Long Island serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann left his wife's hair on three of the prostitutes he is accused of murdering and his own DNA on another's body, prosecutors have revealed.
Heuermann, 59, was dramatically arrested last night in midtown Manhattan outside his architectural office on Fifth Avenue, 13 years after the bodies were found.
There are growing questions over why it took investigators so long to set their sights on him.
Police say it was the new DA forming a task force last year that finally cracked it.
Heuermann is suspected in the murders of the 'Gilgo Beach four' - four prostitutes whose remains were found on the Long Island beach in December 2010.
Today, the 6ft 6 suspect was charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello and Megan Waterman.
During an initial court appearance, he appeared smug - puffing his cheeks out and nodding as some of the charges were read. He pleaded not guilty to all six charges - three counts of first degree murder, and three of second degree murder.
After the hearing, his attorney said he cried to him 'I did not do this.'
Long Island serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann is shown being taken to court this afternoon. Photo:
Heuermann is shown being taken into a police van today to be taken to the courthouse. Photo:
'This obviously made us nervous,' sad Tierney.
'We wanted to continue it but we felt it was time to take him off the street.'
Ahead of his appearance, prosecutors released their bombshell evidence against him that includes;
His wife's DNA was found on three of the victims' bodies One of his own hairs was found on one of the victims' bodies Cell phone calls made from a burner phone to the victims were traced to his officeA call made to one of the victims' sisters after she died was traced to his office His Tinder profile with photos of him was linked to the burner phoneHis Chevrolet pick-up truck was seen by witness to one victim's disappearance He matches description of 'ogre' like man seen with one victim before she vanished Heuermann conducted graphic searches for child porn and images of women being sexually abusedHe also searched Google for updates on the case, searching 'why could law enforcement not trace the calls made by the long island serial killer'The vehicle was seen at the homes of at least one of the victims the day before she went missing.
In that case, he is said to have arranged a meeting with Amber Costello for sex at her home.
The man who'd paid for sex was forced to leave, with his money on the table.
Rex Heuermann is shown in one of his Tinder profile pictures. Police tracked the fictitious email account he used on the profile and his burner phone number to the case
Heurmann in another of the photos he used on the dating app. He is said to have sent the photos to women asking for hook-ups
In January this year, after watching Heuermann and his family since last March, the detectives in the case seized a pizza box he'd thrown in the trash outside his Manhattan office
The pizza box taken from a trash can outside Heuermann's midtown office
These are some of the searches conducted on Heuermann's computer
These are the sick Google searches conducted on Heuermann's computer
Heuermann is shown buying additional minutes for another burner cellphone in May this year. He paid cash