Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann fights to invalidate certain DNA evidence
James Carbone, Pool via Getty Images, FILE
(NEW YORK) — Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann is due back in court Tuesday when his attorney will attempt to convince a judge to invalidate certain DNA evidence that’s never been used in New York state courts.
Heuermann, who was arrested in July 2023, has pleaded not guilty to the murders of seven women whose remains were found discarded on Long Island between 1993 and 2011.
His attorneys have urged the judge to preclude evidence pertaining to nuclear DNA results obtained from hairs recovered from six victims: Maureen Brainard Barnes, Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack.
The DNA match resulted from a technique known as whole genome sequencing, which hasn’t been subject to an admissibility hearing in any New York court.
Prosecutors consented to Tuesday’s hearing but have argued the defense motion to dismiss the evidence should be denied because the technique is “generally accepted in the scientific community” and is based on technology “relied upon in a wide variety of scientific and forensic settings.”
Defense attorney Michael Brown has said the California lab where the DNA testing was done is a for-profit business that is not accredited in New York.
Prosecutors have expressed confidence the DNA evidence would be admissible.
“For over thirty years, New York State courts have continuously adapted to embrace advancements in DNA technology,” assistant district attorney Andrew Lee said. “The advancement of forensic science and nuclear DNA analysis involving Whole Genome Sequencing has allowed law enforcement to now link genetic profiles consistent with the defendant, and/or individuals who have resided with him, to six of the seven victims through hairs found at the crime scene and/or on the victims. The People intend to introduce such evidence of defendant’s guilt at trial, which will aid the jury in its determination.”
In addition to DNA, prosecutors are also relying on evidence recovered on some of the 350 electronic devices seized from Heuermann that they’ve said include his “significant collection of violent, bondage and torture pornography” dating back to at least 1994. This online collection included images of mutilation and tying up women with ropes, two things prosecutors said are consistent with injuries inflicted on Mack and how she was bound.
(NEW YORK) — A parade of storms is continuing to pound the West Coast, bringing high waves, strong winds, heavy rain, snow and the threat of avalanches.
In the Rocky Mountains, where another 2 to 4 feet of snow is forecast though the weekend, an avalanche watch has been issued from 5 p.m. Friday until 5 p.m. Monday.
More rain is headed to the West Coast on Friday night and Sunday morning. Local rivers will continue to rise and flooding is expected in Washington and Oregon.
High wind alerts have been issued for Northern California, Oregon, Wyoming and Montana, where wind gusts could reach 70 mph.
The West Coast will finally get a break from the severe weather next week.
Meanwhile, in the South, a strong storm brought eight reported tornadoes to Texas and Louisiana on Thursday.
On Friday, more damaging winds, hail and an isolated tornado are possible from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama, to Pensacola, Florida.
A new storm system is bringing another tornado threat this weekend.
On Saturday, an elevated tornado threat is forecast from Louisiana to Alabama. Cities in the bull’s-eye include Jackson, Mississippi; Hattiesburg, Mississippi; and Alexandria, Louisiana.
On Sunday, this storm system will move into the Southeast and could bring severe weather from Georgia to the Carolinas to southern Virginia. Damaging winds and a few tornadoes will be possible.
(KILAUEA, HI) — One of the world’s most active volcanoes, located in Kilauea, Hawaii, erupted for the seventh time since December, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
At approximately 1:30 p.m. local time Monday, the volcano released a “small, sporadic splatter foundation,” which then continued to increase in intensity until 6:41 p.m., when the eruptions began.
“Episode 7 of the ongoing Halema’uma’u eruption began at 6:42 p.m. HST on Jan. 27 and is currently feeding a small flow onto the crater floor,” USGS said in an advisory statement posted Monday evening. “Lava fountains are 100-120 ft high and eruption is likely to last 10-20 hours.”
The lava flow has covered 15-20% of the volcano’s crater floor, with additional lava flow emerging from the south side of the cone appearing at 7:35 p.m. local time.
“HVO (Hawaii Volcano Observatory) continues to closely monitor Kilauea and will issue an eruption update tomorrow morning unless there are significant changes before then,” USGS said.
USGS said that the eruption is contained within the closed area of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, but warned about the risk of volcanic gas creating a haze of “vog” — volcanic smog — entering the atmosphere.
“Water vapor, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide are the primary hazard of concern, as this hazard can have far-reaching effects downwind,” USGS said in a statement.
The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Service encouraged people to stay away from the volcano’s enclosed area, since “high levels of volcanic gas and strands of volcanic glass are among the hazards.”
The eruption is under an orange warning, meaning the volcano is either currently erupting without any volcanic ash emissions, or it is “exhibiting heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption, timeframe uncertain,” according to the USGS website.
The USGS has provided a live stream for viewers to monitor activity. This intermittent series of eruptions began on Dec. 23, 2024, said the agency.
There are about 170 potentially active volcanoes, including Kilauea, in the United States, according to the USGS.
Body-worn camera footage from correctional officers at the Marcy Correctional Facility released by the New York Attorney General’s Office.
(NEW YORK) — Ten former prison guards were indicted for the killing of Robert Brooks, a prisoner incarcerated at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Marcy, New York, who was fatally beaten at the prison in December.
A grand jury indicted six officers — Nicholas Anzalone, David Kingsley, Anthony Farina, Christopher Walrath, Mathew Galliher and an unnamed defendant — on felony second degree murder and first degree manslaughter.
The nine defendants charged in the indictment appeared in court on Thursday and all pled not guilty to the charges brought against them. A tenth, unnamed defendant was unavailable to surrender on Thursday and is expected to be arraigned soon. He is not believed to be a flight risk.
The officers are accused of acting with other correctional officers in conduct that “created a grave risk of death to another person, and thereby caused the death of Robert Brooks,” according to a criminal indictment.
Brooks was transferred from the Mohawk Correctional Facility to the Marcy Correctional Facility on Dec. 9, 2024.
Excerpts of body-worn camera footage from four corrections officers were released Dec. 27 by the New York Attorney General’s Office showing the in-custody beating of the 43-year-old inmate.
In the footage reviewed by ABC News, multiple officers can be seen holding Brooks upright on an exam table, with his arms restrained, punching and kicking him in the face, torso and genitals. The beating was described in a deposition by an investigator for the New York Department of Corrections Office of Special Investigations.
Brooks was pronounced dead at a local hospital the day after the beating, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office is investigating the incident.
The deposition detailed that two sergeants and a nurse watched the attack and neglected to intervene. They were among the 14 prison staffers whom New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered to be terminated by the state.
The indictment Thursday said Brooks was allegedly assaulted on two occasions when he arrived at the infirmary by Anzalone, Walrath and the unnamed defendant — despite being restrained.
Upon arriving to the emergency room of the infirmary, Brooks was “restrained, beaten, choked, gagged, forcibly moved and kicked, all with minimal resistance on the part of Mr. Brooks and with no legitimate law enforcement purpose,” the indictment alleges.
Beating and assaults were carried out by the defendants while acting in concert together, the indictment said.
“In addition to the beatings, defendants with depraved indifference, did nothing to restrain each other, did nothing to stop the beatings and failed to immediately order medical assistance for Mr. Brooks,” the indictment said.
Brooks suffered injuries to his head, neck, hyoid bone, thyroid cartilage, torso, liver, spleen and testicles, his air passages were restricted and he chocked on his own blood, resulting in his death, according to the indictment.
Michael Mashaw, Michael Fisher and David Walters were indicted on felony second degree manslaughter. Nicholas Gentile was charged with tampering with physical evidence.
Walrath and the unnamed defendant were also indicted on felony second degree gang assault.
Mashaw, who was the ranking corrections officer in the infirmary, is accused in the indictment of failing to order the beatings to stop and not getting Brooks medical assistance until it was too late to save him.
Fisher and Walters are accused of having a clear line of sight to Brooks, but failing to attempt to stop the beatings or shield him. Walters also allegedly instructed a nurse no not enter the emergency room where Brooks was, the indictment said.
Anzalone and the unnamed defendant are accused of offering a false statement with intent to defraud the state. They wrongfully reported that all force against Brooks ceased when he entered the emergency room of the infirmary, the indictment alleges. The defendants were not aware that their actions were being recorded, according to the indictment.
“Nothing can bring him back to us. Nothing can return to us what these men have taken away. Still, these indictments are a necessary and important step toward accountability. These men killed my father, on camera. All the world could see what happened. Waiting for these charges has been incredibly hard,” Robert Brooks, Jr., the son of Brooks, said in a statement Thursday.
“These men must be fully prosecuted and convicted for what they have done. But even the convictions of these corrections officers for the murder of my father will not be enough. Every person in authority who allowed this system of violence and abuse to exist and continue for so long must also be held accountable,” he said.
The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association issued a statement in December reading, “What we witnessed is incomprehensible to say the least and is certainly not reflective of the great work that the vast majority of our membership conducts every day… This incident has the potential to make our correctional facilities even more violent, hostile, and unpredictable than ever before.”
