The case against alleged serial killer Rex Heuermann could grow to include other bodies found over the years along a stretch of Long Island beach, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Heuermann, 59, made a brief court appearance in Riverhead, New York, for the pre-trial conference wearing a sports coat, white shirt and tan pants.
He’s already been charged with three counts of murder, for the alleged slayings of Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27. And prosecutors have previously said he’s a prime suspect in the disappearance of a fourth woman: 25-year-old Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who vanished in 2007.
The group of women has been called the “Gilgo Four,” in reference to Gilgo Beach, along the southern shore of Long Island, where bodies have been found.
“Now we have expanded our investigation to include other bodies recovered in that area,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told the court.
Outside the courthouse, Tierney declined to say when more charges could be filed against Heuermann.
“We’re still investigating,” Tierney said. “Our investigation is continuing and when we’re prepared to announce charges, if that day comes, we’ll do it in court.”
Prosecutors also revealed that a DNA swab from Heuermann, taken after his arrest, matched biological material from a male hair collected off burlap on Waterman’s body.
Investigators had previously said they had made that DNA match from pizza crust that Heuermann had allegedly thrown into a New York City trash can. Now the state claims it has DNA directly from Heuermann’s mouth, linking him to the leftover pizza and Waterman.
Heuermann has been in custody since his arrest in New York City on July 13.
The suspect told the judge on Wednesday that he’s been reviewing the state’s evidence against him for about two or three hours a day.
Since the end of August, prosecutors have given the defense about 13,000 pages of material that could be used against the architectural consultant from Massapequa Park, a village in Nassau County.
The defendant’s next court appearance is set for Nov. 15.
Brittany Kubicko and Madison Lambert contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
