A New York attorney claimed to have new “circumstantial evidence” in the Gilgo Beach murder case that he believes could prove accused serial killer Rex Heuermann was not living a double life.
John Ray, who represents the family of Shannan Gilbert, whose disappearance led to the discovery of the ‘Gilgo Four’ remains, said at a press conference on Thursday that Heuermann’s daughter Victoria, 27, had previously posted to social media disturbing images.
“This appears to be the remains of a human being that looks half-eaten,” Ray told reporters outside his Long Island office, as he presented images he said were found on her Tumblr blog. It’s unclear who or what the “remains” actually are.
Ray presented his “evidence” exactly a week after Heuermann, 60, was arraigned on murder charges in the 2003 dismemberment death of Jessica Taylor, 20, and the 1993 death of Sandra Costilla, 28. No members of his family have been charged with crimes in relation to the case, and prosecutors and police have not accused them of any wrongdoing.
Heuermann’s estranged wife Asa Ellerup and the couple’s two children were out of state at the time of the murders, according to their attorney, Robert Macedonio. They still live in the Massapequa Park home, which has been searched twice.
Ellerup has previously claimed to know nothing about the suspected serial killer’s “double life.”
Heuermann’s adult children, Victoria Heuermann and Christopher Sheridan, have been “caught in the cross hairs of this deeply unfortunate case that they have nothing to do with other than they are related to Mr. Heuermann,” their attorney Vess Mitev has previously said.
The Manhattan architect has already been charged with the 2009 and 2010 murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes — known as the “Gilgo Four.” He pleaded not guilty in all five murders.
Ray claimed the photos they allegedly found on Heuermann’s daughter’s social media accounts show that Victoria was “brought up in this sickness.”
“The evidence that we have suggests that we have been sold a story by the Heuermann family,” he said, without offering anything to back up his wild assertions beyond photos.
Lawyer Misty Marris told “NewsNation Now” the “circumstantial evidence” proves nothing.
“To implicate the family at this point, without evidence, without the task force or prosecutors making that link, it just seems incredibly premature,” Marris said.
Last month, Gilgo Beach Task Force investigators completed a second search of Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park and a search of an area of Manorville.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney revealed that Heuermann kept a “blueprint” of his crimes on a hard drive in his basement of his Massapequa Park home which was recently searched for a second time.
Tierney said Gilgo Beach Task Force believes “this planning document that was used by Heuermann to plot out his kills with excruciating detail.”
“His motivations, meticulous planning, and clear intent were obvious,” Tierney told reporters following the arraignment. “His intent was nothing short but to murder these victims.”
In response to Ray’s claims on Thursday, Ellerup’s attorney, Robert Macedonio, held a joint press conference with Vesselin Mitev, who represents the couple’s children, and referred to the bail application released by the prosecutors last week, according to the Long Island Press.
Macedonio pointed out that the document shows that the wife and children were out of town during the murders.
“The earliest homicide was 1993, which he was charged with last week. Victoria was not born,” Macedonio said. “The latest one is 2007. She was an early teenager.”
He continued: “The district attorney’s office has put out extensive, detailed information, where they were on each and every occasion the alleged homicides were committed in this case against Rex Heuermann.”
“If they thought that Victoria or Christopher were involved in any way, shape or form, they wouldn’t have been mentioned in the bail application. They have been excluded. For Ray Tierney and the Task Force to exclude Asa and the children this early in the game, it only can hurt him if it’s disproved later on, he had no obligation to say anything about them. Yet he empathetically says ‘They were not here.’”
Mitev slammed Ray for his claims about her client Victoria and her alleged Tumblr account.
“There’s zero evidence to substantiate that,” Mitev said on Thursday.
“What you’ve heard from an attorney representing someone that’s in no way shape or form linked in reality with alleged acts was reckless and defamatory. We don’t typically respond to frivolous sideshows, but we had to because the reputation and the character of these two young children who I represent is unimpeachable. This man is cosplaying as an attorney.”
