Rex Heuermann’s attorney is attempting to shift the blame for the Gilgo Beach murders to the corrupt former police chief who previously handled the case.
Speaking outside the Long Island courthouse where his accused serial killer client had a hearing on Wednesday morning, barrister Michael Brown said disgraced PC James Burke is “involved” in the sordid affair.
“We received approximately almost 3,000 tips on this case,” he told reporters outside. Suffolk County Supreme Court in Riverhead.
“There were numerous tips that came to the Suffolk County Police Department, suggesting that Chief Burke was involved in this.”
Burke allegedly led a double life involving crack cocaine, cross-dressing and relationships with prostitutes. He is serving prison time after being convicted of several crimes, including assault, public lewdness and unlawful solicitation after exposing himself in a park.
Heuermann, 60, has spent most of his days since his arrest in July 2023 in a small, windowless cell at the Riverhead jail as he awaits trial. (Pictured: Heuermann in court on Wednesday)
Pictured: Former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke (center) is escorted to a vehicle by FBI personnel outside the FBI office in Melville, New York, on December 9, 2015.
His ex-wife, Asa Ellerup (pictured) was also seen pulling up in a black Mercedes in front of the Long Island courthouse.
Speaking about the former police officer’s involvement in the Gilgo Beach murders case, Brown said, “Chief Burke did not allow the FBI into the investigation back then, with his experience.”
‘It is problematic for us that the police chief leading the investigation had such a checkered past and was involved in criminal activity.
‘He recently served a prison sentence of four to four and a half years in the federal system.
‘He was recently arrested on charges of being very sexually deviant. “We want to see those records.”
Brown’s comments came after his client, Heuermann, appeared in court wearing a black suit, white shirt and navy tie on Wednesday morning.
He listened carefully to the hearing, which focused on large amounts of potential evidence seized from various devices related to the case.
The 60-year-old father of two is accused of murdering four sex workers whose bodies were found buried in a remote area of Gilgo Beach more than 10 years ago.
His ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, was also seen pulling up in a black Mercedes in front of the Long Island courthouse.
The 60-year-old father of two is accused of murdering four sex workers whose bodies were found in Gilgo Beach more than 10 years ago.
Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann, right, appears in Judge Tim Mazzei’s courtroom alongside his attorney Michael Brown at the Suffolk County Courthouse in Riverhead on Wednesday.
Asa Ellerup, left, the estranged wife of Long Island serial murder suspect Rex Heuermann, arrives at court in Riverhead, New York, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
Ellerup, left, who also shares two children with Heuermann, filed for divorce six days after being charged with the first three murders.
Speaking outside the Long Island courthouse where his accused serial killer client had a hearing on Wednesday morning, lawyer Michael Brown said disgraced PC James Burke (pictured August 2023) is “involved” in the case.
It comes just weeks after she claimed her partner of 27 years was “not capable” of murdering the four women. Heuermann pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Ellerup, who also shares two children with Heuermann, filed for divorce six days after being charged with the first three murders.
But she still visits him in prison because she believes he “deserves the benefit of the doubt” and attends his hearings with a documentary film crew.
Ellerup reportedly signed a controversial seven-figure deal with NBC Universal, Texas Crew Productions and G-Unit to appear in a series about the case.
During Wednesday’s hearing, attorneys discussed a wealth of potential evidence contained in hundreds of devices. The judge said he wanted the discovery phase of the case to be completed in July.
Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said prosecutors have “an enormous amount of material” to deal with.
“When you’re talking about terabytes and terabytes of information, it doesn’t happen overnight,” he told reporters outside court.
Heuermann last appeared in court in early February for an update on the progress of his case, during which he remained silent.
He was taken to a quiet Suffolk County courthouse in Riverhead, Long Island, New York, for a procedural hearing that Ellerup did not attend.
It was the first time the architect appeared in court since January 16, when he pleaded not guilty to the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, in 2007.
Pictured: Asa Ellerup in court on Wednesday before Heuermann’s final hearing
The alleged victims known as the ‘Gilgo four’: Maureen Brainard-Barnes; Amber Lynn Costello, 27; Megan Waterman, 22 years old; and Melissa Barthelemy, 24
Heuermann was previously charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy in 2009, and Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello in 2010.
He has spent most of his days since his arrest in July 2023 in a small windowless cell at the Riverhead jail while awaiting trial.
His lawyer previously revealed to DailyMail.com that the accused killer was still being held in solitary confinement and was “lonely and depressed.”
Officials at New York’s high-security prison said he has been isolated because otherwise he would be a “major target” for inmates.
“We have very good information that he would be a target for violence if he were not in a safe location,” Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. previously told Newsday.
“There was one individual who said if I could come into close contact with him, ‘I’m going to do something.'”
The alleged victims Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27, disappeared between 2007 and 2010.
They were all sex workers who advertised their services on Craigslist and Backstory. The women were found tied in burlap sacks a few miles away from each other.
Long Island architect Heuermann was arrested outside his Manhattan office last year after DNA evidence linked him to their disappearances.