Rex Heuermann.Photo:James Carbone-Pool/Getty Images
James Carbone-Pool/Getty Images
Asa Ellerup, the estranged wife of alleged Gilgo Beach serial killerRex Heuermann, has cancer, her lawyer revealed at a Friday press conference.
Attorney Robert Macedonio said Ellerup has skin and breast cancer, and will lose her health insurance in the next two months because she received coverage through Heuermann’s job as an architect. She still needs roughly 18 months of treatment, Macedonio said.
Ellerup has spoken to Heuermann over the phone when Heuermann has called her, according to Macedonio, who said she and her children “have not discussed” Heuermann’s alleged crimes with him. The attorney said Ellerup has not visited him in jail.
“If it happened and he lived a complete double life, I assure you she knew nothing about it,” Macedonio said.
Attorney Vess Mitev, who represents Christopher Sheridan and Victoria Heuermann, the adult children of Heuermann and Ellerup, spoke at the press conference as well. The son and daughter, he said, are going through “a horrific, emotional time that none of us can imagine."
Rex Heuermann.
The attorneys also shared never-before-seen photos of the family’s Massapequa Park home, saying investigators destroyed it during the prolonged search of the property. They said the family will consider a lawsuit against authorities.Macedonio said debris was piled “floor-to-ceiling” and said the family slept on “foam mats” after they returned to the house late last month after staying in a hotel.
“The family again requests, truly and honestly, that their rights and liberties have to be protected,” Mitev said. “And part of that, again, is that the focus is on their basic needs with their food, water, shelter, and clothing. That’s their paramount concern right now.”
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From left: Victoria Heuermann and Asa Ellerup.James Carbone/Newsday RM via Getty
James Carbone/Newsday RM via Getty
Heuermann was arrested last month in connection with the Gilgo Beach serial killer case in Long Island, N.Y., which has been investigated for more than a decade with few developments until last month’s breakthrough.
The Manhattan architect is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths ofAmber Costello, 27,Melissa Barthelemy, 24, andMegan Waterman, 22. He has pleaded not guilty, but police say DNA evidence connects him to the killings.
Heuermann also remains the primary suspect in the killing of 25-year-oldMaureen Brainard-Barnes. All four women were sex workers who went missing and whose remains were later discovered on Gilgo Beach more than a decade ago.
Heuermann Family Home.Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty
Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty
“A lot of tears have been shed,” Mitev said.
“They’re emotionally, physically and mentally constantly having to reassess their position in life in real time,” Mitev. “It has taken an incredible toll on them and they’re doing the best they can as a family unit.”
Heuermann appeared in court for the first time recently and was ordered to turn over a DNA sample to test against a sample detectives took from him during their investigation, according toABC News.
Prosecutors also said they’ve turned over other evidence — including hard drives, thousands of pages of documents, photographs, autopsy reports, and surveillance video — to Heuermann’s defense team in the runup to a trial, the outlet reported.
source: people.com
