Gilgo Beach killings: DNA from pizza box allegedly discarded by murder suspect Rex Heuermann matches cheek swab, prosecutors say

Suffolk prosecutors revealed in court Wednesday that suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann's DNA matches an earlier sample derived from a pizza crust and "used napkin" that prosecutors have said links Heuermann to the remains of one of three women he is charged with killing.

The new DNA evidence was part of a trove of more than 5,000 documents that prosecutors turned over to Heuermann's defense team Wednesday, when the Massapequa Park architect appeared briefly in a Riverhead courtroom for the third time since his July 13 arrest in the slayings of three women whose remains were found near Gilgo Beach beginning in 2010.

The buccal swab, or cheek swab, obtained from Heuermann last month matched a mitochondrial DNA profile developed from a pizza crust and “used napkin” Heuermann — who was being secretly surveilled by law enforcement at the time — allegedly discarded in Manhattan, which prosecutors have said could not be excluded as a match to a hair found at the bottom of burlap used to “restrain and transport” the remains of one of the victims, Megan Waterman.

“The surveillance team had observed the pizza box and were confident that the DNA profile would be consistent with the defendant because he left that material inside the box," said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, speaking to reporters outside court. "And so the buccal swab just erases all doubt.”

Tierney also said the task force probing the killings has expanded its focus beyond the initial four victims and is examining the killings of all 10 victims who authorities have said were killed by one or more serial killers.

"We said that initially our investigation centered around the Gilgo Four, that we were prepared to bring charges with regard to three out of the four Gilgo Four victims," said Tierney. "We're working on the fourth Gilgo victim and now we've expanded our investigation to include other bodies that were recovered in that area and we'll speak about that when and if we are prepared to bring charges." 

Prosecutors have said the mitochondrial DNA lifted from the pizza and napkin helped investigators establish that while “99.96% of the North American population can be excluded from the "male hair on Waterman," it is significant that Defendant Heuermann cannot be excluded,” according to a lengthy bail document filed in the case.

Michael J. Brown, Heuermann's lead attorney, said after court Wednesday that the prosecution's DNA evidence, which he has not yet seen, is not conclusive and there's "still a significant amount of people that can be a source of this hair."

"There’s nobody on the face of this earth, that's credible, who’s gonna say that hair is my client’s hair," said Brown, referring to the hair found with Waterman's remains. "That’s impossible under science standards. What they can do is say, he could potentially be a donor for that hair. But so could thousands and thousands of other people in our area, so that take that for what it’s worth."

Brown, who forecast part of a developing defense strategy in noting that DNA can be transferred from one person to another from an innocuous activity like hand shaking, said his client is "an active participant" in mounting his defense. 

“He’s an intelligent man; he's never been arrested," said Brown. "He wants to know, what is it that they have that they’re saying I’m involved in this? So as a defense attorney, we obviously want to share that with my client.”

Brown, speaking outside the courthouse alongside fellow Heuermann defense attorney Danielle Coysh, added that he'll also focus his defense on the more than decadelong police investigation into the Gilgo Beach victims.

"There was numerous other suspects that they looked at … I want to see those records," said Brown. "I want to see those notes. I want to see why the police accused other people or were focusing on other people and what it is about those individuals that caused them to discount those other individuals. I haven’t seen any of that. I also want to see obviously the crime lab. I want to see the testing that was done. I want to make sure it was done in the right manner and fashion.”

Authorities searched Heuermann’s home for 12 days following his July 13 arrest on first and second-degree murder charges in the killings of Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Lynn Costello, whose remains were found near Gilgo Beach 13 years ago. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty and remains held without bail at the Suffolk County Jail in Riverhead.

Prosecutors have said Heuermann, who worked as a Manhattan architect before his arrest, is also the “prime suspect” in the slaying of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, whose remains were found with the other three victims. All four of the women — the first of 10 sets of remains found along Ocean Parkway that are believed to be the work of one or more serial killers — were sex workers. 

Heuermann has not been charged in Brainard-Barnes' slaying. The grand jury that indicted Heuermann was slated to sit until Sept. 15, though prosecutors could have extended its term or seated a new grand jury to continue to hear evidence in the case. 

Tierney has declined to discuss grand jury proceedings, which are supposed to be secret under the law. On Wednesday, he would only say: "The investigation is continuing and when we’re prepared to announce charges, if that day comes, we’ll do it in court.”

Heuermann, 60, who appeared to have a fresh haircut, told a Suffolk judge Wednesday that he spends about two to three hours a day reviewing the evidence prosecutors have presented against him. 

"Uh, up to four hours," said Heuermann, in response to a question from Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei about how much time he's permitted per day to view the evidence. "I've been averaging two to three." 

 The other newly provided discovery material includes, as detailed in court by Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Santomartino: grand jury notes and testimony pertaining to the three victims, police scene logs from the search of Heuermann's home and storage units, video of the police walk-through of Heuermann's home and Heuermann's arrest.  

The prosecution previously turned over more than 8,000 documents. Brown said 99% of that data was video from pole cameras that police placed outside Heuermann's home to surveil him for about a year-and-a half up until the day of his arrest.

“The pole cameras basically defy their suggestion that this is this monster of a person.” said Brown. “What that shows — and this defies common sense that he’s actually the murderer — what the pole cameras show is a guy who gets up in the morning, goes to work, comes home, he spends time with his wife and children, you can see that he chops wood, hanging out on his porch. That’s what you see." 

Brown said the previous discovery also includes video footage of Heuermann from inside a police car after his arrest. 

"My client, unless he’s a tremendous actor, he was completely shocked, had no idea why he was being taken into custody," said Brown.

Heuermann's next court date is Nov. 15.

 "The district attorney, the government, is making these allegations, and they’re horrific," said Brown. "But if he’s not guilty of this, now he has to sit in custody, be away from his family, be away from his wife and kids, not work, not produce for his family and support them, and sit in a jail cell until this case comes to fruition, so he’s doing the best that he can." 

Brown also criticized earlier comments by Suffolk Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr., who told Newsday that Heuermann has shown no emotion while incarcerated in the county jail. 

"When I first started on this case, I made it a point to tell him, 'Just get through this Rex, get to the point where we can go to trial, don’t show emotion. Don’t let anything upset you. Just be stoic,' and that's what he’s done," said Brown. "The sheriff made a comment about he’s not showing emotion and from that I can tell you there’s something wrong with him, well that's just not the case. That’s sensationalism. That’s just things, unfortunately, that poison the jury pool." 

Tierney said the discovery process could go on for months. 

“You have to provide the material in such a way that’s coherent, so they can follow it along," said Tierney. "It helps them, but it also helps us, so we are able to memorialize and show that every single piece of paper and document in this case has been provided to the defense and that’s certainly important, not only for the trial, but an appellate record as well." 

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.