Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer kept Word Doc of murder plans: DA | NBC New York

well good morning uh thanks everyone for coming uh and dealing with our logistical issues in the rain uh we appreciate it uh we're here today to uh announce additional charges in the case against the defendant Rex Yurman obviously at the onset I will say these are just allegations the indictment has just been filed uh this is a case a court proceeding and each and every one of these allegations have got to be proven in court uh and we uh we uh certainly look forward to doing just that uh today uh as you've just seen the the District Attorney's Office filed a superseding indictment charging the defendant with two additional murders uh those um charges pertain to the uh 1993 murder of Sandra Castilla and uh the 2003 murder of Jessica Taylor uh so that's in addition to the previously charged murders of Moren brainer Barnes Melissa bartholomy Wardman and Amber Costello which occurred uh in 1997 uh 1999 uh June of 2010 and September of 2010 respectively so uh my intention now uh to here today is to discuss those charges discuss uh the contents of the bail letter and then turn it uh all over uh to you all for for questions um but before I do that before I discuss the indictment uh and the developments in the case I want to thank our law enforcement Partners many of whom are here today uh first and foremost I want to thank the suff County Police Department my understanding is commissioner wearing uh was unavailable today I spoke with Rob uh but he certainly brought a a contingent of of suff County PD to represent the uh his office we have Deputy Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina we have chief of detective styl Simmons we have deputy chief uh Stan Grodsky uh we have uh and then we have the uh commanding officer of the major crimes unit which includes the homicide unit uh Sean Baron uh so we want to thank all of them for their partnership we want to thank the homicide unit for their continued efforts in this case uh we have the suffa county sheriff's office here again spoke with Sheriff tulan he's he's traveling out of state so he couldn't make it but uh it's my understanding that uh under Sheriff's uh Steve kios and Keith Taylor are here we certainly want to thank them for their assistance as well um with the New York State Police we have uh major Steven uh udis as well as Lieutenant uh Ken G uh and uh again uh we thank them not only for their presence here today but more importantly uh for their partnership in this case we have uh the FBI uh supervising special agent uh don ansbacher is here I want to thank uh the FBI uh for their continued assistance in this case uh and then I I don't believe they're they're present but we have the uh we want to thank the United States uh uh uh Secret Service uh for their assistance in this case we want to thank the suffi County Crime Lab I know they're not here uh but their work uh has been tireless and instrumental uh and we we are really very appreciative to to them I especially want to thank the K9 units uh from the uh New York State Police from the suff county police and from the um NYPD who came out a couple of weeks ago uh and in very uh difficult conditions uh they really did a fabulous job helping us uh to search an area of interest to us and uh you know they went above and beyond so so again I want to thank them uh I frequently neglect to thank my own team so uh I'm going to take the opportunity to thank them uh we have uh you know Chief zachar we have uh I want to thank them I want to thank our Adas many of whom are working on this case you heard from Nick Santa Martino uh we've got lario pizo we got Andrew Lee we got Michelle Hadad uh we've got um a whole whole host of of of Adas um that uh that have really been uh instrumental in us our investigators our analysts uh really fantastic work that they've done uh I want to thank uh the victim's families many of whom are here today not only uh on the new charges but for the original Gilgo 4 um and this this is what this case is about we don't ever forget that this case is about the victims and their families and hopefully uh providing them with that small uh measure of closure and you know the the uh the families have been you know nothing short of of uh incredible uh the way that they continue to support their loved ones uh and uh each other uh is uh is really inspiring to us uh and really helps us uh to keep uh coming in and working this case as uh as aggressively as we've been doing um this case is a true collaboration uh and uh you know again mentioning all of those Partners uh without uh the contribution of of any one of those Partners our ability to do this case would have been severely compromised so again I know I mentioned a lot of names I know I went through a lot of agencies but I just don't do that uh because it's the polite thing to do I do it because it's the right thing to do because they've really uh helped us uh instrumentally and will continue to help us going forward um now uh I'll just before I get into the individual murders uh the two new charges what I want to talk about is at the time of the initial arraignment of the three of three out of the four gilo four and then at the super uh superseding uh arraignment on uh the charges pertaining to Marine brainer Barnes and the gilo 4 was completed at that time you know we said that we were going to continue to investigate this case that the that the um the grand jury with regard to the the Gilgo four is over but the case continues the prose the criminal prosecution continues uh but the investigation continues and that investigation has been expanded uh the the investigation has been expanded both to uh the bodies that were found on Gilgo and Beyond that's what we said uh and that's I think that uh that has come to fruition today with these uh two new cases or new new charges um first off with regard to Jessica Tor uh you know that her body was recovered on July 26 in 2003 off of uh just west of Hy Manor Road in Manville uh she was found on her on her back she was uh decapitated and her hands and arms were severed just below the elbows notably her a tattoo that she she had had been obliterated with a sharp object eight years later the uh AR her arms and skull were found on Ocean Parkway uh that those the those remains were found on the same side of the road of the uh on the Ocean Parkway as the Gilgo 4 uh they were found less than a mile away uh from the remains of the Gilgo 4 and all of uh the five remains were were located within uh 50 feet of the roadway uh and I think you see that uh the graphic on page five of our baale document uh illustrates that Jessica tayor was last in July 19th in New York City uh she was working as a sex worker uh we know from uh a number of from our investigation from a number of financial records and other records that the defendant Rex yman was in New York City on July 19th uh Jessica sim uh Jessica uh Tero last spoke to her mom on July 21st uh and then less than two that was about 8:41 p.m. then less than two hours later her phone call made its last outgoing call and we heard no more from from Jessica or from her phone the family alerted law enforcement on July 25th when she when she failed to return to her home for her mom's birthday and then shortly thereafter on July 26 uh Jessica's body was recovered at that time the suffa county PD did canvas and they spoke to Witnesses and the witnesses had observed the night before about 13 hours prior uh to the to the 911 call they saw a dark colored pickup truck U backed up in the vicinity of where uh off of Hing Mana Road where Jessica's body was was eventually recovered um computer activity by the defendant uh which we were able to access through a search warrants indicated that uh two days later um on July 28th he accessed a Newsday article with regard to information on on the case and with regard to the police looking for information on the case um uh that uh that search was was was erased but we were able to recover recover it one day later on July 20 nth notably uh the defendant was seeking to purchase uh a new Chevy Avalanche truck not withstanding the fact that he already had a dark colored Chevy Avalanche truck which was only approximately four months old at the time uh the Chevy Avalanche truck which we've been discussing all along is dark colored uh his internet search uh related to the acquisition of the same uh same Chevy Avalanche truck but this time in white or bright blue uh bright color truck uh completely different from uh the dark color truck that he had been uh he been riding in and again once again that purchase with regard to the uh the new the new trucks that was attempted to be obliterated uh with uh we spoke and and uh Nick Santa Martino did the bail application so I don't want to repeat uh all that uh Nick said but uh with regard to the uh the hairs found in this case Jessica tayor was found laying a top a surgical drape uh a male hair was found between the body and the drape uh that was recovered back in 2003 uh in 2023 we brought uh that that hair was brought to uh the M mitochondrial testing lab for mitochondrial DNA analysis and was able to uh the result uh 99.96% of the population but not uh the the uh Rex Yurman the defendant uh then again later in 2024 we brought uh to a second lab for uh and once again the result was uh the defend could not be excluded as the donor of that hair and it's 1. 1837 time 10 to the 63r power more likely that it came to uh that it matched uh the defendant or someone matching the defendant's DNA profile than a member of of the population at large and that number you know just so it's 1.83 7times 10 to the 63r power so what you do is you take that 1. 1837 and you move that decimal point over 63 places and add zeros that's the number uh that number doesn't exist it's so big uh among other things that we were able to uh establish with regard to uh the murder of Jessica Taylor was once again uh Family Travel we uh we were able to determine that at the time of The Disappearance and death of Jessica Taylor once again the defendant's family was uh was out of the state uh out of the state they were staying at uh a resort known as Smuggler notch in Vermont we were able to corroborate that information through witness statements photos and phone and uh Financial records in addition there was a a hard drive that backed up to a Palm Pilot uh which was uh the defendant's um uh the defendant's uh date book and in that uh and again this is chronicled in the bail application but in that datebook it's indicated that his wife uh is in V Virginia at smugs from uh July 20th through July 27th and that's page 14 of the baale document uh with regard to the 1993 discovery of s Sandra Castilla again on November 20th 1993 two individuals while hunting in in that wooded area of Southampton in uh in the vicinity of old uh fish Cove Road in North Sea discovered her body uh she was lying on her back with her arms out outstretched over her head uh her legs were uncovered and her shirt was was pressed over her her head uh the uh the defendant I'm sorry the victim uh suffered numerous sharp force injuries 25 in all uh which we believe were postmortem uh and these were injuries to her face torso breasts left thigh and in her her vaginal area uh once again we had hairs recovered from uh Sandra Castilla uh this is chronicled in the Bale application uh there were two hairs from Sandra castilla's remains that are of particular significance in this case uh one was a female hair that was recovered from the victim's right arm and one was a male hair that was recovered from a type a tape lift of one of the shirts that the victim was wearing that was was pushed above her head in uh 2014 uh about 10 years ago the two hairs plus another female hair uh which were found on casier were sent to an outside M mitocondrial DNA lab for testing and at that time John bitro was excluded as the D owner of those three hairs those uh once uh the the the task force began investigating uh Gilgo and and related cases those hairs were retested in 2023 and 2024 and compared with uh the defendants known sample from the bual swab that we had we obtained regarding that male hair uh the mitochondrial DNA profile developed from that male hair on the victim Castilla and the profile developed from the defendant bu swab are are uh match uh and specifically at a rate that would exclude 99.9% 99.96% of uh and uh defendant hman cannot be therefore cannot be excluded as the contributor of that male hair on Castilla on uh in March of 2024 that same male hair or or extract extract there there there from uh was brought to an uh the same outside lab for nuclear DNA testing and once again uh the results came back and uh which found it was 4347 time 10 to the 332 power more likely uh to have come from a person genetically identical to Rex Yurman uh than from an unrelated individual so that's 4347 and then you move that decimal point over 332 times to get uh the odds again an astronomically large number uh regarding the female ha uh prior to u m um the with regard to the female hair one of the female hairs that was recovered on uh Ms Castilla um prior to miss castilla's disappearance the defendant had been living uh with with a female individual at his home in masaa park uh the female individual lived with the defendant uh at his current residence through the summer and into the early fall of uh 1993 and vacated the premises of pro proximately two months or so prior to miss castilla's death in uh 1993 uh once we got those two female hairs we uh well once we knew of those two female hairs existence we went out and obtained a DNA profile a bual swab from uh this female uh and that uh that uh DNA profile that we obained from the female uh bual swab we sent it to the um the mitochondrial Testing Lab and again uh it was able to uh exclude 99.98% of the North American population as the contributor of set hair but it could not exclude uh the female who was living uh with Rex Yurman uh again uh we brought that same uh DNA and extract to uh the nuclear DNA testing uh and the female's hair was tested and uh and compared with the female hair that was recovered on the victim Castilla and it was found to be 4.5 78 time 10 to the 1040th power more likely have come have come from a person uh genetically identical to the female witness who was living with Rex Yurman uh in 1993 shortly uh before Miss cia's death than from an unrelated individual again that's 4.5 S8 and you move that uh decimal point over 1,40 places and that's the number uh the uh uh there was an additional female hair that was recovered in 2014 that was recovered uh that was compared to both the female living with uh Mr Yurman and the defendant and we could not get a match on that uh and that remains uh unidentified that female hair so um uh we have th those DNA results and again uh we were able to establish similar to all the other cases that at around the time of uh Miss castilla's disappearance and murder uh Rex Yurman had was living uh alone at the house uh in mipa park and had unfettered uh access to the house uh and no one else was was living with him at the time so uh now I want to discuss some of the newly discovered digital evidence uh in in the case uh before I discuss that I just wanted uh clarify some of the things that we've been talking about in our earlier uh press conferences you were asked specif I was asked specifically about uh smart devices and digital devices that were recovered from uh the uh the home and Business uh of the defendant in connection with this case uh so I just want to catalog that for you so you get a sort of flavor of what it was uh We've recovered 15 different types of cameras we've recovered 27 computers we've recovered 58 internal hard drives we recovered 22 external hard drives or solid drives we recovered 46 cell phones we recovered nine Wi-Fi routers uh 44 uh SD micro cards which are like um like um jump uh jump routers uh 17 tablets 42 USB devices eight lap cards four GPS devices 11 music devices 36 SIM cards uh 33 miscellaneous items and 647 CD floppy discs uh or vssh or miscellaneous tapes uh again in the month subsequent uh to the arrest we've been endeavoring uh through our own office and with the help of the Secret Service to analyze uh that massive amount those that massive amount of data uh and um analysis of those devices has revealed certainly that her uh Yurman had a significant collection of violent bondage and torture pornography uh which was dating back to 1994 and that material uh was uh very similar uh to the condition that the two latest victims were left in um in addition to that it is alleged that the pornographic images that were access um by by Yurman are consistent uh with the crime scenes of both Sandra cascia and Jessica Taylor now as part of our Pro uh processing of the electronic devices the task force discovered a mic Microsoft Word document entitled HK 2002 through 2004 uh that was discovered on a on a laptop in unallocated space meaning there was an attempt to erase that uh document uh but as most forensic experts know that even when uh a uh document is erased on a uh on a device it is the the user cannot access could no longer access that that document but forensic experts using particular software can retrieve it and this document was retrieved in this case uh it was a locally created draft which means the document itself was created on the laptop it wasn't downloaded from the internet uh the document uh was modified it was originally created in 200000 in 2000 and it was overwritten a number of times uh and modified between 200 and 2002 um now as alleged in the um in the baale application uh the task force believes that this is a planning document and it was utilized by Yurman to methodically blueprint and plan out his his uh kills with excruciating uh detail uh we alleged that this document evinces the defendant's attent in committing the charged crimes that his intent was specifically to locate uh these victims uh to hunt them down uh and to bring them uh to bring them under his control and to kill them uh his motivations uh meticulous planning and clear in intent is obvious his intent was nothing short but to murder these victims uh and we alleged that the methodology that the exact method by which these murders were committed in excruciating detail in that document is in some cases identical uh to the methodology used to murder the six victims in this case now um I don't want to speak further on the document I believe the document speaks for itself so if anybody has any questions about the document I'd be more than willing to uh answer them um but uh before turning it over for uh questioning I just I want to reiterate you know right from the very beginning of this case from the the onset of the case the first indictment we said that the case was not over we said we were going to continue to investigate the case of the Gilgo 4 and find more evidence we've done that we've said that we were going to expand the investigation both on Gilgo and off and and to investigate new cases we've done that and that's resulted in uh the two new charges that you see here today so that's what we've done uh that's what we've continued to do and uh you know my office along with our partners are not going to stop this case continues uh so with that I will turn it over for questions I had a question about we'll just go uh if we go right to left about the plan I didn't see you down there um because of this document that he had Mur why is it second degree not first degree is that premeditated so first degree I mean there there are a number of different um there are number of different uh charging charging uh theories you could use for for murder in the first degree one of them is if you uh charge a murder within a specific period of time I think it's 18 months so if you look at so we have three Murder One charges and six murder two charges and if you look at at at the the time of the deaths uh Sandra Castilla 93 uh Jessica Taylor 2003 morning Barnes 2007 Melissa bartholomy 2009 Megan Wardman uh 2010 and uh um Amber Costello 2010 those last three bartholomy Costello and Waterman fit within that one the other ones unfortunately uh fall outside so we're we're we're unable to to bring that charge with regard to to those uh the other uh five no uh the other three uh victims so that's why that's why it's different just sort of the way New York state law is set up I wonder to ask about how this expands the search now because now with this uh with this indictment the earliest murder now changes to 1993 which gives it many more years than we had before so how does this expand the search how are you how are you guys expanding this to find out who other victims that are possibly involved well I think first and foremost while it expands the the information for you know the public and the media it doesn't change anything for us we were you know I think in March uh of of this year we we learned of this document we had been investigating other things so again my confidence in saying that we were going to move off of the Gilgo 4 to the new body and off of of Gilgo itself was based upon my knowledge of the investigation so that's something that we've been doing for a while now it's just sort of become publicly uh known how do you know s uh we we we uh we we have no information with regard to that that so the alleged murders happening between 93 and 2010 just how alarming is this sweeping timeline you're looking at well I think this whole case in general is is alarming uh and I I think it underscores uh that which we already knew that we have an individual uh who we are alleging and again these are allegations uh um you ously planned and executed um six separate murders so that that in and of itself is speaks for itself and there are other victims named in the court documents are more charges on the way so we're going to continue again we're going to continue to investigate uh and we'll we'll talk about what other whatever other investigation we're undergoing when and if we bring those charges and Mr tierne in your document you mentioned the words torture bondage violence and also stockh is there any uh evidence to reveal that perhaps Rex hman took these women or any of them captive in his home attempted to brainwash them put them under well that's that's what uh that's what that document contains and again that that speaks for itself will make arguments with regard to that um you know at the at the trial uh the specific reference to Stockholm syndrome that pertains to a book uh mind Hunter by um by for former FBI uh profiler John John Douglas his name escaped me for a moment um and so we know uh there are specific page references to uh to that that um that book uh and and stuff such as a sexual substitution uh torture and also um Stockholm syndrome and uh you know our argument it's our allegation that the defendant was referencing that Hunter book not to gain insight into his own behavior to modify or change it but rather to use it as um a means of improving his methodology and avoid capture by uh the authorities was that Valerie foundand so you you have uh you know and if you again if you go back to that document they talk about DS or dump sites in mil Road uh Hy Road and and M Road it intersects with with with each other so and if you look at the the method of the crime scene very similar to uh Jessica that's what we could say now uh we'll continue to work the case and you know if we're able to develop more information and get to the point where we can charge it we'll we'll talk about it you real question yes I was wondering you mentioned that book did human have that book in so he he references he references specific page numbers in the doc or specific page numbers are represented in the document which match up to a particular edition of the Mind Hunter book The Mind Hunter book was not found in yurman's house but there was another serial hunt uh killer book by written by John Douglas found in his house and I think that's in the B documents I just think uh obviously we you probably knew this already but un covering a lot of new details that we didn't know as far as dismemberment that he was younger when he allegedly killed um that you know of course this document just talk to me looking at the bigger picture profile of a serial killer is this what was investigators your thoughts when you are uncovering these new sort of details that we had we had no thoughts um you know we look at the evidence and we follow the evidence uh we know that uh U criminals in general people in general their modus operandi chart uh changed through the course of their life um you know obviously there was no no dismemberment with regard to the original gilo 4 um but uh there is with regard to unfortunately Miss Taylor so you know it's just and again everyone says you know you are you expanding the investigation and you know we're doing it under the aices of the of the of the Gilgo task force but each new case that we look at each new crime scene we look at we look at it independent of of of everything and then we make a determination you know where does that evidence lead leads us does it lead us to one particular suspect or another particular suspect but we don't you know get a list and say okay you know we're going to we're going to automatically assume that certain people committed certain crimes that's not the way to do it that's not the way we do it we look at the and again uh you know in the the the baale document you talk about if you want to know and this is from John Douglas's book that the document quotes you want to know who the painter is look at at the painting uh and that is something that uh Douglas used to tell his uh investigators and that pertains uh specifically to if you want to know who committed the the crime look at the crime scene and and the condition of the victim and again if you do that in this case uh we would allege that the the the the uh the crime scene and the victims match very much with a lot of the first off the document that we found and also a lot of the defendants internet activities and and the bondage and torture uh type of pornography that he was interested and obsessively searching do you do you know do you believe at this point that the murders were committed in his house and did you also talk about the I guess the note he put in his in that document that was referenced in court I'm I'm I'm familiar with the note I'm sorry there there was I thought the Ada talked about something about he said if you do certain things equals more play oh okay so yeah so so um you know that is is referenced uh what is specific okay more rest more play time and so basically what what he's talking about is well what the AL the allegation and what we would allege is the the more rested um you know the the the the participants are the more you can get done and he also talks about the or the document also talks about crime scene and if you're sleepy and spending too much time in a crime scene or your lack of sleep your chances of making mist Stakes increase so again there's a lot of evincing of uh intent in that document and what about the where these murders took place any any so there's you know under under some you know some of the considerations was uh in the document it writes about uh tape not good use push pins um and then once we received that document we went back into the house and looking at the the the paneling in in the downstairs basement area we were able to make uh look at through infrared light we were establish cordon off area where adhesive had been placed um so we're going to make certain arguments with with with regard to that at at the time of trial we also found an area where there were were push pins into the the drop ceiling does he make any specific references to victims in manifest there's a there's there there's a a T1 uh you know a T1 and T2 uh we would argue that that stand a target one Target two target one it says Megan Megan with a with a with a question mark and Target Two it says black and then parentheses unknown I believe uh you could look at the the Bale document uh I that pertains to specific uh victims if you look at the timing of it it wouldn't seem to to pertain to Megan wman uh because it's too early in in in time um there is also a reference to uh phone numbers of of potential victims we searched and we usually we block out our our phone numbers we kept that in the document uh because we've we've come to uh an impa with regard to those those phone numbers so if any any members of the public have information with regard to those phone numbers uh we would certainly be receptive to receive that soie Rex officially I think that would be fair to say yeah yes yeah Valerie Valerie Mack was if you go down you have Hy Manor Road and then and then m road is like further like as you said away from the uh the expressway I believe or the the the exit to the expressway but in that uh in that same area and Val Act was a little bit further into into the woods how many Crim so so the quick answer that yes we we have uh we're still developing that and you know obviously you know none of that is actionable and you know with with regard to the missing you know cases we're looking at all of them and you know but we're looking at them you know not not necessarily in the context of of any particular defendant including this one we're looking at them you know separate and apart as missing cases and with with the universe of information that we have not only in this case but other cases how can we work towards solving some of these C cases yes did the new search of North Sea uncover any evidence that has help the case so I would say that um you know it was as I've said all along it's it's a NE necessary investigative step uh that's it's a huge area um and we felt that uh we we needed to do that at some point in time we wanted to do it uh before the summer and and the brush got real thick so you know we didn't know logistically how we were going to do it we knew it was going to be difficult but you do you don't not do something because it's difficult and again fortunately our our partners in the New York State Police the suffi County Police as always and uh the NYPD that their canine units went out and they did a fantastic job real we we have so much uh um gratitude uh to them for for helping us out uh but nothing no new bodies were found so again doesn't matter what I believe it matters what we can prove uh this is a you know a significant investigative step this was a significant investigative finding and we'll continue uh to develop those things we'll go get to you next I'm sorry could you say that again whoever said what they said you say oh sorry the basement well as you know as we've said all along um you know if you look at the the DNA evidence and the trace evidence that we' done it it doesn't happen overnight so there's additional testing that we're we're undergoing we just have to see uh the results of that well you you know we you always see suspicious things you know but uh in any in any case but is it a you know is it a stain of of of something benign or is it an investigatively significant stain only our forensic scientists can tell that after you know a lot of a lot of work well uh you know we we we we've in our bear letter you know we're con pretty much constrained by our barar letter uh to what we could publicly disclose we found other information uh which will be disclosed at the time of trial uh so we're not going to we're not going to get into it and that's not to say they're they exist we're just not going to get into it we can't ethically I'm really enjoying from talking about again you know in in any in any effective investigation it's never just one thing uh certainly that that uh that was something that uh was significant and and led us in in among other things in that direction uh that document I believe we we recovered it in March year um so fairly uh recently in certainly given the history of the sprawling history of this case you said he had um a lot of images and videos of torture porn on his devices of own victims uh we had saw no evidence in that could you speak about his profile like was one set of murders different from another set and does that indicate that he was sort of changing his tactics over the years or or is is this all consistent when you look at all the evidence so far I I I think if you look you look at a a macro view or a micro view macro view you know these are you know uh young women tragically lost their lives and were were murdered uh as as a result of a person who meticulously planned their their murders uh you know if you look at the earlier uh early as as opposed to the later murder it it it does appear that there was some some changes um you know exactly what happened with regard to the Gilgo four where foreclosed about knowing a lot of that stuff because they were skeletonized uh Jessica and Sandra were more uh you know more recently found so we were able to glean more information from the crime scene so uh you know uh I guess it just depends what what your your perspective is on on to all that the March 7 discovery of the word document that caused the second search of the house well as as I as I I think I previously it was a impotence but you know in any good investigation you know there's usually a number of different things that that cause that is the main one um I would say it was a significant one and and it was also an impetus to go out back out into those areas and and search with with the dogs and Manville and and North Sea and and every place else we went uh so as we said Karen verata Karen Vata uh her her her remains were found uh partially in Jones Beach and partially in uh I think uh by um Atlantic Beach uh in U in by across from Blue Point on Fire Island so you know all those cases every case every every person uh who was tragically murdered in uh in in suff County they're they're in play so uh we're not going to stop We Can't Stop we owe that to the victims that's the least we can do so we're you know we understand we have a court case we understand we'll go forward with that um but we're not going to stop so however however that works however we need to do that we're going to do it uh we have a great team we have a great team of investigators we have a great team of prosecutors and you do what you have to do in this business we will we will get it done it's you know it's daunting uh there's a lot but we'll get it done are you still going through those dozens of digital devices oh yeah yeah there's there's a like just reading off just gives and a lot of them are encrypted so that you know when you have it encrypted in uh um device that attempt to get in is ongoing you know you're trying to to crack the code so to speak so that's an ongoing effort has there any um you know I'm not going to discuss I'm not going to I'm not going to I'm not going to discuss that again because I I I I my specul my thoughts don't matter what I can prove in court speak through an indictment I will talk about these six because you know these are allegations at this point we look forward uh to proving those allegations but they are mere allegations at this point has there been any attempts recently to talk to Rex or his lawyers and say hey look can you just tell us who you killed ask him to come so I am you know I am I am um you know he's represented by by competent Council I cannot uh ethically uh reach out to to the defendant so I wouldn't uh and even if I was inclined I cannot uh so we'll speak through his attorney and you know there's a uh in any case you know there's always a dialogue uh between uh the defense and the prosecution or at least there should be and uh you know a myriad of of topics are discussed uh on a daily basis which which should remain priv between the parties so if you look at the evidence in this case and and uh you know it's it points uh that uh the defendant acted alone and then if you look at that that planning document that makes it even more more apparent that uh this is uh this is this is um uh the six charged cases were meticulously planned uh and they were done at a time when the knew he would have both access to the victims and other people would not be around okay uh I believe uh um the victims are are going to speak so we're going to give uh the victim some of the victims Whoever likes to speak the opportunity to do that uh thank you very much spe all right good thank you good morning I'm attorney Gloria aled I represent the family of uh one of the latest victims for whom there has been an indictment of the defendant and that is Jessica Taylor um I am the only attorney representing the family of Jessica Taylor and the only one authorized to speak about Jessica Taylor in addition I represent the families of three other victims uh Megan and Melissa and Moren some of the family members of those other victims are also present today so I'd ask you just to raise your hand if you are a family member of Megan a family or friend of Melissa and a family member or friend of marine with me for Jessica Taylor is Jessica's mom Elizabeth he and she under the circumstances has asked me to read her statement following this statement uh Jasmine Robinson who is the cousin of Jessica will read her statement I also have and will show you two photos of Jessica this is a statement of Jessica's mom Elizabeth Vil Jessica was my daughter she was loving and compassionate and so funny she loved to make people laugh she could always make people laugh she tried very hard in school Jessica had two brothers and they would always play together she and her brothers were very close Jessica loved riding her bike she loved playing board games monopoly Shoots and Ladders Candy Land she loved playing cards especially Spades and Ry she loved cartoons she loved to sing she would sing along with the radio and was in the choir at church she loved to cuddle with me and her brothers when she was younger they would pile on the couch and watch TV together I miss how she called me Mommy and Mama it's a tragedy she never had children Jessica would have made a great mother she loved kids and loved working with them she worked in the inner city with the kids in summer camp as an aid she loves supporting kids and helping to take care of them my family and I would like to thank the law enforcement and the District Attorney's office for all of their hard and diligent work on my daughter Jessica's case Jessica my darling daughter you will never be forgotten you will always be missed you will forever be in our hearts and this is a photo of Jessica when she was how old five or six years old and 16 this is a photo of Jessica when she was approximately 16 years old and this is her mom's favorite photo I will have a copy of Elizabeth's statement available after the press conference for you and in addition I'll have the photos up here and now I would like to introduce Jasmine Robinson Jessica's cousin and also if you would be kind enough to raise your hand also present is another cousin of Jessica who will not make a statement and that is violet Swagger violet would you be kind enough just to raise your hand please thank you best uh couldn't hear you you just mother's oh her mother's name is on here but I'm happy to spell it Elizabeth beel capital b a c z k i e l thank you for asking Jasmine Jessica was a beautiful person simple memories such as sitting down to dinner together drawing pictures dancing jump rope and sleepovers with her in my sister are memories that I cherish I was lucky to share my childhood with her and and I wish every day that we got the chance to create more memories when I think of her I see her smile first big and bright lighting up her face beaming through her beautiful eyes Jess was somebody that I looked up to she was a force one of the strongest women that I know with a heart of gold she was and still is loved immeasurably when her life was stolen a light went out she is forever missed this year has been 21 years since she was taken from us longer than the chance that she got to be alive I can express what this day means after waiting and hoping for answers I'm incredibly grateful to the entire task force for the dedication and integrity that they have provided and put into this investigation I have full faith that they will continue to provide answers for other victims and their families they will not be taking questions but if you have a few for me feel free to ask pardon me I couldn't hear yes Jasmine Robinson j a s m i n e Robinson r o b i n s o n Miss just their reaction if you can to finding out about you know this new Amendment obviously it's it's very difficult for them emotionally they've been waiting 21 years for answers and they're hoping that Justice is on its way what was it like to sit in were present that is Jasmine Elizabeth and violet were present in court with me this morning it was difficult for them to see the person who was accused of murdering second deegree murder of their loved one but they reached down inside of themselves and Found the courage to be there because they are the voice of Jessica they are they have the memories that they carry of Jessica and they want to be there for Jessica and that's why they were there of your other to share theirs at this time does anyone have any further thoughts no no one is going to make an additional statement this morning or after the press conference but thank you for asking I'm sorry I couldn't hear you okay your other clients from we met the last time the braer asking yeah they have no additional statement at this time because they want the the focus to be on Jessica today which is understandable but they are here in support of Jessica as well as their family member whom there has also been an indictment could you please repeat your question a little more loudly Swagger name please Violet Swagger yeah Violet Swagger v i o l e t Swagger s w a g e r that's correct anything further okay and then um in that case as I say I will have a copy of Jasmine's statement a copy of Elizabeth's statement my contact information is at the top of the stat what

Channel: NBC New York

Views: 3,400

Keywords: local news, nyc, nbc new york, nbc news, news 4, news 4 new york, wnbc, trump guilty, trump tower, trump news conference, trump presser, live, breaking news

Id: HIQ6UotTS_8

Length: 56min 54sec (3414 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 06 2024