Armchair Genealogy

By Melinda Cohenour

A new charge has been brought against Rex Andrew Heuermann in connection with the remains of victims found on Gilgo Beach. Heuermann was previously charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. On January 16, 2024, Heuermann was officially charged with Murder in the Second Degree for bringing about the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes "on or about July 9, 2007."

Early in July of 2007, Maureen Brainard-Barnes was feeling stressed and desperate. Facing an impending eviction notice and fearing for the well-being of her two young children, Maureen headed to New York along with a friend where the two women would market their bodies in an attempt to earn enough money to avoid financial catastrophe.

A typical trip to the City would involve placing ads on Craig's List or Backpage. On this particular trip, Maureen was accompanied by a friend who later urged her to return with her to Connecticut. Maureen declined. A video of that friend's memory of that last fateful trip may be viewed here: Video

The decision to stay and try to earn more money would prove to be a fatal choice for Maureen. In a phone call to another friend in Connecticut late on July 9, 2007, Maureen advised she was not following her usual procedure of entertaining her customer in her hotel room but was making an "outcall." That was the last time anyone would speak with Maureen. Her phone, however, would be used.

On July 12, 2007, Maureen's cellphone was used to check her voicemail.
Source:https://abc11.com/gilgo-beach-serial-killings-rex-heurmann-news-murders-timeline/14326351/

'Personal cell phone and credit card billing records revealed numerous instances where Heuermann was in the general locations as burner phones, which authorities say he had with him at the killings. He used the phones to call the three victims and also used "Brainard-Barnes and Barthelemy's cellphones when they were used to check voicemail and make taunting phone calls after the women disappeared," Suffolk County prosecutors allege.'

In December of 2010, Maureen Brainard-Barnes' skeletal remains were discovered near the remains of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello in the tangled brush on Gilgo Beach as Suffolk County's Police searched for the body of Shannan Gilbert in vain. Of those four victims, three sets of remains were shrouded in camouflage burlap material. Brainard-Barnes remains lacked a burlap shroud but were bound by use of three leather belts. One very distinctive belt bore stylized initials.

One very distinctive belt bore stylized initials

The initials may be “WH,” which matches Heuermann’s grandfather, William Heuermann

On the buckle of one of the three belts binding Brainard-Barnes was a human hair. Testing of that hair determined it matched to Heuermann's wife, tying Heuermann to the disposition of her body.

Alleged Gilgo serial Killer Rex Heuermann appears inside Judge Timothy P. Mazzei's courtroom with his attorney Michael Brown at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, N.Y. on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Heuermann is indicted in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. (James Carbone/Newsday via AP)

***Various extracts from the Superseding Indictment and pertinent references specific to the Murder Charge now levied against Defendant Heuermann as to the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes:

Today, Defendant Rex A. Heuermann stands before this Court charged by the Grand Jury in a Superseding Indictment, which incorporates not only the above counts, but the additional charge of:

• MURDER IN THE SECOND DEGREE, in violation of New York State Penal Law Section 125.25(1), a class A-I violent felony for the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes on or about July 9, 2007.

Set forth below is the People’s bail application in support of the Superseding Indictment, which will expand on additional evidentiary developments in this investigation not included within Exhibit A, further tying Defendant Heuermann to the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, and now, Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

EXCITING ADVANCEMENT IN ANALYSIS OF HAIR TO EXTRACT DNA GENOTYPE FROM ROOTLESS HAIR

During the course of this investigation, each of the four victims’ bodies were examined by a Forensic Scientist with the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory, which revealed as follows:

Maureen Brainard-Barnes

Ms. Brainard-Barnes had been left restrained by 3 leather belts, one of which was utilized to tie Barnes’ feet/ankle/legs together. During the examination of the belts, a female human hair was recovered from the buckle of one of the belts by the Suffolk County Crime Lab (hereinafter “Female Hair on Barnes”). On or about December 18, 2010, the Suffolk County Laboratory (examined) this hair and was able to determine that it corresponded to a “Caucasian head hair fragment.” Although this hair was not suitable for nuclear DNA profiling at that time, it was subsequently submitted for further DNA analysis.

Source: https://patch.com/new-york/riverhead/gilgo-suspect-rex-heuermann-be-charged-4th-murder-docs

Tierney said the Suffolk County Crime lab as well as two outside forensic laboratories, conducting testing of hairs recovered on various victims, specifically compared the DNA profiles generated from those hairs recovered at the crime scenes to DNA profiles developed from Heuermann and members of his immediate family.

Throughout the investigation, key evidence has included the five hairs found on the victims. Nuclear DNA testing helped provide more accurate results, Tierney said.

Nuclear DNA is found in the cell nucleus; mitochondrial DNA is found in cell cytoplasm, according to reports.

Brainard-Barnes, the report said, had been left restrained by three leather belts, one of which was used to tie her feet, ankles, and legs together. A female human hair was found on the buckle.

The DNA profile generated from the female hair on Barnes, recovered from the belt buckle "is 7.9 trillion times more likely to have come from a person genetically identical to Asa Ellerup's SNP Genotype file than from an unrelated individual," the bail report said.

Nuclear DNA technology led to new information, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney says.

RIVERHEAD, NY — Rex Heuermann, the man charged in three of the Gilgo Beach murders, has been charged with the murder of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. And new DNA evidence revealed Tuesday helped connect Heuermann to all four of the deaths, he said.

Heuermann was charged with second-degree murder, an A-1 violent felony, in the death of Brainard-Barnes on July 9, 2007, Tierney said.

Last July, Heuermann, of Massapequa Park, was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder charges and three counts of second-degree murder charges in the deaths of sex workers Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway in 2010. Heuermann also pleaded not guilty to the charges.

A total of 11 sets of remains were found in the Gilgo Beach murders, which rocked Long Island, including that of a toddler and an Asian male.

Tierney said Monday that he and other members of the Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force were set to announce a "significant development" in the case Tuesday.

Melissa Cann, Brainard-Barnes' sister and her daughter Nicolette Brainard-Barnes appeared in the courtroom Tuesday, as did Asa Ellerup, Heuermann's estranged wife.

According to the bail report, Ellerup and the couple's children were also out of town on the date that Brainard-Barnes went missing; they were also away for the previous murders, according to the DA.

According to the bail report, additional burner phones and online activity were linked to Heuermann. The burner phones revealed communications with sex workers as well as a new email account of Heuermann's, which was subscribed to the fictitious name of Andrew Roberts, Tierney. said.

That "Sandbagger" account was utilized as recently as April 2021, to access and conduct searches related to "pornography, rape, torture and sex workers several thousand times," the bail report said. Heuermann, the report said, also searched for information regarding the Gilgo Beach investigation and the victim's relatives.

An analysis of his laptop indicated the use of a file shredding software on July 9, 2009, shortly before he was to meet Barthelemy; investigators believe it was an attempt to "shred" any digital evidence of the laptop computer utilized to search for her prostitution advertisement, the report said.

An analysis of his laptop revealed that on September 1, 2010, at 9:03 p.m. Heuermann accessed Amber Costello's Backstage ad; about two hours later, a burner phone linked to Heuermann had communications with Costello's phone, the report said, adding that during those communications, the burner cellphone connected to cell site towers in West Amityville and Massapequa Park.

Later, the cellphone traveled to West Babylon, near Costello's home, and again had contact with her phone on Sept. 2, 2010, which is when witnesses said he arrived at her residence, the report said.

"Despite Defendant Heuermann's attempts to 'wipe out' or 'scrub' his laptop computer, he was unsuccessful in concealing his access to Ms. Costello's Backpage ad," the report said.

Tierney said the Suffolk County Crime lab as well as two outside forensic laboratories, conducting testing of hairs recovered on various victims, specifically compared the DNA profiles generated from those hairs recovered at the crime scenes to DNA profiles developed from Heuermann and members of his immediate family.

In September, a cheek swab taken recently from Heuermann matched DNA found on pizza crust disposed of by Heuermann — a key part of evidence that officials say led to his arrest.

Members of the Gilgo Beach task force met with Heuermann's wife Asa Ellerup and his daughter, Victoria Heuermann, and stepson, Christopher Sheridan, to obtain buccal swab. The swabs were tested against 11 bottles found in garbage cans placed in front of Heuermann's home on July 21, 2022, as well as a "Monster Java" can, the report said.

Investigators saw Victoria Heuermann drinking from the can while on a Long Island Rail Road train; they took the can after she discarded it in a trash bin, the bail report said.

Throughout the investigation, key evidence has included the five hairs found on the victims. Nuclear DNA testing helped provide more accurate results, Tierney said.

Nuclear DNA is found in the cell nucleus; mitochondrial DNA is found in cell cytoplasm, according to reports.

Brainard-Barnes, the report said, had been left restrained by three leather belts, one of which was used to tie her feet, ankles, and legs together. A female human hair was found on the buckle.

The DNA profile generated from the female hair on Barnes, recovered from the belt buckle "is 7.9 trillion times more likely to have come from a person genetically identical to Asa Ellerup's SNP Genotype file than from an unrelated individual," the bail report said. .....

Two female hairs were found on Megan Waterman; a DNA profile generated said the hair was 2.374 x 10 to the 48th power, to have come from a person genetically linked to Ellerup's profile than to an unrelated individual, the report said. The second hair, recovered from the tape from Waterman's head area, is 2.778 x 10 to the 480th power to come from a person genetically identical to Ellerup's profile, the report said.

A female hair found on Costello, after a one-to-one autosomal nuclear DNA comparison, said it was 4.654 x 10 to the 63d power more likely to have come from a person genetically linked to Victoria Heuermann's SNP Genotype file than from an unrelated individual, the report said. At the time of Costello's disappearance and murder, Victoria Heuermann would have been about a month shy of her 14th birthday, the report said.

Two forensic labs have independently determined that the female hairs recovered on Waterman and Costello are derived from a person genetically identical to the SNP Genotype files of members of Heuermann's family, specifically Asa Ellerup and Victoria Heuermann, the report said. Because they were away and out of state at the time of the murders, it "provides further support that Rex A. Heuermann murdered, restrained and transported the remains of the victims to Gilgo Beach until they were ultimately discovered in December 2010, the report said

A male hair found on Waterman was also linked to Heuermann, according to the report.

His attorney Michael Brown said Heuermann pleaded not guilty; Heuermann will next appear in court on Feb. 6.

Should new charges be filed, identification of Peaches, her toddler daughter or of the Asian male be announced, or any other Breaking News occur during the coming month, be assured it will be reported in the next update on Armchair Genealogy.

Stay tuned

A very young Maureen L. DuCharme Brainard-Barnes (from the memorial established in her memory on Find-A-Grave website)

Maureen L. Ducharme Brainard-Barnes
BIRTH: 14 Jun 1982
New London, New London County, Connecticut, USA

DEATH: Age 25 (Date believed killed between Jul 9, 2007 and Jul 12, 2007) on or near Massapequa, Long Island, New York
her remains found) 13 Dec 2010 (aged 28)
Gilgo Beach, Suffolk County, New York, USA

BURIAL: Saint Marys Cemetery
Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, USA

MEMORIAL ID: 64693289

From Find-A-Grave memorial

She was 25.

She had been last seen on July 9, 2007. Death date above is the date her body was found. Actual date is not known.

Cause of death: murdered, remains found with 3 other women, police are searching for a serial killer.

A suspect was arrested in July 2023, with DNA match evidence, and is connected to the other 3 girls found with her.

Below provided by (49259303)

Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 28, formerly of Norwich, died Dec. 13, 2010, in Babylon, N.Y.

She was born June 14, 1982, in New London, the daughter of Marie Ducharme of Groton and the late Robert Senecal. She was formerly employed at Foxwood's Resort & Casino as a dealer.

Besides her mother she is survived by two children, Nicolette Brainard-Barnes of Mystic and Dylan Haggett of Norwich; a sister, Melissa Vieu of New London; a half-sister, Bryona Senecal; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

She was predeceased by a brother, William Vieu Jr.

Her family received relatives and friends at the Impellitteri-Malia Funeral Home in New London.

A funeral service was held. Interment followed in St. Mary Cemetery.

Published in The Day on Feb. 2, 2011