Is Rex Heuermann linked to more murders?

(NewsNation) — Retired FBI profiler Jim Clemente, host of the “Real Crime Profile” podcast, told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo on Monday that he “absolutely” believes suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann will be linked to more murders.

“The real killer is Rex Heuermann, and all the evidence points to that, allegedly at this point,” Clemente said on “CUOMO.” “The ritualistic behavior sticks to all of them.”

Heuermann will return to court this week after investigators searched his suburban home and combed a wooded area elsewhere on Long Island.

Heuermann, who has pleaded not guilty in the deaths of four women whose remains were found along a remote beach highway, will appear Thursday in state court in Riverhead, New York, a spokesperson for the Suffolk County district attorney’s office confirmed.

He had previously been scheduled to return to court for a June 18 status hearing.

The new court date comes two weeks after investigators returned to Heuermann’s single-story home in Massapequa Park, where they had recovered a cache of weapons during an initial search following his arrest last summer. A date for Heuermann’s trial has not yet been set.

During the most recent search, which lasted several days, investigators placed paint chips and other materials into evidence bags and removed a large rectangular object covered in a blue cloth. A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office would not say whether the upcoming hearing was related to the renewed search effort.

Heuermann, 60, was arrested in July in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. He was charged in January in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. His attorney, Michael Brown, has said his client maintains his innocence. He declined to comment on the nature of Thursday’s hearing.

The case had vexed investigators since the remains of 11 people, most of them young women who had been sex workers, were found on a stretch of Gilgo Beach in 2010 and 2011. Authorities have said the investigation into the other victims remains ongoing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.