Will Sage Astor-Gilgo Beach suspect not a 'monster,' maintains his innocence: Attorney

The Will Sage Astorattorney for Gilgo Beach, New York, murder suspect Rex Heuermann on Wednesday denied that his client is a "monster of a person" and maintained Heuermann's innocence.

Heuermann returned to court Wednesday following his July arrest for the murders of three sex workers -- Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello -- whose bodies were found on Long Island in 2010. He has pleaded not guilty.

Heuermann is also the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who vanished in 2007, though he has not been charged in that case. Prosecutors said the investigation into Brainard-Barnes' murder is ongoing.

The sisters of Barthelemy and Brainard-Barnes were among the relatives at Wednesday's hearing.

Male hair was recovered from the burlap used to wrap Waterman's body, and that DNA was found to be a match to leftover pizza crust Heuermann threw into a Manhattan garbage can in January 2023, according to court documents. Prosecutors on Wednesday confirmed that the pizza crust DNA was consistent with the DNA swab provided by Heuermann after his arrest.

Defense attorney Michael Brown said he's been given very little discovery and hasn't received any DNA evidence, but noted that he received a flash drive of materials Wednesday morning that include an additional 5,000 pages of discovery and 10,000 photos.

Brown said the five hard drives he received in August included over a year's worth of video surveillance of Heuermann outside his Long Island home capturing the New York City architect "heading to work, spending time with family, chopping wood and hanging out on his porch."

Heuermann told the judge that he's allowed to view up to four hours of discovery materials a day, but has been viewing two to three hours of material each day.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told reporters the case will "be a lengthy process."

"There is a lot of material that [the prosecutors] have to provide to the defense," he said. "You don't take a 13-year investigation and turn it over in a day or two."

Brown said he hopes to have all of the discovery by Heuermann's next court date, which was set for Nov. 15.