Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann, wife, reach divorce settlement amid court Friday on DNA evidence
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The suspect in the Gilgo Beach serial killings divorce was settled as his attorneys spent another day in court debating over DNA evidence.
Lawyers for Rex Heuermann were in court to ask a Suffolk County judge to disqualify some of the DNA evidence collected by prosecutors.
Only one witness, Dr. Kelley Harris, a scientist, was expected to take the stand. She was called up by the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.
The scientist's testimony was to give insight into the efficiency of the technique used for the DNA evidence in question.
The new technique is whole-genome sequencing of the DNA within a hair.
Scientists take all the fragments of DNA and assemble them into the human genome.
Traditional DNA sequencing looks at 15 to 24 points of comparison. Whole genome sequencing looks at 100,000 or more points. The methodology yields only one possible donor.
Dr. Harris, who is an expert in the technique, testified that it is reliable, and when asked by a prosecutor if it is generally accepted within the scientific community, she said "it is."
Heuermann's defense has argued that the new DNA methodology has never been tested in New York courts.
Prosecutors with the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office have said the technique is already used in the medical community and is consistent with what the court system has allowed.
This court date comes as he and his estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, have reached a divorce settlement, according to court records.
Ellerup filed for divorce shortly after Heuermann's arrest on charges that he murdered multiple women as the Gilgo Beach serial killer.
"She has a difficult time throughout this whole process believing the husband that she was married to for 29 years now was capable of committing these horrific acts," said Ellerup's attorney Robert Macedonio. "It is even more concerning that her hair and her daughter's hair were found on some of these victims. So, this process is very important to getting closure for her and her family."
Prosecutors with the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office have said Ellerup and the couple's children were out of town when the victims were killed.
Heuremann last appeared in court on March 12. His legal team also filed its reply to Suffolk County prosecutors' opposition to splitting up the seven slayings into separate trials.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said the case is "heading toward the trial phase," with Heuermann charged with seven murders in one indictment.
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