Suffolk County prosecutors have now filed new charges against Rex Heuermann in connection with the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes
New documents have confirmed that the daughter of alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann was followed home by police, who eventually used her discarded energy drink as part of their investigation into the murders.Heuermann’s daughter, Victoria, was followed by cops as she boarded a Long Island Rail Road train, a recently-released photo has revealed.
Suffolk County prosecutors have now filed new charges against Heuermann in connection with the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Her remains were found near the bodies of three other women on Long Island’s Gilgo Beach in 2010. Brainard-Barnes had disappeared in 2007.
Brainard-Barnes’ family has spoken out publicly for the first time.”I was only 7 years old when my mother was murdered. Her loss drastically changed the trajectory of my life,” her daughter Nicolette Brainard-Barnes said. “While the loss of my mom has been extremely painful for me, the indictment by the grand jury has brought hope for justice for my mom and my family.”
Heuermann was linked to Brainard-Barnes’ murder with the help of DNA from a female hair found in the buckle of a belt that had been used to tie her ankles, feet and legs. It matched Heuermann’s wife Asa Ellerup or Victoria.
However, prosecutors noted that the hair was transferred from Heuermann to the victims, and made it clear that his family was out of time at the time of the murders. “Asa Ellerup and her children were not involved, not even in the jurisdiction, when these murders took place,” Ellerup’s attorney Robert Madedonio said, according to CBS News.
efending Heuermann in court, his attorney Michael Brown said “You’re talking about a gentleman who has never been arrested before. He’s a productive member of society. He’s going to work every day. He’s supporting his family, and he’s incarcerated. And he’s claiming he didn’t do this. But he is looking forward to having his day in a courtroom.”
Heuermann’sarrest is tied to the ‘Gilgo Four,’ referring to the four women whose bodies were found within days of each other in 2010. The women in question were Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, Amber Lynn Costello, 27, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25.