State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei showed his disdain for lateness in his courtroom Thursday afternoon.
Mazzei set a 2 p.m. return time to the Arthur Cromarty Court Complex in Riverhead, following a morning of testimony on July 17 from Dan Krane, president and chief executive of Forensic Bioinformatics, a DNA reviewing company based in Fairborn, Ohio. "Get him the hell in here!" Mazzei said to accused Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann's defense. "You're running 10 minutes late, let's go!"
Throughout his testimony, Krane described the work of Richard Green and Astrea Labs to Heuermann's defense attorney Danielle Coysh as "very novel and different" during his direct examination. He argued that the California-based lab procedures were not accepted in the scientific community due to their novelty and lack of peer-reviewed literature.
Five hairs that could only be analyzed via a newer technique known as whole genome sequencing are one of the only pieces of physical evidence linking the Gilgo Beach serial killings to Heuermann, who was initially arrested two years ago this week.
Heuermann is still linked to several victims through mitochondrial DNA, but he is part of a small population that could be contributing to the hair found on victims. However, the nuclear DNA connects Heuermann with a statistical probability that rules out anyone else.
Time and methods employed by the killer made it difficult for the women to be identified. Investigators turned to whole-genome sequencing nearly 10 years later. Prosecutors said Astrea identified the hairs as allegedly belonging to Heuermann and his family, who are not implicated in the investigation.
IBDGem, a computer program used by Astrea to compare the genetic material found in the evidence with material taken from Heuermann, was described by Krane as "a very new player on the scene. It is a new kid on the block. We've had one paper that describes what IBDgem does." The program has yet to be used in any case in the state.
Astrea Labs was founded in 2019 by paleogeneticists to apply ancient DNA techniques and direct genome sequencing to difficult-to-solve forensic casework and the identification of human remains. According to the lab's website, its proprietary methods enable the recovery of genetic profiles from rootless hair and other highly degraded samples that would otherwise fail traditional forensic DNA testing.
The technology, according to Astrea, can empower law enforcement and genetic genealogy investigators in their mission to solve cold cases and identify individuals from days or decades ago.
Krane, also a professor of biological studies at Wright University, a public research university in Dayton, Ohio, was the fifth witness called in the case's frye hearing and the second called
by the defense.
The legal proceeding, also known
as a general acceptance hearing, is used to determine that scientific evidence presented in court is widely accepted and considered valid within the relevant scientific community.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney argued on cross-examination that Krane has a past of testifying against the inclusion of commonly accepted DNA testing methods such as restriction fragment length polymorphism and short tandem repeats.
Tierney put the relationship between Krane and
Nathaiel Adams, a systems engineer who works at Forensic Bioinformatic Services, and the first witness
called by the defense, under scrutiny. He highlighted that Krane holds an advisory role as a member of Adam's master's thesis committee and said both have a pattern of frequently testifying for the defense.
Krane, who estimated that he has testified in around 10 cases a year since 1991, added that the majority of his testimony at the state and federal levels has been for the defense. In addition, Adams testified on June 16 that in the 30 cases he presented testimony, all have been for defense attorneys.
Tierney also showed that Adams had testified for the defense, and Krane was hired to explain the scientific testimony of both the prosecution and defense, in the 1998 murder trial of Georgia resident Kelly Gissendaner in connection with the stabbing death of her husband, Douglas Gissendaner.
"How can you be independent if your employee is testifying for the defense?" Tierny asked Krane, who pushed back, saying that he had disclosed the conflict of interest several times.
Mazzei was not satisfied with the answer. "You were hired by the judge to explain the credibility of the guy who works for you?" he asked.
While Krane ultimately acknowledged that he could understand how it could be perceived, he remained adamant that there was no conflict.
"If you ask for my opinion," he said, "I don't think it was."
The prosecution declined to comment after the hearing. At the end of the hearing, Mazzei instructed both sides to return to court on July 22 to determine whether the defense will present another witness or rest its case. Heuermann will not be present for the meeting, Mazzei added.
"Understood," Heuermann said.
Outside the courtroom, Heuermann's court-appointed attorney, Michael Brown, said he thought that Krane did a good job throughout his testimony. He also reiterated his insistence on his client's innocence and said he is looking forward to having the case tried in court.
"Everything (Tierney) focused on was nothing about the substance of what Dr. Krane testified about," Brown said, arguing that Tierney did not address the core of Krane's testimony. "He did a fine job, he hit on some issues that he felt were important, but the ultimate issue for this court stands uncontroverted."
Heuermann, a 61-year-old who lives in Massapequa Park, is charged with the murders of seven people: Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman, Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla, and Valerie Mack. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has maintained his innocence since his arrest.
In addition, Heuermann, as well as his family, have been the subject of several books, documentaries, and television series since his arrest.
