A new documentary has revealed the chilling rituals of Rex Heuermann, the Long Island serial killer who confessed to murdering eight women. The Peacock series, Gilgo Beach Serial Killer: House of Secrets, includes interviews with Heuermann's ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, and their children, detailing how he used the family home's basement as a 'kill room'.
According to therapist Alison Winter, Heuermann described a four-day ritual: building trust with victims, murdering them in the basement, a day of 'playtime' with their bodies, and using a stopwatch to dispose of remains on a beach 20 miles away. He claimed his final victim, Amber Lynn Costello, was dumped in just 37 seconds.
Ellerup now sleeps in the same basement where at least three victims were dismembered. She told the documentary: 'I'm trying to say, spiritually in my own way, that I am really sorry for what these victims went through.' Heuermann's daughter, Victoria, revealed that victims Valerie Mack, Karen Vergata, and Jessica Taylor were all murdered and mutilated in the home.
Heuermann, who pleaded guilty earlier this month, killed his first victim, Sandra Costilla, in 1993 just days before marrying Ellerup. The killings stopped after the discovery of Shannan Gilbert's body in 2010, which led to the identification of Heuermann's 'Gilgo Four' victims.
The family reportedly received over $1 million for participating in the documentary, sparking a lawsuit from Benjamin Torres, son of victim Valerie Mack, who claims the money exploits the murders.
