'Significant Development' In Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation: DA

LONG ISLAND, NY — A "significant development" in the Gilgo Beach homicide investigation is slated to be revealed Thursday, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.

Accused Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann could be facing a new charge related to another killing, according to a report by Newsday this week.

Tierney, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon, Acting Suffolk County Police Commissioner Robert Waring, representatives of the New York State Police, as well as additional representatives of the Gilgo Beach homicide investigation task force, are scheduled to host a press conference following a court proceeding in Riverhead Thursday morning.

Tierney said a "key development" will be unveiled in the case involving Heuermann, who is slated to appear before Judge Timothy Mazzei in the Arthur M. Cromarty Court Complex Thursday.

Heurmann was initially slated to appear in court for his next conference on June 18.

The news comes after a swarm of police converged on Heuermann's Massapequa Park home during an exhaustive search that lasted five days recently.

Robert Macedonio, attorney for Heuermann's wife Asa Ellerup, told Patch Monday that he'd "heard the same rumors that everyone is hearing" about a possible new charge but said he hadn't yet been informed by any official to confirm that fact. On Wednesday, he said he could not comment until after any charge was announced because "at this point, it's all speculation."

He added, earlier this week: "My client is out of town so if there is an arraignment Thursday, she's not going to be there."

Heuermann's attorney Michael Brown has not responded to multiple attempts for comment in recent days.

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.

Heuermann 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 also pleaded not guilty to that charge.

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."

It was not immediately clear if the new search of Heuermann's home was connected in any way to the recent searches of woods in Manorville and other areas.

In releasing a timeline of the killings in past years, Suffolk County Police said that on November 19, 2000, the remains of Manorville Jane Doe/Jane Doe #6, who was later identified as Valerie Mack, were discovered in Manorville.

On July 26, 2003, the remains of Jessica Taylor, an escort working in New York City, were located in a wooded area in Manorville. Additional remains of Taylor were discovered March 29, 2011, along Ocean Parkway, during the search for Shannan Gilbert, police said.