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Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. DANA SHAW
The search for body parts related to an investigation into homicides allegedly committed by a serial killer who dumped his victims’ bodies in Gilgo Beach apparently spread to North Sea in Southampton Town last week.
According to published reports, on April 26, police expanded a K-9 search that had started in Manorville four days earlier to North Sea, where the body of a 28-year-old woman had been found in a wooded area in November 1993. Her death was later linked to two homicide cases for which a Manorville man was convicted in 2017, according to Newsday.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office would not confirm that the search in North Sea was related to the multiple homicides allegedly committed by Rex Heuermann, a Massapequa architect who allegedly dumped his victims’ bodies in Gilgo Beach.
The office instead said in a statement: “The Suffolk County Police Department, the New York Police Department and the New York State Police are working with the district attorney’s office on an ongoing investigation. We do not comment on investigative steps while they are underway. We will make further statements when appropriate.”
At a press conference on Monday, a questioner asked Tierney if any evidence had been collected from Manorville or North Sea that could link to the bodies found in Gilgo Beach. Tierney did not contradict the premise of the question. He did say, however, that “I wouldn’t read into what you read in the media, because I haven’t said anything.” One can speculate, he said, but the district attorney’s office “will wait until we get that evidence” to comment.
He also said that “this is the first time we’ve looked in these particular areas” since he assumed office in January 2022.
In the event of an indictment, information will be presented at another press conference, he said. Until that happens, he said that he is “ethically enjoined” from discussing the investigation’s progress.
Heuermann has been charged in four murders, the bodies having been discovered in Gilgo Beach in 2010. He has pleaded not guilty.
