The defense team for Gilgo Beach serial suspect Rex Heuermann went on the attack as they tried to disprove the credibility of the prosecution’s star witness in Thursday’s Frye hearing.
Lead defense attorney Michael Brown questioned the validity of the work by Dr Richard Green, a professor of biomolecular engineering at the University of California in Santa Cruz.
Green’s lab Astrea Forensics specializes in DNA extraction from old or difficult samples – such as ancient bones that are tens of thousands of years old or rootless hairs.
His company identified DNA on hairs found on some of the Gilgo Beach victims – hairs found on the victims’ bodies were traced back to Heuermann’s wife Asa Ellerup, 62, daughter Victoria Heuermann, 27, and a third unnamed individual, according to investigators.
Green testified on Tuesday that his lab has become the ‘go to’ for the specific DNA testing used in the case. He later created a software program called IBDGem that compares DNA from a known sample to an unknown sample.
The doctor of biomolecular engineering was the prosecution’s star witness during the three-day Frye hearing held at Arthur M Cromarty Criminal Court Complex in Riverhead, Long Island.
During the cross-examination Brown probed Green on whether his work has been used in criminal prosecution casework and if his science has had an impact in the world of forensics.
‘Anyone who does whole genome sequencing would use this program,’ Green testified. ‘IBDGem works on degraded samples from years ago.’
Rex Heuermann who was handcuffed and had his ankles shackled is escorted into Judge Timothy Mazzei’s courtroom on Thursday for day three of this week’s Frye hearing
Astrea Forensics founder Dr Richard Green (pictured) testified about the DNA technology used to tie Heuermann to the killings
The defense attempted to poke holes in a paper Green published on his IBDGem software by focusing on the number of times – less than 10 – it had been cited by others. They then pointed out that a previous paper he had published on Neanderthals was cited more than 1000 times.
The number of times an article is cited can be a factor in measuring the piece’s importance or validity.
Green responded that his work on Neanderthals was an ‘outlier’, explaining that ‘very few papers get cited thousands of times.’
Brown also honed in an error in a mathematical equation that was published in the paper Green had wrote on his new cutting-edge technology.
Using a projector in the courtroom, Brown used a pen to circle the discrepancy in the bi-nominal equation in the paper that was flashed on three different screens in the courtroom.
‘Is your IBDGem paper -wrong’ Brown asked Green.
‘It was a typo,’ Green said.
‘Formulas need to be correct,’ the defense shot back. ‘Do you agree with that?’
Green replied, ‘It is good when things are correct.’
‘Equation one – to be wrong is a fatal error,’ Brown remarked.
‘It’s embarrassing,’ Green said, ‘but it is a typo in the supplement of the paper.’
Brown also asked about a patent that Astrea Forensics is in the process of getting for the IBDGem software. Green explained the patent was submitted by the University of Santa Cruz.
When Brown asked if the mathematical error was ever corrected in the patent application, Green responded, ‘No.’
He also asked Green if he ever alerted the journal about the error, Green said, ‘I have not.’
Brown then asked him how his paper can be widely accepted in the scientific community if the formula is incorrect.
Green later stated when asked by the prosecution and reiterating that ‘the math is correct in the (software) code.’
Heuermann glanced at the courtroom before the start of Thursday’s hearing. His ex-wife Asa Ellerup was in the courtroom but their daughter Victoria, 27, was not in attendance
Defense attorney Michael Brown speaking to the media after Thursday’s Frye hearing
Brown also asked Green why no ‘accredited crime labs’ are using his software. Green told him that the lab is going through the accreditation process but confirmed that they are not accredited yet when asked.
‘You are not an accredited lab?’ Brown asked.
‘That is right,’ Green said.
‘So all the testing you have done on this case was done in a non-accredited lab. Is that correct to say?
‘Yes,’ Green said.’
During the cross-examination, Brown further asked about permits to conduct DNA and forensic testing.
‘As far as he is aware they have the required permits to run a business,’ Green said.
When he asked if this was the first time he testified in a courtroom, Green told him that he testified in Suffolk County, San Diego, California, and in Idaho.
‘You have not testified in a criminal setting up until Idaho last Spring last year, Brown countered.
Brown told the court that while Green’s paper on his IBDGem software was getting critiques he was about to testify in Idaho.
Green replied that it was ‘suspect timing.
‘It was definitely something we had to think about and respond too,’ he said.
Asa Ellerup, 62, pictured outside the courtroom on Thursday. The ex-wife of Heuermann has been at the court hearing all week listening intently to the testimony by the expert witness
Rex Heuermann’s wife Asa Ellerup, daughter Victoria Heuermann and their attorneys attend a hearing for Rex Heuermann at the Arthur M. Cromarty Criminal Courthouse in Riverhead, Long Island on Tuesday
Brown claimed that his testimony in Suffolk County did not apply since it was in front of a grand jury but Judge Timothy Mazzei jumped in and said to Brown, ‘Let’s not belabor the point.’
The defense went on to talk about the effectiveness of Green’s 1000 Genomes Project, a reference pool of 2,500 to offer comparisons to the suspect DNA, and asked how it compared to the CODIS, Combined DNA Index System – a database used by the FBI – and if has been used in a criminal court.
Green said, ‘I know it has been used in many forensic applications don’t know if it has been used in a criminal court.’
Brown focused on 2,504 reference samples used in the 1000 Genomes Project claiming that a similar program in the UK has at least 500,000 samples. Green explained that it is a database of DNA.
Over the last few years, Green’s DNA lab at the University of California and his company Astrea Forensics has helped solve cold cases and unsolved murders including, the notorious Zodiac Killer that was shared in a previous DailyMail.com story this week.
After the hearing, Brown spoke at a press conference explaining that Green’s lab, Astrea Forensics was hired by Suffolk County to extract DNA to extract DNA and develop a profile from hairs that were found.
He referred to it as ‘the first step in the process’ but stated that ‘it was somewhat disingenuous.’
He referred to dates going back to 2020 when that the company started to bill them for their work.
‘Astrea is scurrying around to try and develop some time of program to give it a probability and statistical analysis and that is the problem that was rushed that is what we are attacking,’ Brown said.
‘I think that was clear – he’s the star witness for the prosecution – coupled with the other witnesses this is not generally accepted in the relevant scientific community and this point in time it has no business being admitted in the court nor the state,’ he said.
When asked if he believes that Green’s work is not used widely enough used, he said ‘it is definitely a factor -a factor that it has only been accepted in one court.’
‘There is a host of things the court should consider and all of those things were brought out.’
This type – again they call it science we will call its magic- I don’t think it should be admitted based on what we have heard to date. Clearly, I think it should not be admitted in our state,’ he repeated.
Judge Mazzei will determine what will ultimately be admissable as evidence, but Brown explained that there is a host of things that need to be considered.
‘When you have a new science you want the entire scientific community in that field – relevant scientific community – you want them to be able to scrutinize it, criticize it, to push it and, correct it and come out with a really good product – that hasn’t been done here.’
He brought up the ‘ lack of scrutiny by scientists in this very field.’
‘There is literally two peer reviews on that article. The fact that there is no other publications on that particular article.
‘The fact that it hasn’t been cited to any significance – and even things like his paper that has a mathematical formula that is defective it’s problematic,’ he said.
He added, ‘we are not asking- do you believe it or not believe it – because we are talking about science and we are talking about whether or not a court is going to admit this as science in order to help convict somebody.’
‘That has to be really established and proven because otherwise it has no business in being in court.’
Brown confirmed that the defense plans on calling two witnesses but a date has not been determined.
‘We know our witnesses have a lot to say they are anxious to get out into the public forum and express their opinions and show why this is wrong,’ he said. ‘We will wait to see what happens.’
It is unclear if the prosecution will be calling on additional witnesses. The attorney’s have a meeting with Judge Mazzei on April 23.
Before the hearing began Rex Heuermann – dressed in dark suit, white shirt and navy blue tie – snuck a glance at the court room, including his ex-wife Asa Ellerup, who was sitting in the first few rows of the courtroom.
On Tuesday, Ellerup was with her daughter Victoria, but Victoria did not appear the remaining days with her mother.
On Thursday, she was accompanied by a female, but was is not clear who the person was, and her attorney Robert Macedonio, who has been by her side.
During the hearing, Heuermann sat quietly throughout the testimony flanked by his attorney’s.
When Brown was asked how Heuermann was faring, he said, ‘we speak all the time.’
‘He has been incarcerated since day one. He has maintained his innocence on this case. He is doing the best he can,’ he said.
‘He is grateful that the process is moving forward and we are getting to this point.
‘As you can see it takes a lot of time and effort on all the players – the witnesses, the prosecution and the defense – so he is happy it is moving forward bc ultimately it will lead to his day in court.’
Melissa Barthelemy, top left, Amber Costello, top right, Megan Waterman, bottom left, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Authorities on Long Island are vowing to continue investigating the Gilgo Beach murders
Valerie Mack (left) disappeared in 2000 and parts of her body were discovered in Long Island that November. Jessica Taylor (right) vanished in 2003 with some of her remains being found in Manorville that year
Sandra Costilla (left) was murdered in 1993, making her the earliest known victim. Karen Vergata’s (right) remains were identified in 2023. Heuermann has not been charged in connection to her death
Heuermann, 61, an architect and married father of two, before his divorce was finalized earlier this week, is currently charged with the murders of seven women over a two-decade reign of horror running from 1993 to 2011.
The Gilgo Beach serial killer case had haunted the Long Island community for more than a decade, ever since the first of multiple bodies were discovered along Ocean Parkway in December 2010.
Alarm was first ignited back in May 2010 when Shannan Gilbert vanished in bizarre circumstances one night.
The 24-year-old, who was working as an escort, had gone to see a client in the Oak Beach Association community when she made a terrifying 911 call, saying that someone was trying to kill her.
During a search for Gilbert in December 2010, officers came across the body of Barthelemy in the marshes by Gilgo Beach.
The four victims, who became known as the Gilgo Four, had been dumped within a quarter mile of each other, some of them bound and wrapped in burlap.
Over the following months, the remains of seven other victims were found dumped along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach.
Gilbert’s body was found last. Investigators maintain that she was not a victim, but died by accidental drowning after she fled into the dense thicket that night.
More than a decade later, in July 2023, Heuermann was dramatically arrested as he left his office in midtown Manhattan.
He was initially charged with the murders of three women: Costello, Barthelemy and Waterman.
Since then, he has been charged with the murders of four more victims: Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack.
All the victims were working as sex workers when they vanished after going to meet a client.
Heuermann has not been charged in connection to the deaths of Karen Vergata and three still-unidentified victims, known only as ‘Asian Doe,’ ‘Peaches,’ and Peaches’ toddler daughter.
Costilla, meanwhile, had never been linked to the Gilgo Beach serial killer case until Heuermann was hit with charges for her murder in 2024.
Her murder expands the timeline that the accused serial killer is alleged to have been actively preying on victims.
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.