Judge Rules: 7 Murders, One Trial

Defense bid for separate trials in Gilgo Beach killings denied
Posted Sep 23, 2025 6:16 PM CDT
Judge Rules: 7 Murders, One Trial
Rex Heuermann, charged in a string of deaths known as the Gilgo Beach killings, appears in Judge Timothy Mazzei's courtroom at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, N.Y., for a status conference on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025.   (James Carbone/Newsday via AP, File)

A Suffolk County judge on Tuesday ruled that accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann will face a single, unified trial for all seven murder charges, despite his defense's push to split the cases. Heuermann's attorneys had argued that differences in timing (four deaths occurred in 1993, 2000, 2003, 2007; the last three are believed to have happened between 2009 and 2010), cause of death, and body locations for the victims warranted breaking up the charges. They argued a single trial would "create a strong risk that the jury will be unable to segregate the evidence by its separate and distinct relevance to each individual incident," per the Guardian. Judge Timothy Mazzei wasn't swayed.

Defense attorney Michael Brown acknowledged disappointment with the outcome. Prosecutors, who wanted a single trial, highlighted Heuermann's three-year stint beginning in 1981 as a Jones Beach seasonal employee and said his after-hours patrols on an ATV gave him detailed knowledge of Ocean Parkway—the stretch where six of the victims' remains surfaced, reports ABC7.

The defense also tried for a second time to get DNA evidence obtained via advanced techniques tossed out, claiming it was improperly collected. The New York Times reports that by using whole genome sequencing, the prosecution says they were able to tie hairs found with most victims to Heuermann; it's the first time such evidence has been allowed in a New York court. The judge declined to exclude it. The Times observes the rulings "cut off two major offramps for Mr. Heuermann." Heuermann will return to court on Jan. 13; a trial date has yet to be set.

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