Massive Police Presence Searching Accused Gilgo Killer's Home — Again

LONG ISLAND, NY — A large number of investigators were back Monday at the Massapequa home of accused Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann, appearing to continue an exhaustive search of the property.

It was not immediately clear what investigators at the house were searching for.

"As District Attorney Ray Tierney has previously stated, the work of the Gilgo Beach homicide task force is continuing. We do not comment on investigative steps while ongoing," said a representative for Tierney's office.

Robert Macedonio, attorney for Heuermann's estranged wife Asa Ellerup, confirmed New York State Police and Suffolk County Police activity at the house.

"I assume it the execution of an additional warrant," Macedonio told Patch. He added that he hadn't received an additional copy of the warrant yet.

Neither Ellerup nor her son, nor the couple's daughter Victoria Heuermann, were home during the search, Macedonio said. Ellerup and her son are in South Carolina and Victoria, who was home initially, is no longer there, he said.

"I can't imagine what they're looking for, since almost a year ago they executed one of the most extensive searches I've ever seen," he said.

And, Macedonio added that he believed, "They are not looking to arrest anyone. I'm sure they would have notified us if they wanted to make an arrest."

Michael Brown, Heuermann's attorney, also did not immediately comment.

Last year, the search of the Heuermann property went on for 12 days and included the home, an excavator on the grounds, and an Amityville storage facility.

In April, after Heuermann's most recent court date, Brown said that he'd requested records recently that he said could shed light on a possible new suspect — and provide insight into former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke, who he said had shown a "lack of cooperation" in the Gilgo investigation.

At that time, the judge in the case said he'd like to see discovery completed by July.

Heuermann, the Massapequa Park man originally charged in three of the Gilgo Beach murders, was also charged with the murder of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, in January. New DNA evidence helped connect Heuermann to all four of the deaths, said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, who is prosecuting the case.

Heuermann was charged with second-degree murder, an A-1 violent felony, in the death of Brainard-Barnes on July 9, 2007.

Heuermann has pleaded not guilty.

Last July, Heuermann was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder charges and three counts of second-degree murder charges in the deaths of sex workers Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway in 2010. Heuermann also pleaded not guilty to those charges.

A total of 11 sets of remains were found in the Gilgo Beach murders, which rocked Long Island. The remains included that of a toddler and an Asian male.

Wearing a gray suit and staring straight ahead, Heuermann appeared before Judge Timothy Mazzei at the Arthur M. Cromarty Court Complex in Riverhead in April. Ellerup, Heurmann's estranged wife, also appeared at court, wearing sunglasses and walking alongside her attorney Macedonia.

At the appearance, the prosecution said they have continued to provide information to Brown, Heuermann's attorney, including 388 complete leads, lab reports and more. Brown asked the prosecution to focus on disclosure and that was provided Wednesday, the prosecution said , with additional leads to be provided going forward.

Mazzei said while he understands the "complexity and volume" of discovery, he'd like to get the discovery portion wrapped up by July so that Heuermann's trial can commence. Mazzei said some of the discovery Brown requested recently was thought to be "irrelevant" by the District Attorney's office.

Heuermann's next court appearance date is set for June 18.

If subpoenas were needed by Brown, he said he would facilitate that.

In April, Tierney said more discovery had been turned over. "It's voluminous," he said. "Today we provided a tremendous amount of discovery, including all the underlying DNA data from our DNA analysis in this case, our nuclear DNA analysis in this case— that took up an entire hard drive by itself."

When asked about the discovery deemed "irrelevant," Tierney said the prosecution is obligated under statute to provide "every single piece of paper that comes across our desk, which we will continue to do."

Just since the last court date, Tierney said, there have been at least 15 disclosures; the prosecution has provided the defense with victim Maureen Brainard-Barnes' missing person's investigation and thousands of pages of documentation, including 7,000 pages with regard to "other persons of interest," and 12 terabytes on a hard drive with regard to nuclear DNA.

Digital evidence extractions came from about 422 digital devices, recovered from the locations associated with Heuermann, including phones, smart devices, Palm pilots and more.

When asked if it's "typical" for the discovery process to last a full year— Heuermann was arrested last July — Tierney said, "Is it typical for a case that's 12 years old and involves this much scrutiny? I would say yes. But this case sort of stands alone."

He added: "When you're talking about terabytes upon terabytes upon terabytes of information, it doesn't happen overnight, it can't. It's impossible."

When asked if the DA's office is investigating the other women murdered, Tierney said the investigation was ongoing. "If the DA's office speaks about that, it will be through an indictment," he said.

Recently, the DA's office said, of an ongoing search in areas of Suffolk County, including Manorville, Calverton and Southampton: "DA Tierney has repeatedly publicly stated that the task force would continue to investigate additional murders beyond Gilgo."