Armchair Genealogy

By Melinda Cohenour

It seems the entire nation is currently following two murder cases involving shocking and grotesque evidentiary details:1) the slaughter by stabbing of four popular and bright Idaho college students, with charges filed against Defendant Bryan Kohberger; and 2) the serial murder case involving torture, dismemberment, and a common dumping ground with seven victims currently charged against Rex Andrew Heuermann. The Heuermann case is referred to by various acronyms and labels including the Gilgo Beach Serial Murderer case and the LISK (Long Island Serial Killer) case. At least three additional victims are expected to ultimately be charged against Heuermann as their partial remains were found in close proximity to six of the seven victims presently slated for trial.

Several issues must be decided by Judge Mazzei in the Heuermann case before the trial can be scheduled.

First question before the Court involves a challenge by the Defense for the Judge to deny the nuclear DNA test results on hairs recovered from several of the victims which identify Heuermann as the perpetrator with a probability that defies current mathematical enumeration. A pivotal hearing in the Rex Heuermann serial murder case commenced Friday, March 28, designated as a Frye Hearing.

A Frye Hearing is a standard procedural for introduction of scientific evidence that has not previously been accepted in a specific jurisdiction. Named with reference to a famous case brought against a defendant whose surname was Frye, it involved the first introduction of results of the then-new lie detector in a murder case in 1923.

The first day of what is expected to require up to a full week to complete involved the introduction of the prosecution's first expert witness.

The South Shore Press covered the appearance of star expert witness Dr. Kelley Harris. Unfortunately, the reporter mistakenly referred to her as Kelly Davis or just Davis in his report which read as follows:

Advanced DNA Steals the Show in Alleged Gilgo Beach Killer Court Appearance

By Michael J. Reistetter | Mar 31, 2025 | Crime

As expected, it was a madhouse at the Arthur M. Cromarty Criminal Court Complex on Friday, March 28th, with major media members and countless others turning out to gauge the state of the County’s prosecution of alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuremann.

Though the 61-year-old Massapequa native was in attendance, the star of these proceedings was Kelley Davis, an associate professor of genome sciences at the University of Washington with an impressive resume that took literally all day to comb through.

Davis was the first expert witness in the hearing, called upon to determine the admissibility of “nuclear DNA testing.”

The Magna Cum Laude Harvard and Cal State Berkeley graduate provided contextual overwhelm by describing her studies, fellowships, and peer-reviewing highlights.

She also detailed the high authenticity of nuclear DNA readings—particularly in narrowing down hairs beyond certain family members of a direct bloodline relation.

According to Davis, Mitochondrial DNA rules out a certain percentage—99% as it pertains to the Gilgo case.

DNA evidence concluded the hairs found on each victim allegedly belonged to Heurermann, his ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, and daughter, Victoria.

The former NYC architect’s family are not suspected to have been involved, as they were out of town during the time-frame in which the seven murders currently linked to Heuremann took place.

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According to CBS News, NY:

Genome scientist Dr. Kelly Harris took the stand Friday. After listing credentials from Harvard to Cambridge, she gave hours of complex testimony validating that genetic sequencing has dramatically advanced with high-precision nuclear DNA, now considered widely-accepted science.

Nuclear DNA was used to match Heuermann to hairs on belts, tape and burlap found with the seven victims he is charged with murdering.

Harris told the court it is, "embarrassing that a method like this wasn't the state of the art years ago, but better late than never."

"If we look back to the O.J. Simpson case, actually, we saw the introduction of a new technology called PCR-based testing, which is now the gold standard for forensic DNA testing," (s)he said. "Whole genome sequencing is available in private companies right now for use in criminal investigations. It's not widespread, but this could be one of those critical moments in moving forward in forensic DNA analysis that brings this to the mainstream."

...Nuclear DNA testing is common in forensic science, according to Michael Marciano, director of research for Syracuse University's Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute. He said it's used for everything from at-home DNA kits to disease detection and identifying human remains.

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Testimony in this Frye hearing is expected to continue for at least this week. A total of eight expert witnesses, representing both the prosecution and the defense, are scheduled to testify.

DA Ray Tierney argued nuclear DNA is already used to identify complex diseases, identify human remains and "at-home" DNA kits that proliferate today.

Additional motions before Judge Timothy Mazzei are the defense motion to sever the trial so that individual trials would be held rather than covering all seven victims charged against his client currently. DA Tierney has offered compelling arguments that due to the nature of the case, these seven victims are tied by evidentiary materials, modus operandi, geographic location, and require the State to produce the same expert witnesses for each victim. Not only would individual trials cost significantly more, it would cause scheduling issues for the numerous expert witnesses and place an additional burden of proof on the prosecution.

Of note, although not material to the case itself, is the announcement by Asa Ellerup's attorney Robert Macedonio that a settlement agreement has been reached to finalize Asa's divorce from defendant Rex Heuermann. It believed she and her two children have already moved out of the now infamous house believed to have been the site of the serial torture killings of several of Heuermann's alleged victims.

After 29 years of marriage, Asa finds it difficult to accept that her husband is "capable" of committing the crimes with which he is charged.

Your author will continue to follow the daily reports in connection to the Frye hearing. Judge Mazzei's ruling could set a precedent for the State of New York and establish an historic acceptance of this new process for extraction of nuclear DNA.

Stay tuned ...