Gilgo Beach killings: Family of Rex Heuermann returns home to Massapequa Park
Asa Ellerup, the wife of Rex A. Heuermann, speaks to a neighbor outside her Massapequa Park home on Friday. Credit: Neil Miller
This story was reported by Robert Brodsky, Nicole Fuller and Grant Parpan. It was written by Fuller.
The family of suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann returned to their Massapequa Park home Thursday, apparently for the first time since investigators concluded a two-week long search of the property for evidence.
Heuermann’s estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, his daughter, Victoria, his stepson, Christopher Sheridan, and the family dog were seen in the front yard of the home on First Avenue. The house and its property were the subject of an extensive police search over 12 days following Heuermann’s July 13 arrest on murder charges in the killings of three women whose remains were discovered in the Gilgo Beach area in 2010.
Rex Heuermann's daughter, Victoria, left, and wife, Asa Ellerup, return to their Massapequa Park home on Thursday. Credit: James Messerschmidt
Ellerup declined to answer reporters’ questions and made an obscene hand gesture, shouting: “Don’t talk to me!” She was seen petting and kissing the family dog on the front porch.
Sheridan took the dog for a walk in the afternoon, and said "no" when asked by reporters if he had anything to say about Heuermann. He also went in and out of the house several times to walk around the neighborhood and to get items from a car.
WHAT TO KNOW
- The family of suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann returned to their Massapequa Park home on Thursday, apparently for the first time since investigators concluded a two-week long search of the property.
- Heuermann’s estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, his daughter, Victoria, his stepson, Christopher Sheridan, and the family dog were seen in the front yard of the home on First Avenue.
- Heuermann was charged July 14 with six counts of murder in the killings of three women whose remains were discovered in the Gilgo Beach area in 2010. Police said he is also the prime suspect in another Gilgo homicide.
Ellerup’s divorce attorney, Robert Macedonio, did not provide comment Thursday.
A Suffolk County Police Department spokesperson could not confirm that department detectives had accompanied the family to the home.
Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect, has pleaded not guilty to a six-count indictment charging him with first- and second-degree murder in the killings of three women who worked as sex workers: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello. Heuermann is also the "prime suspect" in the killing of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, whose body was found in proximity to the other three women, prosecutors have said.
Heuermann's attorney, Michael J. Brown, has not returned messages seeking comment but previously said his client, while in tears, denied the allegations.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney on Monday said investigators had seized a “massive amount” of potential evidence from the home that would be further assessed for evidentiary value. The family’s attorney was told they could return home, he said.
Suspected Gilgo Beach killer Rex A. Heuermann. Credit: Suffolk County Sheriff's Office
Tierney's spokesperson said this week that the district attorney plans to work as a line prosecutor on the case, an unusual move for a district attorney, who is responsible for overseeing an office of more than 300 employees, including prosecutors, investigators and support staff.
Tierney, a seasoned prosecutor who has tried high-profile cases for decades in the state and federal court systems, will lead the team of prosecutors on the case.
Tierney has declined to detail what investigators removed from the home he described as “cluttered,” other than the 279 firearms that were recovered from a walk-in vault in the basement.
Any potential trace evidence, including hair, fibers, blood and DNA, will be processed in a lab to determine whether it will further the case against Heuermann, Tierney said.
At Heuermann's July 14 arraignment, Tierney detailed evidence against the architect, including DNA lifted from pizza crust in a box he allegedly discarded that authorities say links him to one of the victims, along with cellular phone site data that linked his whereabouts to the victims at key times.
A New York State Police investigator assigned to the Gilgo Beach Task Force first identified Heuermann as a suspect last March by identifying him as the owner of a green first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche, which was described by a witness as a vehicle seen at the home of Costello on the day before she disappeared.
The FBI seized the Avalanche, now registered to Heuermann's brother, in South Carolina and transported it back to Long Island.
Police opened First Avenue to pedestrian and vehicle traffic on Monday afternoon — following the conclusion of the search of the home — but Nassau police said the department was stationing officers outside to enforce loitering and jaywalking laws to prevent the home from continuing to be a tourist attraction and disrupting neighbors.
Signs saying “no stopping” and “no standing at any time” have been erected on Heuermann’s block and on nearby Michigan Avenue.
Nassau County Police Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun said since Monday, police have issued eight summonses on First Avenue. He declined to say if all were related to people stopping in the area of Heuermann’s home.
