The wife of Rex Heuermann, the suspected serial killer of Gilgo Beach victims, quickly came to terms with the fact that her husband was being accused of multiple murders.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison stated that Asa Ellerup, 59, was home in Massapequa Park last Thursday when officers burst in at the exact moment her husband was busted outside his Midtown Manhattan architectural firm.
“When we told the wife, she was shocked, she was embarrassed,” Harrison said. “But there was a point where we showed her certain pictures and she said, ‘OK, it is what it is.’”
Harrison did not specify what the pictures contained that he presented to Ellerup to see, but it seemed to help Heuermann’s wife of at least 25 years accept that he may be behind the notorious killings.
However, her husband was seen in numerous images in court documents buying apparent burner phones and posing for creepy selfies while allegedly hooking up with sex workers.
DNA from Ellerup’s own hair has been pivotal in the Gilgo Beach case, but officials say she was traveling each time the four women her husband has been accused of killing had disappeared.
Harrison said, “After telling her and their two children about Rex, they genuinely seemed shocked and had no idea any of this was going on.”
“But time will tell if that is the truth,” Harrison added. “And once again, there are still a lot more questions that need to be answered by the family and friends.”
Heuermann has yet to have a single visitor at the Suffolk County correctional facility where he’s being held since his arraignment Friday, Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. reported to news media.
Also, on Wednesday Ellerup filed for divorce, just six days after the shock of her husband’s arrest.
“Asa and her adult kids have had their worlds turned upside down,” her newly retained attorney, Bob Macedonio said. “Obviously this has been a shocking time for them and a pretty difficult time to comprehend. As with any family, it’s extremely upsetting and they’re totally shocked and caught off guard.”
“The family doesn’t want to make any further comment than that,” Macedonio concluded his statement.
Ellerup was pictured for the first time since the arrest with 26-year-old daughter Victoria, who worked for her dad’s architecture firm. It was not immediately clear if the man with them was her son, who neighbors say has special needs.
Harrison said the breakthrough match to Heuermann’s distinctive Chevy Avalanche was thanks to a state police database, suggesting that info was not available in the 12 years before he set up the special Gilgo Beach task force.
He also let on that the fear of Heuermann’s arsenal of up to 300 guns was not the only reason he was nabbed in Midtown and not at home.
“The strategy was to see if we could catch him by his workplace, take that long ride from 35th and Fifth out to 30 Yaphank, which could be a one-and-a-half-hour ride, and see if he could talk and give up anything,” Harrison continued. “He asked for a lawyer and that was the end of the conversation.”
Heuermann was charged with three counts of murder in the deaths of Amber Lynn Costello, 27, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, and Megan Waterman, 22. He pleaded not guilty on Friday. He has also been named the “prime suspect” in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25.
