"Riverhead, New York - Evidence derived from cutting-edge DNA technology that prosecutors say points directly at Rex Heuermann being the Gilgo Beach serial killer will be admissible at his trial, a Suffolk County judge ruled Wednesday. The decision by Suffolk County Supreme Court Judge Timothy Mazzei is an important win for prosecutors and a blow for the defense team that challenged the validity of this type of technology that specializes in extracting nuclear DNA from damaged or hard-to-get samples, such as rootless hair."
"It was these types of individual stray hairs that were found on six of the seven victims prosecutors say Heuermann killed, according to court records. Heuermann is charged with murder in the deaths of the seven women and has pleaded not guilty. Heuermann's defense attorney Michael Brown had argued the DNA technology, known as whole genome sequencing, has not yet been widely accepted by the scientific community and therefore shouldn't be permitted."
A Suffolk County judge ruled that whole genome sequencing DNA evidence will be admissible at Rex Heuermann's Gilgo Beach murder trial. Prosecutors say cutting-edge extraction of nuclear DNA from damaged samples, including rootless stray hairs found on six of seven victims, points to Heuermann. Defense attorney Michael Brown argued the technology lacks widespread scientific acceptance and should be excluded, and plans to challenge its validity before a jury. Prosecutors countered that similar DNA extraction has been used by local law enforcement, the FBI and defense teams elsewhere. Attorneys have filed a new motion citing a public health law to further challenge the evidence.
Read at The Mercury News
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]