Victoria Heuermann, the 30-year-old daughter of admitted Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann, according to Newsday, answered a jury summons on Long Island and was selected as a potential juror in a Nassau County child sexual abuse case before anyone in the courtroom realized whose daughter she was.
According to Newsday, Heuermann, of Massapequa Park, responded to the summons and was selected as a potential juror in the sexual molestation case. The outlet reports that the judge, prosecutor and defense attorney did not recognize her until a standard jury-selection question asked whether she knew anyone who had been convicted of a crime. That question, per Us Magazine, is what surfaced her connection to the Gilgo Beach case.
Officials then moved the matter into chambers. Once there, the same Newsday report states, Heuermann was asked if she could remain impartial and listen to the facts of the case. Newsday's reporting says a Nassau County judge dismissed her from jury duty in the child sexual abuse case last week. The judge called her appearance in the courtroom a distraction in the trial, while her lawyer and sources close to the case reported her dismissal.
Her Lawyer Says She Wanted to Serve
Heuermann's attorney, Robert Macedonio, told Newsday that his client was still willing to serve. The same article notes he said he had not read the transcript of the chambers discussion and was unsure who ultimately decided she should not sit on the jury.
Speaking to Us Magazine, Macedonio said Heuermann answered the court's questions honestly, maintaining that she believed she could be fair and impartial despite her father's case. “She could have very easily said no, but she answered it honestly that she thought she could still be fair and impartial,” he said.
A Family Still Tied to the Gilgo Beach Case
Rex Heuermann has pleaded guilty to killing seven women and has admitted to killing an eighth, according to Us Magazine's account of the case. The attention surrounding the Gilgo Beach murders has continued to follow members of his family even as the criminal case against him has concluded, and this episode marked another instance of his daughter being pulled unexpectedly into the public record tied to her father's crimes.
Neither Newsday nor Us Magazine's reporting includes a court transcript or an official statement laying out exactly who made the final call to excuse Heuermann from the jury, and her lawyer told Newsday he could not say with certainty who made that decision. What is documented is that she went from an unrecognized face in the jury pool to a dismissed juror once her identity became clear to the court.
