Tierney Announces Charge in Fourth Gilgo Murder Case

A new murder charge has been leveled by Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney against the man being held for three other killings in the notorious Gilgo cold case. Massapequa Park architect Rex Heuermann was charged Tuesday in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, whose body was found along with a dozen others along a desolate stretch of Ocean Parkway by Gilgo Beach nearly 14 years ago in a case that confounded police and unnerved Long Islanders.

L TO R: GILGO BEACH MURDER SUSPECT REX HEUERMANN, 59; SUSPECTED MURDER VICTIM MAUREEN BRAINARD-BARNES, 25. SCPD

Heuermann was arrested by Tierney’s Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force last July for the slayings of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello years after their remains were discovered when police were searching for another woman, Shannan Gilbert, who went missing in 2010. Heuermann appeared before Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei in Riverhead with his attorney, Michael J. Brown, who entered a plea of not guilty. Heuermann was remanded back to prison with no bail by Judge Mazzei.

In court were Tierney, who is trying the case against Heuermann himself, and Melissa Cann, sister of Brainard-Barnes, a mother of two from Connecticut. They were flanked by members of the Gilgo Task Force, which includes investigators from Sheriff Erroll Toulon’s office, Suffolk Police, State police, and the FBI, in addition to district attorney personnel. Heuermann's estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, was also in the chamber, along with their daughter, Victoria Heuermann.

According to Tierney, the case was cracked following a lead tying Amber Lynn Costello to Heuermann’s vehicle, which the investigators were able to locate. Once they had a suspect, investigators retrieved Heuermann’s DNA from a discarded pizza box they said matched that of a hair found with the body of Megan Waterman. Evidence also includes phone and computer records tying the suspect to the victims. Also found on his devices were disturbing images and search histories involving torture, rape, and murder, investigators reported. Heuermann made more than 200 internet searches seeking updates on the Gilgo investigation, including how the task force was looking into cell phones related to the case, Tierney reported.

Released last year in order to generate tips on the case were photos of a belt that had been used to bind Brainard-Barnes with the initials WH or HM. DNA from Ellerup was also matched to a victim, investigators said. Her attorney, Robert Macedonio, stressed that details in the case "again make it clear" that Heuermann's wife and children were not involved, or even in the jurisdiction, when the alleged crimes took place, according to published reports.

Suffolk County DA Ray Tierney, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon and Acting Suffolk County Police Commissioner Robert Waring, along with additional members of the Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force, held a press conference in Riverhead, New York revealing a significant development in the investigation by the Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force. Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office | Facebook

Police would eventually uncover 12 bodies in the case, and found remains at other locations that match the Gilgo victims. Gilbert, a 23-year-old from Jersey City whose disappearance led to the Gilgo discoveries, was found more than a year later mired in a tidal marsh in Oak Beach, not far from the other bodies. Jessica Taylor's partial remains were found in the area eight years after parts of her body were discovered in Manorville. Valerie Mack, as well as the skeletal remains of an unidentified Asian male, estimated to be between 17 and 23 years old, were found. Further investigations in 2011 led to the discovery of partial remains belonging to a woman described as "Peaches," for a tattoo on her body, who is suspected of being the mother of a toddler found earlier. The skull of a woman was found near Gilgo, whose remains were linked to those found on Fire Island in 1996. Tierney said the task force is actively pursuing those cases.

As the Heuermann investigation unfolded, between 200 and 300 firearms were found in a vault concealed in a walled-off area of his basement, including pistols, revolvers, and semi-automatic rifles. The murders horrified Long Islanders and led to endless speculation about who committed the crimes. Former Suffolk Police Chief Steve Burke had waved off federal assistance in the case, and former district attorney Tom Spota, who’s currently in jail on corruption convictions, came up fruitless. He was charged with covering up the beating by Burke of a suspect who stole a duffle bag from his official vehicle that contained sex tapes and other pornographic items. Burke also served time for the beating and the subsequent coverup, along with Chris McPartland, Spota’s chief deputy, recently released from federal prison.

“I commend District Attorney Tierney, the Suffolk County Police Department, Sheriff Toulon and all the law-enforcement partners of the Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force on their sustained work,” said county Executive Edward Romaine in a statement. “These victims matter and the seriousness with which the task force has methodically pursued solving these cases is impressive. My administration is committed to making Suffolk County safer by providing the district attorney and the police department, as well as our other law-enforcement agencies, in Suffolk County, the tools and resources they need to ensure that they continue this great work.”