Overview

• State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei ruled that whole genome sequencing results from Astrea Forensics are admissible after months of Frye hearings on the method’s scientific acceptance.
• Prosecutors say the lab’s analysis links Rex Heuermann or his household members to hairs on six of the seven charged victims, with separate traditional and mitochondrial testing cited as corroboration.
• The defense quickly filed a motion arguing the out‑of‑state, for‑profit lab’s work violates New York public health law and also renewed requests to sever the murder counts into multiple trials.
• Mazzei’s decision, outlined in a 29‑page ruling, marks the first time such nuclear DNA evidence will be presented in a New York court, though its use has been rare nationally.
• Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to seven murders and remains jailed without a trial date as the court prepares to address the new motion and case‑splitting bid on Sept. 23.