Police in New York arrested Long Island’s Gilgo Beach serial murder suspect Rex Heuermann with the help of DNA from a discarded pizza box, according to a bail application.
Rex Heuermann is charged with six counts of murder: one count of first degree murder and one count of second degree murder for each of the three victims. Those victims have been identified as Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Authorities said 11 sets of human remains were found on a beach highway in Long Island between 2010 and 2011. The bail application made public Friday explains that police also recovered male hair from a burlap they said was used to wrap Waterman’s body in 2010.
At the time, analysis revealed that the hair found “Caucasian/European characteristics” but wasn’t suitable for further DNA testing.
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In 2020, the hair was submitted to a laboratory for further analysis, which revealed that it belonged to a male with a specific type of DNA.
A witness to the disappearance of Costello identified a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche as the vehicle believed to have been driven by the alleged killer.
Through a “comprehensive review” by several law enforcement agencies, authorities were led to a first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche registered to Heuermann, the document states.
After discovering the vehicle that was registered to Heuermann, a Chevrolet Avalanche, a police surveillance team observed him throwing away a pizza box at 385 5th Avenue in Manhattan. The pizza box was sent to the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory for analysis, where a swab was collected from the pizza crust on March 23.
A portion of the hair found on Waterman back in 2010 was also sent for analysis on April 28 for cross-examination with the DNA found on the pizza crust.
On or around June 12, it was determined that the DNA found on the hair and crust have the “same” mitochondrial profile, excluding 99.96% of the North American population, officials wrote in the court document.
Heuermann’s DNA, however, could not be excluded from the male hair found near Waterman’s body, police wrote in the bail application.
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“It is significant that Defendant Heuermann cannot be excluded from the male hair recovered near the ‘bottom of the burlap’ utilized to restrain and transport Megan Waterman’s naked and deceased body,” the document states.
Heuermann is married and has two children, working as an architect in Manhattan while living on Long Island.
“I’m an architect. I’m an architect consultant. I’m a troubleshooter. Born and raised on Long Island. Then working in Manhattan since 1987,” Heuermann said in a February 2022 video interview with Bonjour Realty posted to YouTube. “When a job that should’ve been routine suddenly becomes not routine, I get the phone call.”
“I’ve lived with the Gilgo Beach investigation for my entire tenure as county executive, and I can tell you that during that time, the focus for me, members of our team have been on bringing justice for these victims and closure to these families who have suffered,” Suffolk County Executive Steven Bellone told reporters who were outside Heuermann’s home Friday in Massapequa Park.
Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.
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