Prosecutors played a clip from “Jurassic Park” at a hearing in the case of the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Wednesday – in an unusual move to defend their DNA evidence.
The scene from the sci-flick was used to bolster the argument that the “nuclear” DNA testing that linked alleged killer Rex Heuermann to six of seven slain sex workers was legitimate as his attorneys pushed to have the evidence tossed out as junk science.
Prosecution expert witness Nicole Novroski — the associate director at the Center for Human Identification for the University of North Texas — said Wednesday the type of science used for DNA analysis by investigators of the Giglo Beach killings is not new and has actually been trusted for decades.
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During Novroski’s testimony, prosecutors played a clip for the judge from the popular film franchise, showing how scientists extracted dinosaur DNA from a mosquito preserved inside amber and then used it to clone the animals that have been extinct for some 66 million years.
Novroski said the DNA science referenced in the movie has been around since before it came out in 1993 and it has been verified “thousands of times” by people in the scientific community. She said it’s accurate and reliable to use in forensics.
Defense attorney Michael Brown asserted that this science is not real, comparing it to “magic.” He added that characters in Jurassic Park “thought they had good science” but actually, “the dinosaurs ended up eating everyone.” This prompted the judge to chuckle.
Investigators were forced to use the particular type of nuclear DNA testing, rather than more commonly used testing because the hair samples found on the remains of the women were extremely degraded — in part because of the length of time between their deaths and when they were finally uncovered.
Those hair samples, prosecutors said, were “positively matched” to Heuermann’s wife and daughter using this nuclear DNA testing — alleging that he murdered victims at his family’s home while his wife and kids were out of town.
Heuermann, 61, is charged with killing the women starting in 1993 and then ditching them along Ocean Parkway only for their remains to be found in 2010 and 2011.
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It wasn’t until July 2023 that Heuermann — an architect living in Massapequa Park — was arrested for the murders of Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy. He was also charged with killing Maureen Brainard-Barnes in January 2024 with the four women becoming known as the “Gilgo Four.”
Heuermann was later charged with the killings of Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla, the earliest victim who was killed in 1993.
Officials finally announced last month that the investigation into Heuermann’s alleged murders had concluded — meaning they didn’t anticipate charging him with any additional slayings.
Wednesday was the second day of hearings on the DNA evidence in Heuermann’s case which began on Friday.
He has pleaded not guilty. No trial date has been set yet in the case.
