Gilgo Beach Killer's Jailhouse Confession to Ex-Wife Unveiled in Documentary
In a chilling revelation, the man convicted of the Gilgo Beach serial murders confessed to his ex-wife that he killed most of his victims in the basement of their family home, according to a new documentary episode. Rex Heuermann, who recently pleaded guilty to the murders, made the admission while in jail, as detailed in the latest installment of an NBC series.
Ex-Wife Details Disturbing Conversation in Teaser Clip
Asa Ellerup, Heuermann's ex-wife, shared in a teaser for the episode airing Thursday that he told her the eight women he admitted to killing were his only victims. She recounted asking him directly about the murders during a jail visit, to which he responded with the number eight. Ellerup intentionally avoided using his first name, stating she wanted to "put a wall up" between them during the conversation.
"When he started talking, it started feeling like that's the Rex I know," Ellerup said in the 90-second clip. "But I didn't want to see that one. I wanted to see the one I needed to see." She added that Heuermann confessed to killing seven of the victims in the basement of their Massapequa Park home on Long Island while she was away.
Documentary Series and Family's Response
The final episode of "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets" will be available on NBC's streaming service Peacock. Concurrently, another documentary titled "Killing Grounds: The Gilgo Beach Murders" is set to release on Amazon's Prime Video. Ellerup's attorney, Robert Macedonio, declined to discuss further details from the new episode but emphasized the family's emotional turmoil.
"This has been an extremely emotional and painful process for the family to endure and come to terms with the allegations that Rex Heuermann was the Gilgo Beach serial killer," Macedonio said in an email. "Ms. Ellerup would like the focus to remain where it belongs—on the victims and their families, who have suffered immeasurable and lasting losses."
Background on the Case and Heuermann's Guilty Plea
Earlier episodes of the documentary depicted the family's struggle to reconcile their memories of Heuermann, an architect with a Manhattan office, with the killer described by authorities. Ellerup, who divorced Heuermann after his 2023 arrest, initially defended his innocence, but her daughter later conceded he "most likely" committed the brutal killings that baffled investigators for years.
The case concluded earlier this month when Heuermann, 62, admitted in Riverhead court to murdering seven women and an eighth he had not been charged with over a 17-year span. He confessed to strangling the victims, many of whom were sex workers, and dismembering some bodies before dumping them near Gilgo Beach, about 50 miles from Manhattan. Heuermann is scheduled to be sentenced in June to life in prison without parole.
Vess Mitev, a lawyer for the couple's adult children, Victoria and Chris, stated they "echo the sentiments of their mother, and wish only to move forward as best they can, given this remarkably dark chapter in their lives." Heuermann's lawyers did not respond to requests for comment on the documentary revelations.
