Gilgo Beach suspect's lawyer deems Internet searches and DNA evidence 'unconvincing'
SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK: Rex Heuermann, the man accused of killing four women whose bodies were found near Gilgo Beach in Long Island in 2010, is maintaining his innocence.
Michael Brown, the attorney representing him, argued that the unsettling internet searches conducted by his client do not establish guilt and contended that the newly presented DNA evidence lacks reliability.
Lawyer questions the validity of internet searches by Rex Heuermann
Brown told reporters on Tuesday, January 16 that Heuermann’s online activity, which included searches for “torture redhead p***,” “girl with a face beat up,” and “chubby 10-year-old girl crying,” among others, was not indicative of his involvement in the murders.
He said that people often search for things out of curiosity or after watching a show about something.
“Searching the internet, ask yourselves what you search on your computers and your phones,” Brown said according to Daily Mail.
“'One thing leads to another – you see a show about something, you start searching, and they talk about how somebody got killed… You start searching, and then they talk about another way, and you start searching,” Brown added.
“Think about if they looked at your own personal search history, how all of a sudden you’re guilty because of your search history?”
Lawyer dismisses the new DNA evidence against Rex Heuerman
Heuermann was charged on Tuesday with the killing of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, a 25-year-old sex worker who vanished in 2007.
Last summer he was charged with the murders of three of the "Gilgo Beach four" - Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, and Melissa Barthelemy.
Brown also downplayed the new DNA testing that prosecutors presented as major new evidence in the case against Heuermann.
The prosecutors said that a female hair that was found on the belt used to bind Maureen’s body was a match for Heuermann’s wife
The lawyer said that he was told that the evidence was "unsuitable for nuclear DNA testing" and that the statistics were "not very convincing."
Prosecutors stated that they employed state-of-the-art advancements in "snip" testing, which is the abbreviated term for single nucleotide polymorphisms, to connect Heuermann to the victims.
They also asserted that in May 2023, they trailed Heuermann's daughter, Victoria, on a Long Island Railroad train and confiscated an empty can of Monster Java, an energy drink, from which she had been drinking.
This can was used to compare her DNA with the traces discovered on the victims' bodies.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said that the snip testing led to an overwhelming match in the case that he called the “gold standard,” Fox News reported.
Lawyer says Rex Heuermann maintains his innocence
Brown said that Heuermann has "maintained his innocence from day one" and that he is looking forward to "fighting the charges."
He said that he had advance notice that the new charge was coming and that he explained it to Heuermann.
“He said ‘I am not guilty,'” Brown said. Heuermann who is an architect and lived in Massapequa Park when the killing occurred has pleaded not guilty.
Operating under the alias 'Thomas Hawk' on a disposable phone and email account, Heuermann is under suspicion for potential involvement in additional unsolved murders in the vicinity.
Investigators said that they found more than 200 searches regarding other known serial killers and the Gilgo Beach case itself on his devices.
Heuermann is being held without bail and faces life in prison if convicted.
