Rex Heuermann submitted a court-ordered DNA sample last week as prosecutors hope to strengthen their case against the accused Gilgo Beach serial killer, according to a report.
Heuermann’s cheek was swabbed on Wednesday at the Suffolk County Jail in Riverhead, where he has been held since his July 13 arrest on charges of murdering three women whose bodies were found along the Long Island beach in December 2010, sources told Newsday.
The 59-year-old architect’s attorneys had protested the DNA request from the Suffolk County Prosecutor’s Office, but Supreme Court Judge Timothy Mazzei ruled the state had sufficient probable cause to justify the sample earlier this month.
Heuermann, of Massapequa Park, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy — sex workers who were found wrapped in burlap off Ocean Parkway.
He is also the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman Maureen Brainard-Barnes, with all four victims known collectively as the “Gilgo Four.”
And just this week, family and friends of a missing South Carolina woman said they believe Heuermann was the last person she was seen with before she vanished in Sumter in June 2017.
Julia Ann Bean’s daughter said she immediately recognized a photo of Heuermann after his arrest.
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina confirmed that the report was being investigated.
Heuermann owns property where he planned to retire in a wooded area in Chester County — about 90 minutes from Sumter.
He did not purchase the property until 2021, but his brother, Craig, has lived in the area since about 2000, records show.
Shortly after Heuermann’s arrest, investigators raided his South Carolina hideaway.
Prosecutors already have a DNA link to Heuermann from a hair found on the body of Waterman.
The damning strand of hair was a mitochondrial match to DNA found on a discarded pizza crust and napkin near his Midtown Manhattan office.
New York State and Suffolk County police have combed through Heuermann’s Long Island home looking for body parts or “trophies” from the grisly killings — even digging up the backyard.
Investigators said they found a walk-in, concrete-lined gun vault, but are yet to confirm if any evidence was recovered that could tie Hueremann to the murders.