Long Island DA credited for arrest of Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann kicks off re-election campaign
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — Ray Tierney, the district attorney credited for the arrest of Rex Heuermann in the Gilgo Beach serial killer case, will be running for re-election next year.
Many in the audience of supporters at Tuesday's announcement in Riverhead praised Tierney and his cold case team for the arrest that has garnered worldwide attention.
DNA will be discussed in Gilgo Beach murders pre-trial hearing
The announcement included new details about evidence linked to the accused killer.
"We're starting to get into the meat of the case with pre-trial hearings," Tierney said.
One hearing promises to be centered around DNA.
On Tuesday, the defense team for Heuermann asked the judge to exclude expert nuclear DNA testimony related to hairs found at six crime scenes.
"If we were not confident in the efficacy and the admissibility of that evidence, we would not have used it," Tierney said.
But the defense has repeatedly argued that the California laboratory working with Suffolk investigators should not be accepted as reliable and has been questioned within the scientific community.
"I know [Heuermann]'s extremely frustrated. He's said from day one, he is not responsible for these murders," defense attorney Michael J. Brown said back on Dec. 17.
The California lab's analysis linked hairs from Heuermann and his family members to six of the seven alleged victims in the indictment.
"There is a tremendous amount of evidence in the case," Tierney said.
The Supreme Court judge said he intends to schedule the DNA hearing when Heuermann returns to court on Jan. 15.
Meanwhile, Tierney says investigation into all the unsolved Gilgo Beach cold cases continues.
"We are going to look at these cold cases in a comprehensive way, each one," he said.
Heuermann's estranged wife and children are not suspects.
