Wife of Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Remained Unaware of Horrific Crimes
Asa Ellerup was married to Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann for more than two decades, a period during which he murdered seven of his eight confirmed victims. She shared the same Massapequa Park, Long Island, home with him, where together they raised their children in the very residence where he lured, tortured, and strangled young women.
Ellerup has consistently maintained she knew nothing of his crimes. However, in the three years since Heuermann was unmasked as the serial killer, many have questioned how a wife could live so closely entwined with a man capable of such atrocities without suspecting anything unusual.
District Attorney's Exclusive Revelation
Now, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has revealed for the first time what investigators learned about Ellerup's relationship with the serial killer who preyed on young, vulnerable women and terrorized Long Island for decades. In a wide-ranging sit-down interview, Tierney exclusively shared new details about Heuermann's meticulous plans to kill, his victims' chilling final moments, the investigation to catch the killer, and the inner workings of the bombshell plea agreement.
Despite the cloud of suspicion hanging over Ellerup, Tierney insisted that the years-long investigation uncovered zero evidence that she knew anything about her husband's killing spree. "Nothing at all. I think she knew that there were other issues with the defendant, but there's no evidence whatsoever to think that she knew he was murdering people. Absolutely not," he stated emphatically.
Awareness of 'Other Interests'
However, while Ellerup was in the dark about his double life as a serial killer, Tierney cryptically noted that she was likely aware her husband had 'other issues' or 'other interests.' When pressed if she knew he was cheating with sex workers, the prosecutor responded, "I think that she was aware that he had other interests."
Through the investigation, Tierney said it became clear the relationship dynamic between Heuermann and Ellerup was not typical. The serial killer controlled all aspects of their home life and finances. "Normally with offenders, especially when there is obsessive behavior, they don't tend to associate themselves with people who are very suspicious," Tierney explained.
He pointed out that in typical relationships, spouses know about each other's finances and whereabouts, but this wasn't the case here. "I don't think that was the dynamic in this particular relationship. Rex liked to control. He controlled the finances. He really controlled everything. I don't think that their dynamic was typical."
Heuermann's Deceptive Persona
Ellerup was not the only person fooled by Heuermann's masquerade as a family man and businessman. Tierney described the 62-year-old architect as meticulous, manipulative, smart, and of above-average intelligence. "He is very good at portraying himself to be who he thinks you want him to be," Tierney said. "That's why I think not only his family, but also the people who knew him, worked with him, and were friendly with him never thought he would be capable of what he's been convicted of."
Heuermann was also "a prolific purveyor or consumer of escorts," Tierney added, "the vast majority of which obviously he didn't murder."
Family Background and Evidence
Ellerup was 18 and working at a 7-Eleven when she first met Heuermann. Both initially married other people. In a documentary, Ellerup described Heuermann as her "hero" who helped her through her divorce and took her and her son Christopher into his home.
Investigators received "incredible cooperation" from Heuermann's family members, Tierney noted. A total of nine hairs belonging to Heuermann, Ellerup, their daughter Victoria Heuermann, and another woman who once lived with the killer were found on six of the seven victims he was charged with murdering.
Significantly, Heuermann's family—Ellerup, Victoria, and Ellerup's son Christopher Sheridan—was out of town on vacation at the time of each murder. At the time of the first known murder of Sandra Costilla in 1993, Heuermann was living alone. "With all the victims, we wanted to show that the defendant would have unfettered access to the victims through the home, meaning that nobody else was around," Tierney explained.
Confession and Sentencing
On April 8, Heuermann finally confessed to the murders of eight women over a 17-year reign of terror between 1993 and 2010. His victims—all young women working as sex workers—included:
- Sandra Costilla, 28
- Melissa Barthelemy, 24
- Megan Waterman, 22
- Amber Costello, 27
- Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25
- Jessica Taylor, 20
- Valerie Mack, 24
- Karen Vergata, 34
Their remains, some mutilated and dismembered, others bound with belts and wrapped in burlap, were found dumped in remote areas of Long Island. Fears of a serial killer first emerged in 2010 when remains were discovered along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach during a search for Shannan Gilbert, whose death investigators maintain was accidental and unrelated.
Heuermann was arrested in July 2023 after being tied to the killings through a witness tip about his pickup truck and damning cellphone evidence. Ellerup filed for divorce days after his arrest but continued to stand by him initially. After fighting the allegations for over two years, Heuermann changed his plea to guilty on all seven charged murders and admitted to the eighth.
For the first time, he revealed all the women died by strangulation. Under the plea agreement, Heuermann has waived all appeal rights, will face no additional charges for these murders, and will cooperate with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. He faces multiple life sentences at his sentencing on June 17.
