, ‘I didn’t kill their case. I just took one tool out of their toolbox that has 20 different tools in it.’”
Heuermann was arrested in July 2023 and charged with homicide in the killings of three ladies whose our bodies have been found certain with belts or tape and wrapped in burlap alongside a stretch of Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach in 2010.
Those victims, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello – together with a fourth lady, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, whose loss of life Heuermann was charged in whereas in custody – grew to become referred to as the “Gilgo Four.”
Two second-degree homicide costs have been added in June 2024 for the deaths of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla. Taylor was killed in 2003, and Costilla in 1993.
In December, Heuermann was charged with homicide in the loss of life of a seventh lady, Valerie Mack, in a superseding indictment.
Heuermann’s July 2023 arrest was a main occasion in the space. Since the discovery of the our bodies started in 2010, the mystique of the Long Island Serial Killer grew with every year the murders went unsolved. It rapidly grew to become the largest thriller on Long Island, prompting books, articles and documentaries all whereas concern grew amongst residents figuring out the killer was nonetheless on the market.
Heuermann now spends his days at the Suffolk County correctional facility.
The protection contends the DNA evaluation utilized by prosecutors lacks broad acceptance inside the scientific neighborhood and shouldn’t be allowed as proof in the trial.
The evaluation was performed by Astrea Forensics, a firm that specializes in entire genome sequencing — a kind of DNA evaluation that can be utilized for difficult-to-treat samples.
Whole genome sequencing is “a method that attempts to read nearly all of a person’s DNA, covering the entire genetic code of about 3 billion bases,” or letters, stated Daniele Podini, an affiliate professor at George Washington University.
“I think that it was used in this case because the DNA in hair is very degraded/fragmented and the conventional Short Tandem Repeat (STR) analysis is not as likely to be successful,” Podini advised NCS by way of e-mail. “STR analysis looks only at specific regions in the genome where short DNA sequences repeat multiple times.”
The key distinction, Podini stated, is standard testing supplies a restricted DNA “fingerprint,” like a barcode on a grocery store product, whereas entire genome sequencing (WGS) gives a full genetic “blueprint” with rather more detailed insights.
Though the kind of research has “not yet been subject to an admissibility hearing in the State of New York,” prosecutors stated in their argument to the decide earlier this yr, the method is usually used throughout quite a few scientific and forensic fields, together with virology, well being care and prison justice — and by legislation enforcement, prosecutors and protection attorneys.
“WGS is an advancement in DNA testing which enables more comprehensive collection and evaluation of DNA and has wide application throughout the relevant scientific communities,” prosecutors stated. “It has been accepted by the CDC, the FDA, paleontologists, virologists, and the medical communities.”
New applied sciences are all the time up for examination earlier than turning into routine, stated Nathan Lents, a professor of biology at the City University of New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
“Forensic methods are subject to intense legal scrutiny before they are accepted as common practice, and that’s what we are seeing here,” Lents stated. “This is the normal way that new techniques are introduced into the legal forensic toolkit, in test cases with a great deal of scrutiny and expert testimony.”
If the DNA testing method in the case is thrown out, Suffolk County prosecutors could rely on other evidence like the content material allegedly found on Heuermann’s gadgets, together with a planning doc outlining a technique for future killings, or the newspapers and magazines allegedly discovered throughout a search warrant of his house that talked about the killings of the ladies.
According to a bail utility, the manual contained headings equivalent to “Supplies” and “Problems,” with “DNA” listed as the prime merchandise below the latter. A part titled “body prep” detailed steps to wash, dismember and transfer our bodies, whereas one other known as “post event” appeared to record duties to keep away from apprehension, together with having a story set.
Prosecutors even have mobile phone information and pings from cell towers that time to Heuermann, the eyewitness descriptions of him and his truck, the Chevrolet Avalanche, in keeping with an official with data of their technique. They even have mitochondrial DNA that also factors to Heuermann however can be extra work for prosecutors to determine that it was Heuermann – and never somebody associated to him – that carried out the murders, the official stated.
Though a trial date hasn’t been set for Heuermann, it’s anticipated to be someday subsequent yr and can see prosecutors name witnesses who can testify to the legitimacy of the DNA, legislation enforcement that recovered the our bodies and medical experts who inspected the our bodies, the official stated.
Meanwhile, Michael Brown, the protection lawyer for Heuermann, stated Wednesday’s choice is vital for his or her case however not important.
“If we don’t prevail on this, it’s OK – we still have the ability to attack this before a jury,” Brown advised NCS. “I’m confident that a jury would disregard this new methodology.”
Part of the protection’s technique will embody not solely preventing the DNA proof but in addition highlighting discrepancies in the case, equivalent to an allegation that legislation enforcement had one other suspect they have been going to arrest earlier than Heuermann was taken into custody, in keeping with a supply with data of the protection’s pondering.
They additionally plan on digging up corruption in the historical past of Suffolk County legislation enforcement, one thing critics have lengthy pointed to as being a most important purpose the Gilgo serial killer was not caught earlier, in keeping with the supply.
Though it’s by no means been used in a case in New York state, specialists say, the use of entire genome sequencing as a DNA evaluation method has been used for a while.
“The technique is legitimate and reliable and has been used in the research and clinical setting for many years now,” Lents, the biology professor, advised NCS.
“It is only coming into the forensic realm because forensics always trails a few years behind the scientific advances, because the courts want to see any new technique be deployed, analyzed and scrutinized for years before it is applied in a criminal case where someone’s life or liberty is at stake,” he added.
The US Food and Drug Administration makes use of entire genome sequencing to determine pathogens throughout foodborne sickness outbreaks, the company says on its website. Public well being researchers use it to grasp why sure micro organism trigger extra extreme sickness or present higher resistance to antibiotics, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Despite this, Heuermann’s lawyer argued this kind of DNA proof hasn’t gotten the normal acceptance of the scientific neighborhood.
“The prosecution has failed to meet this burden,” protection attorneys wrote. “At best, the evidence presented demonstrates that the academic debate surrounding this paradigm shifting methodology is in its infancy, far short of the general acceptance required by law. Accordingly, this court must preclude the admission of such evidence.”
Prosecutors, nonetheless, say the newest developments in forensic testing usually are not solely dependable, however broadly accepted.
“These facts demonstrate that the methodology has moved well beyond the novel or experimental stage,” wrote Suffolk County prosecutors. “This is not ‘magic’ – it’s science.”