A judge in Nassau County reportedly dismissed Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann’s daughter from jury duty after she was initially called to participate in a child sexual abuse case.
Victoria Heuermann responded to the jury summons in late October and was selected as a potential juror in a sexual molestation case, according to Newsday.
Sources told the outlet that State Supreme Court Justice Robert McDonald, the prosecutor and the defense attorney all reportedly did not recognize Victoria, 30, when she was considered to appear on the jury.
Victoria’s lawyer said that during the public vetting process of each potential juror, she was asked if she had ever been convicted of a crime and if she knew anyone convicted of a crime.
After she answered, the judge, prosecutors and defense attorney reportedly reconvened in the judge’s chambers. Once they realized she was the daughter of the infamous Long Island serial killer, Victoria was asked if she could remain impartial and listen to the facts. The judge reportedly was concerned that her appearance as a juror would be a “distraction.”
“When it came to that one question, she asked for a sidebar. They took her into chambers and she answered it, and then they chose to discharge her,” her attorney, Robert Macedonio, told the outlet. “She was still willing to serve, but I guess the defense, the prosecution, and the judge — I haven’t read the transcript, I’m not sure who decided that they didn’t want her there.”
Macedonio added that Victoria was nervous about going into another courtroom after Rex, 62, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, four counts of second-degree/intentional murder in April. Additionally, he admitted to committing an eighth uncharged murder before he was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus four consecutive sentences of 25 years to life.
Macedonio also told the outlet that he offered to write Victoria a letter asking the court to excuse her.
“It’s not like there’s any kind of overwhelming desire to serve. Nobody has an overwhelming desire to serve on jury duty,” he said. “But when they ask her the question, she answers it honestly. ‘You think you could still sit here and be fair and impartial?’”
Macedonio said that Victoria should be applauded for answering the questions truthfully amid the jury selection process.
“She could have very easily said no, but she answered it honestly that she thought she could still be fair and impartial to the defendant’s rights and the prosecution’s rights, even having experienced all that,” he said. “That’s her own personal judgment. So I give her a lot of credit for saying that. The easier answer would have been no, and then she would have been discharged. It’s harder to say yes.”
While Victoria has publicly condemned her father’s actions, Macedonio said she will never be able to live a normal life based on their connection.
“She is going to suffer the repercussions of this for the rest of her life,” he said. “And this is just an example of what happens, you know, when they’re put into public, when they go for job interviews, when any time something comes up with the name and people want to do any little background check, it’s going to pop up for the rest of her life.”
