(NewsNation) — Attorney John Ray had a news conference Thursday to discuss the case against Rex Heuermann, who is charged with murder in the deaths of multiple women found near Long Island’s Gilgo Beach.Ray claimed he had new evidence regarding Heuermann’s family members.
However, at the press conference, he did not provide a direct link tying the family members to Heuermann. Instead, Ray showed reporters pictures allegedly taken from Heuermann’s child’s Tumblr blog, depicting violent acts.
“What we have here is circumstantial evidence,” Ray said. “It can be filled with inferences and inescapable connections.”
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has repeatedly stated that his wife, Asa Ellerup and her children were out of town each time Heuermann allegedly committed the crimes he is accused of. They are not accused of anything related to this case, Tierney said.
“To implicate the family at this point, without evidence, without the task force or prosecutors making that link, it just seems incredibly premature,” Trial Attorney Misty Marris said about Ray’s comments on “NewsNation Now” Thursday.
Heuermann, an architect, was arrested last July in connection to the killings of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Last month, he was given additional second-degree murder charges in connection to the deaths of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla.
Ray is the attorney for the family and estate of Shannan Gilbert, who went missing and whose remains were found near Gilgo Beach. Suffolk County police maintain Gilbert drowned and that there was no evidence of a homicide, and Heuermann has not been charged or implicated in her case. However, Ray asserts that there is a connection between Gilbert and Heuermann.
The discovery of Gilbert’s body in 2010 is what sparked police’s investigation into the deaths of at least 10 people, most of whom were sex workers, whose remains were discovered along an isolated highway not far from Gilgo. Victims had gone missing over a span of at least 14 years.