Rex Heuermann, the man accused of the infamous Gilgo Beach serial killings, found an unexpected ally in the courtroom on Tuesday - a scruffy black lab mix named Stewie.
The dog, adorned with a harness indicating his status as a service animal, was brought into the Long Island courtroom by Asa Ellerup, Heuermann's wife, as her husband faced the judge once more.
According to the New York Post, the 60-year-old Heuermann is facing charges for the brutal murders of six women, all sex workers, between 1993 and 2010. The bodies of these women were discovered in a desolate area of Southern Parkway. The cases remained unsolved for over a decade until Heuermann's arrest last year, which led to the first three killings being linked to him.
Michael Brown, Heuermann's defense attorney, informed the press that he plans to request separate trials for at least some of the murder cases, specifically those of victims Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla. "They have nothing to do with the other four. There is nothing, no relevance to the other four," Brown stated. He further explained that the modus operandi and the manner in which the bodies were disposed of were different in these cases. "So as we know here about this Gilgo, the Gilgo Beach murders, those two have nothing to do with it," Brown added.
Ellerup, who initially distanced herself from her architect husband, has recently been a consistent presence in the courtroom during his appearances and has regularly visited him in jail, officials reported. Their daughter, Victoria, was noticeably absent from the proceedings on Tuesday, with Ellerup instead bringing Stewie for company.
Heuermann, dressed in a new black suit and blue tie, and sporting a fresh haircut, stood before Suffolk County Judge Timothy Mazzie, shaking his head repeatedly during the brief court appearance.
Prosecutors claim that Heuermann, a towering figure, maintained a disturbing "planning document" on his home computer, complete with how-to and lessons-learned sections. The District Attorney's Office has reportedly handed over a substantial amount of records to Heuermann's defense, including over 60,000 pages of documents seized from his Massapequa Park residence, 1,600 pages of lab reports, and approximately 2,000 pages of DNA data.
"We're going through the material, that's all I can say," Brown commented on the extensive amount of evidence. "It's a voluminous amount of material."
Heuermann is scheduled to return to court on October 16. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney noted that the judge is urging both sides to expedite the process. "The judge is pushing both sides to get the material. We have to get the material out. Obviously once the defense gets it, they have to evaluate that material and take whatever action they deem appropriate," Tierney said.
The presence of Stewie, the service dog, in the courtroom, and the steadfast support of Ellerup, despite the horrifying charges against her husband, add a layer of complexity to this chilling case. As the legal proceedings continue, the public awaits the unraveling of the truth behind the Gilgo Beach murders, a mystery that has haunted the community for decades.
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