Another victim of accused murder monster Rex A. Heuermann has been announced by District Attorney Raymond Tierney, bringing the total of women he allegedly killed to seven.
District Attorney Raymond Tierney announces new charges against accused Gilgo killer Rex Heuerman. Credit: Robert Chartuk
Valerie Mack disappeared from New Jersey in 2000, and her body parts were found by hunters off Mill Road in Manorville. Years later, her other remains were discovered at Gilgo Beach along with 10 other victims, uncovering a murder mystery that shocked Long Island.
Appearing before Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei in Riverhead, Heuermann, 61, was charged with murdering Mack in a case that relies on a raft of evidence, including DNA, crime planning documents, and “souvenir” newspaper clippings about the killings found during searches of his Massapequa Home. Tierney, who announced he will try the Manhattan architect himself, also updated the indictments of the other crimes he says were committed.
According to the indictment, a hair found on Mack’s body is a statistical match to Heuermann’s daughter, Victoria. More modern technology than what was available at the time of Mack’s discovery was able to make the alleged connection. Hairs from six of the seven Gilgo victims have been matched to the defendant, according to the district attorney.
A “Murder Manifesto” forensically recovered from Heuerman’s computer offers evidence on how he planned the murder of Mack and his other alleged victims, Tierney told a large gathering of reporters at the Riverhead court complex. News clippings going back to 1993 “evinced his intent and interest in the murders,” he said.
A hulking figure standing in court wearing a black suit, Heuermann appeared wobbly as the indictment was presented. “Your honor, I am not guilty of any of these charges,” he told Judge Mazzei in a clear voice. The judge said he expected the accused’s attorney, Michael Brown, to request a “Frye Hearing” to challenge the use of the nuclear DNA techniques presented as evidence, the first time the technology is being used in a New York State murder case.
Brown said he will look to separate the Mack case from the others, arguing that while there are similarities between the first victims, known as the “Gilgo Four,” there are substantial differences between the other cases, including Mack’s. Brown fingered former Suffolk Police Chief of Department Jim Burke for the murders, saying he is “one hundred percent certain” he was involved. Brown referenced reports that Burke, when he was at the top of Suffolk law enforcement, purposely kept the FBI and other police agencies out of the Gilgo case, a reason there was no movement until Tierney took charge and created a special Gilgo Task Force.
The hearing disclosed grisly details of Valerie Mack’s death, including the dismemberment of her right leg, where she had a tattoo of her son's name. The act clearly intended to inhibit the identification, Tierney noted, and was corroborated by Heuermann’s Manifesto. A tattoo on Gilgo victim Jessica Taylor was mutilated in a similar fashion, according to Tierney.
Also in the courtroom were the families of all seven of the Gilgo victims, represented by attorney Gloria Allred. “They are here to show the Mack family that they are not alone in their grief, despair, depression, anger, and trauma resulting from these crimes,” Allred said. Each of the families presented the Macks with a red rose. “None of these victims deserved to die,” Allred stated. “All were innocent and were just trying to earn some funds to support themselves and their families.”
Attorney Gloria Allred speaks for the Gilgo murder victims. Credit: Robert Chartuk
“These are the most courageous people I’ve ever met,” District Attorney Tierney said of the fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, and daughters of the victims who stood beside him at the courthouse press conference. “They are very grateful for the small amount of closure we’re able to bring.”
The families of the Gilgo murder victims present flowers to the parents of Valerie Mack. Credit: Robert Chartuk