RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann appeared in court for the second time Wednesday as his lawyers discussed evidence in the case.
Heuermann, 60, wasn't required to show up in person to the pre-trial conference, but he appeared in person as evidence was discussed.
Heuermann was sporting a new haircut as he told a judge he spends several hours each day reviewing evidence in the case.
The next court conference was set for Nov. 15.
The hearing was mainly to deal with paperwork in the sweeping case, which goes back well over a decade. Prosecutors turned over another 5,000 pages of discovery to the defense team.
DNA from Heuermann’s cheek swab matches the DNA that authorities had previously collected from a pizza crust and used to link Heuermann to one of the victims, prosecutors said.
The DNA analysis plays a critical role as prosecutors had used DNA from a pizza box discarded outside Heuermann’s Manhattan office to link him to one of the victims' cases, prosecutors explained.
Suffolk County D.A. Raymond Tierney said his office has to provide a "tremendous amount of information" to all the parties.
"Number one and number two, the defense needs to digest that material and then make whatever motions or applications they feel is appropriate," Tierney said.
"We're talking about a 13-year-old investigation we're going through the process of providing both the court and the defense with all of the materials in the case," the D.A. said.
The process of getting Heuermann from the jail to the court is elaborate, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. said before the hearing.
"What we need to ensure is that there is no, not only incarcerated people, but no unauthorized people in any of the areas he'll be in," Toulon said.
Last week, Heuermann's defense team filed court papers seeking the return of more than 280 firearms seized from his home. The defense said the firearms have a "significant financial value" and could be sold by his family to raise funds.
Heuermann was arrested outside his architectural firm in Midtown Manhattan on July 13. A 12-day search of his family's Massapequa Park home followed.
Heuermann remains behind bars at a maximum-security jail in Riverhead after he was charged with the serial murders of three women— Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. He's also the prime suspect in the murder of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
The women are known collectively as the “Gilgo Four,” as their remains were found along the same stretch of Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach in 2011.
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, including multiple counts of first-degree murder, and maintained his innocence through his attorney, Michael Brown.
Meanwhile, his estranged wife Asa Ellerup and her two adult children moved back into the family's home, which has been quiet in the two months since the search concluded.