Gilgo Beach suspect's loyal ex-wife skips key hearing as expert raises serious questions about DNA evidence
The loyal ex-wife of the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer has skipped a key hearing - as an expert raises serious questions about DNA evidence being used in the case.
Asa Ellerup has continued to attend her ex-husband Rex Heuermann's court hearings despite their divorce in April.
But on Tuesday the mother of two was nowhere in sight.
Ellerup's attorney Robert Macedonio said there was 'no specific reason' why she was not present at court, and did not want to comment further.
Ellerup, who was married to Heuermann for 27 years and shared two children - Victoria, 27 and Christopher, 35, before she filed for divorce after his arrest in July 2023.
On Tuesday, Suffolk County Criminal court heard from Nathaniel Adams, a systems engineer with Forensics Bioinformantics Services, a biotechnology company based in Fairborn, Ohio.
Adams told the court that the IBDGem software that was used by the prosecution's star witness Richard 'Ed' Green, Phd, a biomolecular engineer and co-founder of Astrea Labs, who testified in April, did not appear to follow a formal discipline that would confirm if the software was dependable or not.
Using a powerpoint presentation, Adams spoke about the 'zone of chaos' when defects occur in the early or mid-development stages, but explained aren't caught until late development or post -release.
'All of these defects can exist and can manifest in serious problems and not be apparent to the users. They may not know that there is an error occurring.'
He noted that the IBDGem software used by Astrea Labs followed 'no quailty control framework.' One operational concern he spoke about was when the Astrea team had a reed sample in the lab that returned challenging results.
Adams concluded that if the team had a standardized processes in place that would not have taken place.
'You don't want bad software getting involved in the process,' he said. 'Formal and regular inspections of software prevents the zone of chaos from taking place.'
He further testified that there were 65 total edits - also known as commits - made on the IBDGem software since June 2020, 15 edits and four new updated versions, also called 'releases' since March 2023.
He explained that IBDGem software is not the same one that tested the data sample used in the case, and said Green's team adjusted the code after they did testing on the case adding that 'the (software) release was done after the testing.'
When defense attorney Danielle Coyosh asked Adams if these tests are not completed right can the system still be considered valid and verified, he responded, 'No, by definition it is unreliable.'
The defense witness also pointed that Green's team are scientists and don't use the same type of validity in developing code and software to do the scientific analysis as a systems engineer would.
The 38-year-old Adams who has an associate's degree in systems engineering and bachelors in computer science said he was still working on obtaining his Master's degree and working towards his master's thesis.
However, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney appeared to mock Adams and questioned his credibility during his grueling two hour cross-examination.
Tierney took apart his 10-page CV asking him why it took nearly 10 years for him to obtain his college degrees. At one point, Judge Timothy Mazzei intervened and asked Adams' what was going on between 2004 to 2011?'
His response to the judge was that he had 'various jobs' but didn't elaborate.
During the cross-examination, the DA asked the witness why he only listed 12 cases on is his CV if he was acted as an expert witness for the defense in 30 cases.
He also asked if he graduated with honors, and if had any other industry experience besides working for his current employer.
He also inquired about the journals and publication Adams had published in and the conferences he presented at.
'You're supposed to be an expert, but you don't even know who your adviser was or if you graduated summa cum laude or not,' Tierney said.
The expert witness will return to the stand on Wednesday for day two of the hearing.
Tuesday's hearing comes exactly one week after the three-part Peacock documentary The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets first aired.
The documentary reveals never-before-heard admissions from Heuermann's family and of a man accused of living a double life.
In a bombshell twist, Victoria admits to producers that she believes her father 'most likely' committed the murders though her mother steadfastly defends her ex-husband's innocence.
She came to her own conclusion after she reviewed the facts that were available on the case and what was explained to her. She shared the revelation with producers, a week before the series launch.
Though she did not speak about in the documentary, it was revealed in a statement at the end of the final episode.
Melissa Barthelemy (top left), Amber Costello (top right), Megan Waterman (bottom left), and Maureen Brainard-Barnes (bottom right) became known as the 'Gilgo Four'
Valerie Mack (left) disappeared in 2000 and parts of her body were discovered in Long Island that November. Jessica Taylor (right) vanished in 2003 with some of her remains being found in Manorville that year
Sandra Costilla (left) was murdered in 1993, making her the earliest known alleged victim. Karen Vergata's (right) remains were identified in 2023. Heuermann has not been charged in connection to her death
Heuermann has been charged with the murders of seven women during a two-decade reign of horror from 1993 to 2011.
All the victims were sex workers who vanished before their remains were found along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach as well as other remote spots on Long Island.
Since his arrest, prosecutors have unveiled a trove of evidence, including hairs allegedly belonging to Heuermann and his family members found on some of the victims, cellphone data allegedly placing him in contact with them, and a chilling 'planning document' in which he allegedly outlines his killings in detail.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Fears that a serial killer or killers were operating on Long Island began in May 2010 when 24-year-old sex worker Shannan Gilbert disappeared in strange circumstances one night.
During a search for Gilbert that December, officers found the body of Melissa Barthelemy, 22, in the marshes by Gilgo Beach.
Within days, three more bodies - Amber Costello, 27, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, and Megan Waterman, 22 - had been found. They became known as the Gilgo Four.
Over the following months, the remains of seven other victims were found.
Earlier this year, Tanya Denise Jackson, 26, also known as Peaches, and her two-year-old daughter Tatiana Marie Dykes were identified this year.
Their deaths have not been linked to Heuermann.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
40 minutes ago
- The Guardian
PEN America ‘gravely concerned' by deportation of Australian writer critical of Trump administration
A major writers' advocacy group has condemned the detention and deportation of an Australian writer from the US as 'gravely concerning', while the US administration rejected the suggestion he was targeted because of his political beliefs as 'unequivocally false'. Alistair Kitchen, a former Columbia University postgraduate student, was last week detained at Los Angeles airport before being deported back to Melbourne. He said he was 'explicitly' told by US border officials he had been held because of his writing on pro-Palestinian campus protests. A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said this week Kitchen was denied entry because he gave false information about drug use on his Electronic System for Travel Authorization (Esta), which allows eligible visitors to make a short trip to the US without a visa. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'Using the Esta is a privilege, not a right, and only those who respect our laws and follow the proper procedures will be welcomed,' the spokesperson said. Kitchen had ticked 'no' on his Esta application to a question asking travellers if they have ever consumed drugs, but later told border officials he had previously bought marijuana in New York state, where it is legal, and had consumed drugs in other countries. The 33-year-old believes he was 'clearly targeted for politically motivated reasons' and said officials spent more than 30 minutes questioning him about his views on Israel and Palestine including his 'thoughts on Hamas'. PEN America, a non-profit which raises awareness for the protection of free expression in the US, said that writers, artists and scholars must be free to express their views openly without compromising their free movement across borders. 'It is gravely concerning to read an account of someone being detained and turned away at the border due to their writings on student protests, Palestine, and the Trump administration,' the organisation said in a statement. 'Kitchen's account fits a disturbing pattern, in which border agents appear to be screening visitors to the U.S. for their viewpoints. That is anti-democratic, and it must be halted,' PEN America said. This year, Kitchen published a piece on his blog, Kitchen Counter, on the Department of Homeland Security's detention of Mahmoud Khalil, the lead negotiator of the Columbia Gaza Solidarity Encampment. In the article, Kitchen said Khalil had been arrested 'on utterly specious grounds by a neo-fascist state' with the goal of 'the deportation of dissent'. He referred to the Trump administration's executive order of 30 January in which the government promised to go on the 'offense to enforce law and order' and 'cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses'. When asked by reporters about Kitchen's case on Monday, Richard Marles, the acting prime minister, would not speculate as to what took place at the US border, but said that 'we have freedom of speech in this country and that's a very important part of our nation'. A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed that consular assistance had been provided to an Australian who was refused entry into the US. The universal human right of free speech is protected in the US by the first amendment and covers both US citizens and non-citizens. Western Sydney University professor of law Chris Michaelsen suggested there was 'a grey zone' at the US border – and that the Trump administration was 'pushing the boundaries until there's resistance'. Michaelsen said that under the first amendment, there is no legal basis on which border officials can deny an individual entry to the US because of what they have said or written. But what someone has said or written could prompt immigration officials to hold an individual while investigating their background. 'What's happening is that once you say something critical, you appear on somebody's radar,' Michaelsen said. 'It's used as a pretext to basically invoke the real powers that they have.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion He said arriving visitors were particularly vulnerable because they do not have standby access to a lawyer – and any later legal challenge would be both lengthy and expensive. It was not clear that there was a systematic attempt by the US administration to profile people's speech – but even a few cases of people with dissenting views being deported could have a 'chilling effect' on public speech, he said. The director of the University of New South Wales' Australian Human Rights Institute, Prof Justine Nolan, said the right to free speech seemed to be interpreted differently for US citizens and non-citizens. 'It is somewhat of a 'moving feast' in terms of its application at the moment with priority apparently being given to 'national security' caveats as a means of not only restricting free speech but also intersecting with immigration policies,' she said. The effect is that some visitors are taking precautions before entering the US – if they are choosing to travel there at all. Guardian Australia has spoken with an Australian journalist based in the US who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He said when he was visiting Australia recently his company told him to post his smartphone to his home in the US rather than risk taking it through US immigration control. The company also advised him to carry a temporary 'burner' phone with him when he returned to the US, he said. He chose not to heed the advice and re-entered the US without issue. Anthony Loewenstein, an Australian author, journalist and film-maker who is critical of the Israeli government, said he knows of several people, including authors, who have sought legal advice before travelling to the US for work. Some have chosen to give lectures and attend book tours by Zoom rather than in person while others have taken burner phones to the US. Some have removed their social media accounts from their phones before flying – but, he said, 'you can't stop immigration officials Googling you'. The result, he said, may be a 'kind of intellectual impoverishment within the US' as scientists, writers, academics and thinkers from around the world avoid travelling to the country. 'The American government seemingly doesn't want a plurality of views,' he said. 'I think the result will be that America and American intellectual life will become poorer.' Dfat's Smartraveller website states US officials may ask to inspect travellers' electronic devices, emails, text messages or social media accounts – and if a traveller refuses, officials can deny entry.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Extra security at Club World Cup stadium following chaotic Copa America final scenes
Almost a year after the Copa America final at Hard Rock Stadium descended into chaos, large crowds of football fans have returned to the venue for the Club World Cup, met by increased security measures. Approximately 120,000 fans attended the first two matches in Miami, met by additional security checkpoints and a significant police presence. The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office has implemented enhanced safety protocols following the events of July last year. During the Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia, ticketless individuals stormed the stadium gates, causing panic and injuries as security struggled to manage the situation. The match was delayed by an hour, leaving children in tears and raising concerns about the safety of future major football tournaments in the United States, including this summer's Club World Cup and the 2026 World Cup. The current tournament serves as a crucial assessment of the US's readiness to host fans from 48 countries during the upcoming World Cup. The focus is particularly intense on Miami, given the alarming scenes at the Copa America, where a sellout crowd overwhelmed the 65,000-seat Hard Rock Stadium. Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz stated prior to the tournament: "We've put extensive measures in place to protect fans, players and staff. The Miami -Dade Sheriff's Office is leading all security efforts for this global event." Last year, police had to lift distressed children over barriers to avoid them being crushed, while elsewhere officers tackled to the ground the ticketless fans they could catch in a forlorn attempt to keep the hoards at bay. Videos showed some fans trying to climb through air vents to gain entry. Changes made over the past year mean fans for this tournament must pass through three separate checkpoints that enclose the entire campus before getting close to the stadium. Steel fencing is set up around the perimeter. First up is a ticket check at temporary gates, taking up large parts of the parking lot where tailgate parties might usually take place. Then comes another airport-style screening under tents where bags are checked by X-ray machines. Even flags need to be approved. Fans were able to get much closer to the stadium before checkpoints at the Copa America. 'When I was at the final, the security guards just opened the gate and started letting people through,' Edison Negron, a Boca Juniors fan from Puerto Rico told The Associated Press when describing the scenes as fans crushed against the barriers last year. Miami-Dade County said at the time that a full review would be conducted and that the scenes 'cannot happen again.' 'There will be a significant law enforcement and security footprint in and around the stadium to ensure public safety for all the events,' Det. Argemis Colome told the AP while adding social media was being monitored prior to matches. Preparations have included special training for a rapid-deployment force as part of a multi-agency response to potential crowd trouble. 'If things go south, we get ready for civil unrest and unruly fans,' the Sheriff's Office said in a social media post. A large police presence has been evident at both games played at Hard Rock so far — Saturday's tournament opener when a crowd of more than 60,000 watched Inter Miami vs. Al Ahly and Monday's match between Boca Juniors and Benfica in front of nearly 56,000. Patrol cars have been stationed along the interstate outside of the stadium and, within the grounds, officers equipped with face shields and protective clothing are on patrol. FIFA said it had worked closely with stadium officials, state and federal agencies 'to ensure a robust security presence.' A 2-2 draw between Argentine giant Boca and Benfica of Portugal was the first match at the stadium involving a large number of traveling fans. FIFA said Boca was the first team to sell out tickets for its three group stage matches, with fans of the 35-time Argentine champion dominating the crowd. No major altercations were reported. Boca plays a second match at Hard Rock against Bayern Munich on Friday. While only so much can be drawn from two games that have been below capacity, the extra safeguards put in place have been evident, with, as of yet, no repeat of the chaotic scenes at the Copa America.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Great Black Hope by Rob Franklin review – privilege and race intersect in a fine debut
Lives can turn on one mistake. Smith's comes when he is caught in the corner of a restaurant in the Hamptons on the last night of summer, snorting cocaine from a key. He walks calmly out with the two khaki-clad police officers, poses for a mugshot and posts his $500 bail. Smith is Black, which won't help, but he comes from wealth, which will. So he calls his sister, who calls his father in Atlanta, who tells his mother, who collapses on the floor in shock then starts calling lawyers. Smith prepares for his court date with a series of AA meetings and counselling sessions that will make it clear that this promising young man is on the road to redemption. The contrite lines Smith rehearses have some truth, and his legal troubles are not the only thing on his mind. He was a model student as a boy, living up to the pedigree of his family of Atlanta landlords, lawyers and professors. At university, new social worlds opened thanks to new friends Elle, the effervescent Black daughter of a successful soul singer, and Carolyn, an impulsive white art-world scion. After graduating, Smith shares a New York apartment with Elle, mixing brunches, hook-ups and club nights with fairly half-hearted work. A content strategist at an arty startup, he is in an investor meeting when his phone buzzes with the news that Elle has been found dead of an overdose. Revelations and rumours spread and Smith spirals, partying harder until his arrest a few weeks later. Before long, a Vanity Fair journalist is pestering him with questions, and Carolyn won't answer his calls. Brooklyn-based writer and academic Rob Franklin, like Smith, moved from Atlanta to New York. He shared an apartment with a young woman, Lyric McHenry, who died from a widely reported overdose. His watchful and poetic debut does not dwell on the obvious drama of arrests or police investigations. It is about a gay twentysomething trying to figure out his place in the world, and plenty more besides: this is a book about New York that's part love letter, part reckoning; a tale of glamorous club kids and their sometimes bleak inner lives; and an account of the way privilege and race intersect. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion Franklin evokes a world of slick surfaces. Carolyn's set seem to live 'entirely by what looked best in retrospect', moving from impossible-to-get dinner reservations and bleary afterparties to stage-managed meet-ups in which a picnic is 'incomplete without a tuft of bundled peonies, a sketchbook casually strewn'. One apartment has 'an emerald slab topped with a polar bear hide' instead of a couch; Smith's workplace is built of 'polycarbonate and Lucite' and peopled by 'ex‑bankers in boot-cut denim and software engineers in Yeezys'. There are moments when Smith relishes this life and finds joy in his friendships and the release of the dancefloor. But shadows are ever present. Smith claims he isn't addicted to a substance as much as a desire to 'negate or obliterate' time. As his court date beckons, he looks back on the detritus of Elle's life: the piled gift bags and cosmetics that were her payment for interning, the inverted drugs baggies that filled the bin. Smith's status and connections grant him access to exclusive circles, but his entry is conditional: he is a 'brown, queer interloper' who offers Carolyn's group a multicultural veneer. Elle's death is made to fit a tragic story: 'Black pain', Smith reflects, 'was always spectacle, was always entertainment.' The Instagram comments quickly descend: 'junkie', 'whore', 'u got wut u deserved'. If Smith's race lends a fragility to his privilege, others are broken already. He passes 'scattered, limp bodies splayed out on benches' in a park and joins a new crowd who hand out emergency supplies and drug test kits. Franklin charts Smith's slow, uncertain journey towards stability with sometimes overheated prose: rather than addiction, he speaks of 'a desire inescapable, and often ruinous to those who possess it, to scrape with fanged nails against the marbled flesh of being'. Yet for the most part he grounds his lyrical writing with granular details, from sidestreets and brand names to vivid late-night conversations, in a book that really convinces. This fine debut probes grief, friendship, hedonism and the hard edges of the city as it walks a young man towards a second chance he knows others may not get. Great Black Hope by Rob Franklin is published by Summit (£16.99). To support the Guardian, order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
