Serial killer suspect seen in court as his family are seen outside their home

01 August 2023 , 20:35

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Gilgo Beach killer suspect Rex Heuermann, 59, appears in court for the second time since his arrest on July 13 (Image: Getty Images)

The suspect charged in one of America's most mysterious cold cases has appeared in court today for the first time since he pleaded not guilty to the murders of three women as prosecutors handed over eight terabytes of evidence.

Long Island architect Rex Heuermann, 59, has been charged with the murders of three of the women who became known as the 'Gilgo Four' after their bodies were discovered along a stretch of Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach in Long Island in 2010.

He appeared in court today, August 1, for a brief hearing, in which Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said investigators met with the defence counsel to go over the schedule of handing over discovery in the case. Mr Tierney said this is a "thirteen-year case so as you saw we have a great deal of information, evidence photographs, reports, to provide to the defence counsel. We have begun that process."

Prosecutors said they've given Heuermann's lawyer at least 8 terabytes of material - equivalent to around 2,500 pages of records, along with about 100 hours of surveillance video recorded outside Heuermann's home and office prior to his arrest on July 13. Mr Tierney said it's just a fraction of the evidence amassed since the bodies were found in 2010.

Heuermann's estranged wife Asa Ellerup and her son Christopher Sheridan sit outside their Massapequa Park home (SplashNews.com)

He said more evidence will be turned over on a rolling basis. Heuermann did not speak at the hearing, which began half an hour late as prosecutors met his lawyer and Judge Timothy Mazzei behind closed doors.

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Prosecutors and Heuermann's lawyer, Michael Brown, reached a confidentiality agreement that prohibits sharing copies of the evidence with the public. Some of the evidence includes sensitive photos of the women's remains as they were found.

"The press has convicted my client without seeing a shred of evidence," Mr Brown told reporters after the hearing. He suggested prosecutors "very well could have the wrong guy."

Mr Brown said he received the first wave of evidence before Tuesday's hearing which consisted of five manila envelopes, each containing a two-terabyte hard drive. Though he said he has yet to review any evidence collected in the investigation.

Melissa Barthelemy, top left, Amber Costello, top right, Megan Waterman, bottom left, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes (AP)

Heuermann, 59, was arrested outside his Manhattan office (Suffolk County District Attorney/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)

"Today was the first time I was handed any evidence in this case and it was in the form of terabytes," said Mr Brown. "I can't read terabytes with my hands or my eyes."

Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Amber Lynn Costello, 27, from North Carolina, Megan Waterman, 22, from Maine, and Melissa Barthelemy, 24, from New York State. He is also the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, from Connecticut. He is due back in court on September 27.

The four women's bodies were found wrapped in burlap in the brush along the side of the highway in December 2010 in the search for 23-year-old Shannan Matthews - who had last been seen at the nearby gated Oak Beach community. All four women had been strangled, according to medical examiners and were found a tenth of a mile apart from one another.

Heuermann was arrested on July 13 outside his Manhattan office. He made his first court appearance on July 14, where he pleaded not guilty and cried: "I didn't do this."

Heuermann, centre, with his lawyer Michael Brown, left, stand before Judge Timothy Mazzei in Suffolk County Court (AP)

His latest court appearance comes after his estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, 59, opened up about the impact his arrest and the subsequent 12-day search of their home has had on herself and her two children. She said her children "cry themselves to sleep" over what has happened and the state their home has been left in following the search.

Police from Suffolk County and the state spent almost two weeks combing through the ranch-style home in Massapequa Park, even digging up the back garden with reports of a secret soundproof room in the basement, looking for body parts of "trophies" from the brutal murders.

Last week, police packed up and left, allowing Ms Ellerup and her children to return to their home for the first time. Pictures from inside the home show the extent of the search, with boxes strewn about and piled up, a piece of the bathtub cut out and a chunk of the floor tile missing.

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The case became known as the case of the 'Long Island Serial Killer', also known as the Manorville Butcher and Craigslist Ripper. All four of the women who made up the Gilgo Four were sex workers from outside of the area.

Authorities even dug up the garden of Heuermann's Long Island home (AP)

The four women's bodies were among numerous remains found in the brambles along Ocean Parkway. According to the Gilgo Case website, set up by family members of victims and advocates, there are 10 people/bodies linked to the case, with seven more cases believed to be connected.

However, police investigating the 13-year-old cold case have said that it could be the work of multiple killers using the same location to dump the bodies, and body parts in some cases.

The officially linked victims are: Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, Jessica Taylor, Valerie Mack, an unnamed Asian Doe, Baby Doe, an African-American woman given the name 'Peaches' and the Fire Island Jane Doe. Possibly connected cases include: Shannan Gilbert, Andre Isaac, Jacqueline Smith, a victim given the name 'Cherries', Tanya Rush, an Asian Jane Doe and Tina Foglia.

Fiona Leishman