Lawyers for Accused Gilgo Beach Serial Killer to Scrutinize Thousands of Tips for Defense Strategy

In a bid to strengthen the defense for Rex Heuermann, the accused
serial killer linked to the Gilgo Beach murders, his legal team
plans to meticulously analyze nearly 3,000 tips received by law
enforcement since 2010 concerning the 11 bodies discovered along
Long Island's Gilgo Beach over a 13-year period.

Michael Brown, representing Heuermann, emphasized the importance
of ensuring a thorough investigation into all leads during the
prolonged period when the case remained unresolved. "We want to
see those leads and we want to see the credibility of those
leads," Brown stated, underlining the potential impact on their
defense strategy.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, however, remained
unwavering in his confidence in the prosecution's case. "We've
been doing this a while," Tierney remarked, indicating
familiarity with potential defense maneuvers.

Heuermann, 60, appeared briefly at the Suffolk County Courthouse
in Riverhead, clad in a black suit, white shirt, and blue tie,
where his attorney updated the judge on the case's progress. This
marked Heuermann's first appearance before Justice Timothy Mazzei
since pleading not guilty to the indictment charging him with the
murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, one of the victims, in
2007.

During the court session, prosecutor Nicholas Santamarino
disclosed the turnover of extensive evidence to the defense,
including 2,944 tips dating back to 2010, alongside lab reports
and electronic device data amounting to three terabytes. Brown,
who had been pursuing these records for months, emphasized their
importance for the defense.

"We haven't received any of that documentation. We expect that it
will be forthcoming. But that's very important, extremely
important for this case," Brown asserted, indicating particular
interest in information related to another individual the prior
district attorney considered charging with the crimes.

In addition to the tips and evidence turnover, the defense also
discussed Heuermann's disturbing online search history, exposed
in recent court papers. These searches included terms such as
"Tied up fat girl porn," "Skinny white teen crying porn,"
"medieval torture of women," and "skinny black slave girl."
Heuermann allegedly made these searches under the Gmail account
"sandbagger303," created in 2017 under the false name "Andrew
Robert."

Moreover, Heuermann's lawyer, Michael Brown, last month defended
his client's alleged "sadistic" search history, arguing that most
people engage in questionable web sleuthing. "One thing leads to
another – you see a show about something, you start searching,
and they talk about how somebody got killed," Brown said. "You
start searching, and then they talk about another way, and you
start searching. Think about if they looked at your own personal
search history, how all of a sudden you're guilty because of your
search history?"

Heuermann's next court appearance is scheduled for April 17 as
both sides prepare for what promises to be a complex and
high-profile trial.
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