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CNN This Morning

Gilgo Beach Murder Suspect Arrested; Raymond A. Tierney is Interviewed about the Gilgo Beach Case; Carlos Alcaraz is Interviewed about his Wimbledon Win; Fans Welcome Messi to Miami. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired July 17, 2023 - 06:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[06:30:00]

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Two other cases, other bodies that were discovered along this same area. And for a man authorities characterized as a demon, they say very possible that there is a link.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS (voice over): More than a decade after serial killings cast fear over Gilgo Beach, Long Island, police now say they have their suspect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rex Heuermann is a demon that walks among us. A predator that ruined families.

GINGRAS: Prosecutors charging 59-year-old Rex Heuermann in connection to the case known as the Gilgo Four. Prosecutors say Heuermann murdered three of the women and is a prime suspect in the fourth. In December 2010, the bodies of the four young sex workers were found tied up, wrapped in camouflage burlap, and discovered within days of each other.

ANTHONY CARTER, SUFFOLK COUNTY DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER: He intended to commit these crimes.

GINGRAS: For years prosecutors say Heuermann was leading a double life.

REX HEUERMANN: Rex Heuermann, an architect. I'm an architectural consultant. I'm a trouble-shooter. Born and raised on Long Island.

GINGRAS: At his Massapequa Park home, just about 15 miles from the scene of the crimes, life appeared normal for the husband and father of two. But just last year a task force formed to investigate the department's long dormant cases, and they began to zero in on Heuermann.

CARTER: There was a very delicate balance between the need of public safety and making the arrest. And that challenge, obviously, it came to a, you know, to a climax in -- on Thursday afternoon. GINGRAS: Investigators say a crucial break came in January when they

were surveilling him at his Manhattan office. They say he was eating a pizza and discarded it in a public trash can. DNA evidence from the pizza crust matched hairs from a burlap sack one of the bodies were wrapped in. Authorities say they had been trying to match his DNA to other sources without success.

RAYMOND TIERNEY, SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We had gotten one abandonment sample previously, but the DNA profile was partial.

GINGRAS: Investigators say Heuermann bought burner phones and used fake e-mail accounts to scout the internet for details about the investigation, to search for sex workers and pornography, and even to make taunting calls to the families of victims.

CARTER: I can't begin to imagine the pain that these families have had to endure over the last decade.

GINGRAS: Heuermann's attorney says his client pleaded not guilty to the charges.

MICHAEL BROWN, REX HEUERMANN'S ATTORNEY: The only thing I can tell you that he did say as he was in tears was, I didn't do this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS: And Heuermann's attorney also says that his client was very distraught when he had a chance to speak with him. It's unclear if he's spoken to authorities.

We do know, though, that police are talking to other witnesses, and that includes, Phil, his wife and kids.

Phil.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Brynn Gingras, thank you.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: And joining us now is Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.

District Attorney Tierney, thank you for joining us.

I want to ask you some -- about what the Suffolk County Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Carter told CNN just yesterday, which is that it is possible that there are still more victims out there. Do you share that assessment?

RAYMOND A. TIERNEY, SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: My opinion doesn't matter. I deal in what I can prove. And right now we're - we can prove - we feel we can prove these three murders. They are allegations at this point, but we're confident with the evidence and we're also confident that we're going to be able to eventually charge that fourth murder.

PHILLIP: And what are the strongest pieces of evidence that you have right now that point to Heuermann being the preparator of these crimes?

TIERNEY: I think we have a description of the last individual who saw the final victim, Amber Costello, alive that matches that of this defendant who has a rather unique physical appearance. We have phone evidence and we also have that DNA evidence. DNA -- the defendant's DNA was recovered off of one of the bodies, whereas his wife's DNA was recovered off of two other - two other - two bodies.

PHILLIP: And I want to show folks at home, this is a picture of a belt that was found at the scene here. In January of 2020 police released these images at one of the Gilgo beach crime scenes It had the initials that looked to be "hm" or perhaps "wm."

To you believe that that belt belonged to Heuermann?

TIERNEY: Well, the initials are "hm" or "wh." This last name is Heuermann. And I believe he has relatives with the name of William.

PHILLIP: Oh, OK, with "wh."

What can you tell us -- as our reporter was just telling us, the family is now being interviewed as part of this investigation.

[06:35:04]

What kind of cooperation are you getting for Heuermann's wife and his two children?

TIERNEY: Well, we don't disclose sources, but we -- I can tell you that this has been, from the very beginning, since we've gotten on the case, a very comprehensive investigation and we're going to look at every single source of evidence, whether that's a human source or electronic or molecular or whatever.

PHILLIP: Has anyone else come forward with information about Heuermann or about these cases since this arrest was announced on Friday?

TIERNEY: Well, you know, the one thing about arrest, obviously it brings a lot of attention. The other thing is, we have executed a number of search warrants. So, right now, we have a flood of information and a flood of evidence coming in and it's going to take us a while to sort of go through all of that.

PHILLIP: And so far, as we were just discussing, Heuermann's been charged with three of these killings on Gilgo Beach. When do you think you'll have enough evidence to go forward with actually charging him with that fourth killing?

TIERNEY: We're going to continue to work through the grand jury process as we've doing. You know, we arrested him last Thursday out of concern for both the integrity of our investigation, as well as the safety of the community. But that investigation is continuing with regard to Maureen Brainard-Barnes, and, you know, we feel confident that we're going to be able to eventually charge that murder, but we're not going to put a time frame on it.

PHILLIP: Do you think that this will get to trial soon? What's the timeline for a trial here?

TIERNEY: Well, you know, it's an interesting case because you're talking about something that is 13 years in the making. So, when you talk about the unbelievable amount of material that was there prior to me assuming office in January of '22, and then you also have over 300 search warrants and judicial requests. So, there is a tremendous amount of information, which, obviously, you know, the defense is going to want to look at.

PHILLIP: A very difficult and troubling case.

Raymond Tierney, thank you for giving us all of those updates.

TIERNEY: Thank you.

PHILLIP: And coming up next for us, a stunner at Wimbledon.

(VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: That was Carlos Alcaraz. The 20-year-old from Spain defeating Novak Djokovic. The champion himself, Carlos Alcaraz, will be joining us live coming up next.

Stay with us.

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[06:41:35]

MATTINGLY: That collapse on the court signaling a new era in tennis is here. Carlos Alcaraz, just 20 years old, winning his second grand slam title after beating Novak Djokovic. Widely considered one of the greatest in tennis history, in a thrilling five-set Wimbledon final yesterday.

Now, Carlitos, as he's now, showed off his dazzling athleticism as he outran and outhit Djokovic, who was going for his eighth Wimbledon title, his fifth in a row. The match played before royalty, and American royalty, Brad Pitt. It lasted nearly five hours and signaling a changing of the guard in the men's game.

PHILLIP: The 36-year-old Djokovic smashing his racket on the net after Alcaraz broke his serve early in the final set. The Spanish sensation is now the first man not named Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray to lift the trophy at the all-England club since 2002. Djokovic, who sits at 23 grand slam titles says that he has never played someone quite like Alcaraz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOVAK DJOKOVIC, 23-GRAND SLAM CHAMPION: People have been talking in the past 12 months or so about his game being -- consisting of certain elements from Roger, Raf and myself. I would agree with that. I think he -- he's got basically the best of all three worlds.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIP: And joining us now is the 2023 Wimbledon champion, Carlos Alcaraz.

Carlos, thank you for joining us.

CARLOS ALCARAZ, 2023 WIMBLEDON CHAMPION: Thank you.

PHILLIP: And how are you feeling this morning now that you have officially been crowned -- let me look my notes here -- the new king of centre court?

ALCARAZ: Well, (INAUDIBLE), honestly, but you know, I still can't believe it. It's a dream for me. But I have to win many, many more, you know, to consider myself a new king of centre court.

MATTINGLY: You know, Carlos, one of the things -- Djokovic made a really good point, people have been talking about you, your game and you being the future for a while now. And, obviously, you have one major already before Wimbledon. When you were - when you lost the first set 1-6, admittedly, as a viewer, I thought, oh, all right, not quite yet. What was going through your head after that first set?

ALCARAZ: Well, I thought - honest, I thought, please, don't be at this spot. You know, place - you know, the play a little bit more better, to, you know, be close in the match and entertain the more the people in this final. But at the - but at the same time, you know, I know that he was going to - to have my chances. You know, he tried to stay there, you know, to the opportunities that I - that I had to -- and, you know, I believe in myself all the time. I knew that I was playing great, I was playing good. So, it's about timing, you know, to have more opportunities.

PHILLIP: When you lost to Djokovic in the French Open semifinals, what did you take away from that match to be mentally prepared for this one?

[06:45:05]

And we were just saying, this was five hours. I mean that's basically a marathon of an endurance challenge. How did you face that?

ALCARAZ: Well, I learned a lot from that match, you know. Yesterday was totally different. You know, I prepared mentally totally from before the match. And, you know, during the match I dealt with the pressure so much better than I did during French Open. It was just about mentally, you know. I know that basically I am - I'm really well I'm prepared to play this kind of match, the kind of marathon. You know, and, you know, it - and, yes, it was totally, totally different. You know, I'm really, really proud to be able to play at this level, you know, five hours against a legend. And, you know, it's something that, yes, I -- I learned a lot from the French Open.

MATTINGLY: You know, Carlos, I think you had the entire crowd at centre court cracking up after when you were talking about the -- kind of the generation generational differences between yourself and Novak Djokovic. I guess my question after yesterday is, do you feel like the changing of the guard has officially happened?

ALCARAZ: Sorry, say it again.

MATTINGLY: Do you feel like there's been a changing of the guard? Are you the new kind of - the new face of professional tennis after decades of Djokovic and Federer and Nadal. Now it's -- it's your time.

ALCARAZ: Well, it's a big world, you know. I don't know. Honestly, I don't know. I hope, you know, that the people say that, you know, but Djokovic is still there. Rafa as well. I mean, let's talk about it, you know, in - you know, in some years ahead. So, in the future we can talk about it but right now I think - I think it's not - it's not the right moment.

PHILLIP: Well, Carlos, we love that you're here with us this morning. Can you show us the trophy real quick before you go?

MATTINGLY: Yes, what's - what's to your - what's to your left?

ALCARAZ: Yes.

MATTINGLY: That looks like something. There it is. Yes.

PHILLIP: Oh, wait, wait, wait, don't drop it.

MATTINGLY: Oh, that's awesome.

PHILLIP: All right. We love

MATTINGLY: That's awesome. Congratulations. Carlos Alcaraz, we appreciate your time, my friend. Enjoy it.

PHILLIP: Thanks.

ALCARAZ: Thank you very much. Thank you.

MATTINGLY: All right, well, new overnight, Ukraine attacks a crucial bridge connecting Russia to the Crimean peninsula. Ukraine intelligence officials say the damage will hurt Russia's ability to move supplies for its war in Ukraine. New details just coming into CNN.

PHILLIP: Plus, a Messi night in Miami as the city officials officially welcome the world's greatest soccer player to the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:52:13]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to introduce to you, your number 10, Inter Miami number 10, America's number 10, the best number 10 in the world, Lionel Andres Messi.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIP: Thousands of fans packing into Inter Miami's stadium last night to welcome soccer superstar Lionel Messi to Miami. Messi officially signed on with the Major League Soccer team on Saturday after weeks of anticipation. But the big unveiling also came with some major technical issues and a lot of rain, but that put (ph) a damper on some of the excitement.

But CNN's Carlos Suarez is live for us in Fort Lauderdale this morning.

So, Carlos, a little rain in South Florida. Not exactly the most surprising thing. But there were a lot of technical issues with the production last night.

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Abby, good morning.

Of course, south Florida is no stranger to rain. And so we had about a two-hour delay last night. But otherwise it was a pretty incredible night. As you said, thousands of Inter Miami CF fans had gathered here to welcome the World Cup champion Lionel Messi.

Now, he doesn't make his official debut with the team until Friday, but Messi fans, as you can imagine, they have already conquered the city of Miami. Tickets for Friday night's match are right now selling for about $500 apiece on websites including StubHub.

Messi, last night, came out to again thousands of fans out here. He received his number 10 pink jersey under some light rain.

Now, there's a great deal of hope, a great deal of anticipation that Messi is going to grow U.S. soccer. There is some hope that he is going to be able to expand the audience here in America. Of course, American soccer really has not seen this kind of player since Pele played in New York back in 1975. And Major League Soccer is hoping that he's able to attract not only his international fan base, but then he's also going to be able to grow American soccer here in the U.S., especially as we head into the 2026 World Cup. The U.S. is among the host countries that will feature all of these great countries playing in the World Cup come 2026.

Here now is Lionel Messi last night, as well as a sports history author talking about the impact that Messi's going to have on U.S. soccer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIONEL MESSI (through translator): I really want to start training, start competing, I come here with the desire I always had to compete.

[06:55:04]

Wanting to win. Wanting to help the club continue to grow.

DR. JERMAINE SCOTT, SPORTS HISTORY AUTHOR, INTER MIAMI FAN: Messi's global significance is just out of this world. Everyone knows the name "Messi." When you think of soccer, you all - the only play (ph) I know is Messi, right? And he is coming here. We are the center of the soccer world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUAREZ: And right here really tells the story, Miami is all about Lionel Messi. He's been in town for about a week now and there's been a great deal of frenzy with him moving around the city. Social media was abuzz after the player did some grocery shopping with his family. And folks saw him just out with his family picking up some groceries. There was also a lot of hoopla on social media after he went out to have an Italian dinner with his family.

Again, Abby and Phil, everything is about Lionel Messi in south Florida as the city here gets ready for his big debut.

Friday night, again, tickets are going for about $500 apiece. Those are the cheap seats. The most expensive one on StubHub right now is going for about $4,000, guys.

PHILLIP: I just love that he's doing his own grocery shopping.

Carlos Suarez, thank you very much.

MATTINGLY: Well, the DeSantis campaign burning through cash and hitting some roadblocks. We have new reporting on some of the strategic shifts they're considering.

PHILLIP: And, later, the smoke from the Canadian wildfires returning to New York as the governor issues air quality advisories for the entire state. CNN goes along with American firefighters in Canada trying to fight the flames.

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