Michael Brown is the lawyer for Gilgo Beach murders prime suspect Rex Heuermann who was arrested on July 14, 2023.
Rex Heuermann is a New York City architect and a father of two.
He was arrested on July 13, 2023, for the murders of three sex workers — Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. The young women disappeared in 2009 and 2010.
The remains of his victims were found covered in burlap on Gilgo Beach, Long Island’s South Shore in 2010.
The location from where their bodies were found was the motivation for his moniker “Gilgo Beach Murders.”
His attorney has been revealed as Michael Brown, a professional lawyer who has been active for years. He was thrust into the spotlight when he became the court-appointed lawyer of Rex Heuermann.
Here’s what to know about the defense attorney for the prime suspect in the Gilgo Beach murders.
Who is Rex Heuermann’s defense attorney, Michael Brown?
Michael Brown is a seasoned lawyer specializing in criminal defense and personal injury.
As stated on his firm’s website, he completed his undergraduate studies at SUNY Binghamton in 1989 and proceeded to study law at Boston University School of Law. He graduated in 1992 with a cum laude distinction.
Brown describes his approach to law as ‘strong’ and ‘aggressive.’
Throughout his career, he has represented clients involved in felonies and misdemeanors at federal, state, and justice court levels. He has also covered a broad range of cases, from DUI charges to first-degree murders.
Brown is also experienced in personal injury cases and has represented clients against opponents like the State of New York, the City of New York, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties, as well as insurance companies, including Allstate, State Farm, and Prudential.
How long has Michael Brown worked in the industry?
Brown has over 25 years of experience as an attorney.
Prior to running a private practice, he previously worked as a prosecutor and assistant district attorney for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office from 1992 to 1995.
Since 2009, he has been a village judge in Lloyd Harbor.
Brown is currently based in Central Islip, New York.
How was Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann caught?
On July 15, 2023, a 59-year-old architect and married father-of-two Rex Heuermann was arrested for his suspected connection to the long-unsolved Gilgo Beach murders.
According to The New York Times, he has been under investigation since March 2022, when detectives found that he owned a truck similar to the one a witness described was found outside the home of one of the victims at the time of their disappearance.
Months later, a detective collected bottles outside Heuermann’s home and cross-examined them to the DNA from the hairs of some of the victims’ bodies.
Apparently, it matched Heuermann’s wife, although she had been reportedly out of the country when the victim disappeared. The investigators noted that Heuermann may have inadvertently transferred his wife’s hair to the victims.
Then, in January 2023, detectives examined a pizza box outside of Heuermann’s building. The leftover crusts matched the hair found on one of the victims.
Per court records, the investigators noted that “it is significant that Defendant Heuermann cannot be excluded from the male hair recovered near the ‘bottom of the burlap’ utilized to restrain and transport Megan Waterman’s naked and deceased body.”
Heuermann was charged with the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. He is also the prime suspect in the death of another victim, Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
When he was arrested, Brown said: “Nothing struck me as unusual about him. He was articulate, he was intelligent, he was soft-spoken.”
Brown also said that defending Heuermann would prove to be a challenge as it seems that he had “been convicted in the media already and the media public opinion.”