A Suffolk County, New York, judge has ruled that nearly 300 firearms seized from the home of Long Island serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann can be transferred to Nassau County as authorities there consider filing gun charges against him.
Heuermann was arrested on July 13 and charged with the murder of three women found dead on Gilgo Beach more than a decade ago, as CrimeOnline reported. He is the suspect in the death of a fourth woman, and investigators are looking to see if there there is any connection between the Manhattan architect and multiple other deaths on Long Island and other places where he has owned property.
During a lengthy search of his Massapequa Park home after his arrest, investigators found more than 280 firearms and that at least 41 of them, including 26 handguns and 15 assault weapons, were not registered. Investigators also seized 10 illegal high capacity magazines.
Prosecutors have said that the “proper jurisdiction” for potential gun charges would be Nassau County, where Heuermann’s home is located.
State Supreme Court Justic Richard Ambro said on Friday that the weapons could be taken to Nassau County after a 30-day “waiting period” for defense attorneys to “examine, test or photograph” them, Newsday reported.
“The application of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is granted to the extent that they may share and deliver the evidence … firearms, magazines, cases, attachments, ammunition, bullet fragments and shells to the Nassau County Police Department or the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office,” the decision read.
Many of the guns seized from Heuermann’s home were collector’s items. Authorities also seized boxes of ammunition, gunpowder, and survivalist gear, court records revealed.
Heuermann’s attorneys opposed the transfer of the items to Nassau County, but it’s not yet clear if they will appeal. Attorneys for Heuermann’s wife, Asa Ellerup, also opposed the transfer. They contended the collection should be considered “marital assets” and be distributed through Ellerup’s divorce proceedings.
Heuermann, 60, has pleaded ndot guilty to the murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, and Amber Lynn Costello and is being held without bail in the Suffolk County Jail. He is the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, whose remains were found with the other three women.
Guns were not believed to be used in any of the so called Gilgo Beach murders.
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[Featured image: Rex Heuermann/Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office via AP]
