Prosecution Seeks DNA Swab From Suspected Long Island Serial Killer

Prosecutors are seeking to obtain DNA from accused Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann.

A report in Newsday revealed the court filings earlier this week. A spokesperson with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office confirmed to CNN Thursday that the office filed a request for a “buccal swab on Monday” in order to connect Heuermann to other suspected murders.

The Manhattan-based architect was arrested on July 13 and charged in the death of three women — Melissa Barthelmy, Amber Costello, and Megan Waterman — whose bodies were found at New York’s Gilgo Beach in December, 2010.

While the body of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, was found that same month, Heurmann has not officially been charged with her murder.

About “100 hours of surveillance video” and 2,500 pages of records has been given to the judge in connection to Heurmann’s trial but prosecutors are also seeking DNA samples to further connect him to the murders.

The major break in the case came after officials obtained Heuermann's DNA samples from a previously discarded pizza crust and napkin in New York City and found they were a mitochondrial match to a hair found in burlap used to wrap one of the victim’s body before it was dumped on Gilgo Beach.

According to Newsday, prosecutors are looking for a direct DNA sample instead of relying on the “purported to be used/touched” samples from the pizza crust and napkins.

“If the defendant’s DNA from a buccal swab sample matches the mitochondrial DNA profile developed from Megan Waterman’s remains, there is scientific evidence of the defendant’s contact not only with Ms. Waterman and where her remains were discovered, but also with the burlap utilized to restrain and transport her human remains,” Assistant District Attorney Michelle Haddad wrote in her request.

“Specifically, it is expected this information would provide further relevant evidence of the defendant’s identity as the perpetrator of these crimes."

Heuermann has not been charged in connection with that fourth homicide, but the investigation “is expected to be resolved soon,” the document says.

Through his attorney, Heuermann has refuted the charges against him.

At this time, Heuermann maintains his defense and says he did not commit any crime. 

Per CNN, while authorities already have DNA samples from the suspect’s wife, Asa Ellerup, they need Heuermann’s to confirm whether the sample collected from bottles inside a trash can outside the couple’s shared home matches that of a victim.

“So with regard to that DNA and those hairs, it’s either transfer – in other words, one person comes into contact with a second person who then comes into contact with a third person – or, they were at a location where you know the family member occupied, whether it’s a car or a house,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said last month.

On Thursday, State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei said he would give Heuermann’s lawyers until next week to file a response to the DA’s office request for a cheek swab.