Forensic scientist: DNA techniques on evidence against alleged Gilgo serial killer Rex Heuermann 'effective'

A forensic scientist testified in a Riverhead courtroom Wednesday that the scientific methods used to link DNA from degraded hair samples found with the remains of several Gilgo Beach homicide victims to alleged serial killer Rex A. Heuermann are "effective," have been peer reviewed and generally accepted in the scientific community.

"The extraction method is effective at processing rootless hair," expert witness Nicole Novroski said. 

Novroski, associate director and associate professor at the Center for Human Identification at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, took the stand for several hours on the second day of pretrial hearings in the Gilgo Beach serial killer case.

Under direct questioning by Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Santomartino, Novroski, who has a doctorate in biomedical sciences with a focus on forensic and investigative genetics, and has attempted to develop DNA profiles from a sample in more than 1,000 cases, testified the whole genome sequencing used in Heuermann's case is the ideal method when dealing with a degraded sample, such as a rootless hair.

"It is going to provide the most comprehensive picture of a DNA sample," she said.

 Novroski, who said she had been "cited extensively" in science journals and was consulted in a Canadian criminal case that resulted in the exoneration of the defendant, said it was her first time testifying in court. She was the second prosecution witness to testify during the Frye hearing to determine whether the whole genome sequencing DNA analysis on rootless hair from Astrea Forensics, a California lab, will be admissible at Heuermann's trial

Heuermann's defense team has argued the DNA evidence developed from the degraded hair samples and compared with the DNA of Heuermann and his family members should be deemed inadmissible at trial.

Heuermann's lead defense attorney, Michael J. Brown, has argued the science has not been tested in New York courts and has derided it as magic.

During cross-examination by Brown on Wednesday, Novroski said she couldn't give the court an opinion about IBDGem, a computational procedure used by Astrea. She said she had only read a scientific paper on IBDGem on Tuesday.

Brown, speaking beside his co-counsel Danielle Coysh, after court adjourned for the day, said he had many more questions for the witness.

"We just found out a few minutes ago that the first time she read the article, the journal article, about what's in play here ... she just read that yesterday, one time," Brown said.

Novroski agreed Astrea's lab is not currently accredited, though she said she thought they were seeking accreditation. She only met Richard E. Green, the co-founder and scientific adviser at Astrea, once in passing and never toured the lab, she said.

Heuermann, 61, a Massapequa Park resident, appeared to be listening closely as Novroski testified and was seen speaking to his legal team during breaks in testimony. Heuermann's estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, with whom he reached a divorce settlement with last week, did not attend Wednesday's hearing.

Kelley Harris, an associate professor of genome sciences at the University of Washington, testified last week during the Frye hearing that the nuclear DNA techniques used by Astrea are "widely accepted."

Heuermann, a Manhattan architect before his arrest on July 13, 2023, has pleaded not guilty in the killings of seven women. His legal team has also sought to have those cases tried separately. The presiding judge in the case, State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei, is expected to rule on that issue in the coming days.

Novroski said her employer, the Center for Human Identification, was currently examining Astrea's methods for rootless hair extraction, as well as other methods, to determine whether it should begin using any of them for forensic testing.

Brown, speaking to the judge during a break in testimony, said he should have received the results of CHI's examination of Astrea's methods to "confront her" on cross-examination and to provide the results to defense experts for analysis.

Mazzei directed Brown to question Novroski on the issue, but she said only that CHI's research and development lab "is looking at the extraction methods for rootless hair."

Heuermann's defense has argued Clyde Wells, a forensic scientist in the Suffolk County Crime Lab, repeatedly testified before the grand jury that "rootless hairs were unsuitable for nuclear DNA testing."

However, prosecutors, led by Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney, who sat at the prosecution table during Wednesday's proceeding, have argued the new scientific techniques used by Astrea have linked Heuermann and Ellerup and their adult daughter to hairs found with the remains of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack — six of the seven alleged victims.

And according to the prosecution's bail application filed in June, the lab also found hair recovered from the Costilla, Waterman and Taylor crime scenes that are statistically likely to have come from Heuermann himself, Newsday has previously reported. There is no DNA evidence for victim Melissa Barthelemy, prosecutors have said.

Novroski is scheduled to continue testifying Thursday morning.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.