Gilgo Beach murders: Rex Heuermann's court appearance unveils new evidence
LONG ISLAND - Accused Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann was in court Tuesday morning.
During a less than 5-minute long conference on Tuesday, prosecutors handed over the Suffolk County Police Department’s lead log.
There were close to 3,000 tips from the public dating back more than a decade to when the first bodies were discovered. Additional tips will be handled on a rolling basis.
"There are significant other suspects here that weren’t pursued or apprehended in the same way they did with Rex Heuermann," Brown said. "I think it’ll be problematic."
But Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney says there’s strong evidence to prove Heuermann is responsible for killing four sex workers whose remains were found back in 2010.
"There were a lot of lab reports that were turned over as well as underlying bench notes and there were a lot of downloads of electronic devices and we provided them with 3 terabytes of those downloads," Tierney said.
RELATED: Gilgo Beach murders: Suspected serial killer Rex Heuermann charged with 4th murder
This was the first time Heuermann has appeared in court since he was charged with the fourth murder. He stood silently with his hands cuffed behind his back. His estranged wife Asa Ellerup was noticeably missing from the conference.
Former prosecutor Imran Ansari calls it a lengthy process.
"The defense is going to be looking at that forensic evidence, likely be attacking it and the prosecution is going to be relying that forensic evidence," he said.
Prosecutors in Suffolk County, New York, last month charged Heuermann with murdering Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who disappeared in 2007 while working as an escort, linking him to her death through DNA and other evidence.
Heuermann has already been charged with murdering three other escorts. Like Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Melissa Barthelemy, the remains of Brainard-Barnes were found in a desolate spot along the ocean near Gilgo Beach.
Heuermann pleaded not guilty to the new second-degree murder charge. Defense attorney Michael Brown entered the not-guilty plea on Heuermann's behalf. He was once again remanded to Suffolk County jail until his court date.
Brainard-Barnes is believed to be the first of the "Gilgo Four" to be killed. She was 25 years old at the time.
A trial date has still not been set up and no arrests have been made in the deaths of at least six other victims found near Gilgo Beach.
The next court date is April 17.