SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK: New DNA evidence has emerged in the Gilgo Beach murder case, potentially linking the suspect Rex Heuermann to one of the serial killing victims which has made a dramatic twist in the decade-long investigation.
The 59-year-old man submitted the cheek swab in August and the prosecution now confirms that the court-ordered swab matched DNA from a pizza crust that was found outside his office in Manhattan in July.
On further analysis, this DNA was found to match a hair discovered on the body of Megan Waterman, a Gilgo Beach victim who died in 2010, according to Daily Mail.
Internet mocked Rex Heuermann's bizarre new hairstyle
Heuermann appeared in court on Wednesday, September 27, for a hearing in the case in which he is charged with the murders of three women whose bodies were found scattered along Gilgo Beach in December 2010.
During his court appearance, the New York-based architect sported a new hairdo which the internet found bizarre.
"That haircut is a rather brutal crime itself," a user wrote on Twitter, while another tweeted, "I can only imagine what the 'stylist' looked like."
One user trolled Heuermann's new hairdo saying, "He's clinging to that forelock for dear life," and another wrote, "The haircut makes him look like even more of a serial killer."
Match in DNA profile 'just erases all doubt'
According to prosecutors, the DNA found on the discarded crust was previously tied to the suspect's estranged wife, Asa Ellerup. The DNA is now directly linked to him following the recent discovery.
Talking to reporters after the court hearing, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said, "The surveillance team had observed the pizza box and were confident that that was the DNA, that the DNA profile would be consistent with the defendant because he left that material inside the box," and added, "And so the buccal swab just erases all doubt."
During the brief court proceedings, the suspect who was arrested on July 13 only spoke once when he told Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei that he was able to review the case evidence submitted by the prosecutors while behind bars "two or three hours” at a time.
What are the charges against Rex Heuermann?
Heuermann pleaded not guilty to the brutal killings of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, and Amber Lynn Costello who were strangled to death. Their bodies were discovered along Ocean Parkway.
The alleged serial murderer is also considered a main suspect in the death of another one of the first of 'Gilgo Four' who is identified as Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
