LONG ISLAND, NEWYORK: Rex Heuermann, the New-York-based architect, who was arrested under suspicion of committing a number of murders close to his house, was "traumatized" by his arrest, according to his counsel, who also expressed concern that the widespread media coverage of the Gilgo Beach murders may prevent his client from receiving a fair trial.
Heuermann, 59, was arrested on Thursday, July 13, and charged for allegedly murdering three escorts in 2010 and disposing off their bodies on the said beach. When he was brought into court on Friday, July 14, his defense counsel, Michael Brown, told ABC News that he thought his client had been "traumatized" by the claims.
'He was intelligent, he was soft spoken'
Heuermann, a married father of two who oversaw an architecture company in Manhattan, entered a not-guilty plea. In a detention cell, Brown spoke to his client. The lawyer said, "Nothing struck me as unusual about him. He was articulate, he was intelligent, he was soft spoken," per the Daily Mail.
After his arrest, Heuermann allegedly inquired of the wardens, "Is it in the news?" as he entered the Suffolk County Jail. According to Vicki DiStefano, a representative for the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office, he has been put on suicide watch. She said that in situations like Heuermann's, the decision, which was taken by the jail's medical staffers, was not unusual.
'You have to be concerned about getting a jury that hasn't been biased'
Brown raised concerns about a fair trial since Heuermann "has been convicted in the media already and the media public opinion." He said, "When you have a high profile case like this, initially you have to be concerned about getting a jury that hasn't been biased, that hasn't convicted him, just based on what they've read in the newspapers and what they've heard on social media.So that's going to be a challenge."
Brown noted that there were no eyewitnesses and that his client maintained his innocence while stating that the arrest was made solely on "circumstantial evidence." Heuermann has been accused of killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello and is a prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
Police recovered more than 200 guns over the weekend from Heuermann's home, in which he has resided with his wife, Asa Ellerup, and their two children since the '80s.
