Although he pleaded not guilty and his attorney opposed the prosecutors’ request, Rex Heuermann, 59-year-old local architect and the prime suspect as the Gilgo Beach serial killer, was ordered by Suffolk County Supreme Court Judge Timothy Mazzei to provide a DNA swab. As Judge Mazzei ruled Wednesday, it “will yield probative material evidence”–that is, it can confirm or deny that the DNA sample found on the pizza crust and napkin that were collected by the FBI outside Heuermann’s office perfectly matches the mitochondrial sample collected from a hair recovered from a burlap used to transport one of the victims’ bodies.
Not only is this confirmation essential in order to solve the case–which has been haunting Long Island for over a decade–but this direct sample, unlike the mitochondrial DNA already in possession of the prosecutors, will be eligible to be entered into statewide and nationwide databases, helping to solve other cold cases as well.
Danielle Coysh, part of Heuermenn’s legal defense team, had contended that authorities haven’t provided sufficient evidence. So Judge Mazzei was forced to take action and legally ordered Mr. Heuermann to turn in a cheek swab, in the presence of his attorney.
“The Court finds that contrary to the defendant’s contentions, there is probably cause to believe that the defendant committed the crimes charged and, therefore, a basis to compel the buccal swab”, Judge Mazzei continued in his statement.
Rex Heuermann is also the prime suspect in the murder of a fourth woman whose body was found near the other victims at a later date, but charges have not yet been brought against him yet in this case. So far, he has pleaded not guilty.
