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Heuermann, age 60, was arraigned on a second-degree murder charge in Suffolk County Court on Tuesday, Jan. 16, in the killing of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
The then-25-year-old disappeared in July 2007 while working as a sex worker. Her remains were discovered along a grassy area of the South Shore in 2010 near those of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello.
Investigators said all four were killed between July 2007 and September 2010 in what became known as the Gilgo Beach murders.
In July 2023, Heuermann was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Barthelemy, Waterman, and Costello. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
According to court documents, Brainard-Barnes had been left restrained by three leather belts, one of which was used to tie her ankles together. While examining the belt, the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory found a human hair on its buckle.
Further DNA testing revealed that the hair was a match for Heuermann’s now-estranged wife, Asa Ellerup.
Investigators said Ellerup and Heuermann’s children were out of state at the time of all four murders, “which allowed Defendant Heuermann unfettered time to execute his plans for each victim without any fear that his family would uncover or learn of his involvement in these crimes.”
Police have also tied Heuermann to the killings through cell phone records and DNA from a partially eaten pizza crust that was tossed into a trash can in Manhattan in January 2023.
The crust was sent to the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory, which determined that DNA on it matched DNA from a man’s hair that had been found on the camouflage burlap that was used to restrain Waterman.
Investigators also linked Heuermann’s email account to numerous Google searches regarding the Gilgo Beach murders, including “How cell phone tracking is increasingly being used to solve crimes,” “How does cell site analysis work,” and “Melissa Barthelemy sister.”
In court Tuesday, Heuermann pleaded not guilty to the new murder charge. He was again ordered held at the Suffolk County jail without bail.
Investigators have found 11 bodies on Gilgo Beach and identified five of them.
The time frame for the murders is from April 20, 1996 to Dec. 13, 2011.
This continues to be a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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