by Chris Munzing
Fred Klein, the bureau chief of Major Offenses at the D.A.'s office, said that witnesses spotted Heidgen in his pickup truck, driving north in the southbound lanes of the Meadowbrook Parkway, south of Merrick Road, just before 2 a.m. on Sunday, July 3. Less than a minute later, Heidgen allegedly slammed into a limousine carrying members of the Flynn and Tangney families, who were heading home from a wedding. Seven-year-old Katie Flynn and Stanley Rabinowitz, 59, the limousine driver, were killed in the crash.
Asked if witnesses' reports of Heidgen's location on the Meadowbrook Parkway meant that he had come from the Loop Parkway, Klein said, "You could certainly make that inference."
The Loop Parkway connects the Long Beach barrier island, which includes the communities of Point Lookout, Lido Beach and Atlantic Beach, to the Meadowbrook.
The spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, Katie Grilli-Robles, said investigators believe Heidgen had been drinking at both a private party and at a bar that night, but she would not comment on where he had been. She added that the investigation was still in progress.
The upgraded murder charges likely indicate that the D.A. will try to prove that Heidgen was somehow aware, even in his deeply intoxicated state, that his actions were reckless and a threat to others.
A Long Beach attorney who spoke to the Herald last week said the case was provable. "Murder two also means 'with the intent to cause the death of another person,'" said the attorney, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Obviously you can't go into the man's mind, but if he said something stupid [to the police] like, 'I was going to get on the road and kill myself by getting into a head-on collision,' then that would qualify."
What seems most likely, however, is that the upgraded charges are designed to strengthen the D.A.'s hand in plea-bargain negotiations, since going to trial in such a sensational, emotionally charged case might be unwise for the defense.
On Wednesday, meanwhile, relatives of Katie Flynn urged witnesses who had seen Heidgen that night to come forward.
Klein said that the D.A.'s office was investigating whether to charge anyone under New York's host law, which holds hosts of private parties responsible for any harm done by their guests.
Heidgen appeared in court Monday and Wednesday for conferences between his attorney, Stephen LaMagna, and the D.A.'s office. Dressed in prison orange and refusing to make eye contact with Flynn family representatives or reporters, he was silently wheeled into the closed courtroom, his behavior contrasting with his first appearances, when he mumbled apologies to the family.
Despite the massive press coverage, the dramatic nature of the accident and the outpouring of support for the victim's families, Klein said that the district attorney's office felt no additional pressure with the case than normal. "Any case that involves a homicide, there is added pressure," he said. "But not more with this case than any other homicide."
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