Gilgo Beach suspect of serial killer Rex Heuermann has been removed from suicide watch as his trial date approaches.
The Manhattan architect has been held in solitary confinement at Long Island’s Suffolk County Correctional Facility amid fears he may commit suicide since he was charged with the murder of three young women last month.
Aside from his attorney, he hasn’t received any visitors as he awaits his next trial next month, but Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. of Suffolk County said he was no longer considered an imminent suicide risk.
“The mental health staff at the prison has decided to take Rex Heuermann off suicide watch at this time,” the sheriff said. News12Brooklyn.
He will continue to be evaluated periodically. His housing and security protocols have not changed.”
Accused Long Island serial killer Rex A. Heuermann during his August 1 appearance in Suffolk County Superior Court
Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. of Suffolk County said medics had decided Heuermann no longer posed an immediate risk
Heuermann is held at Suffolk County Correctional Facility away from other inmates, with a cell complete with a TV. Police said the suspect has vowed to “come along” pending trial. Almost a month after his incarceration, he has not received any visitors – including family
Heuermann, 59, is charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, 22, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27, whose bodies were discovered in December 2010 on a stretch of Long Island beach.
He is the prime suspect in the 2007 disappearance and subsequent murder of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, and prosecutors are confident they will press charges.
Because of my confidence, I’m going to call him what I want to call him,” Suffolk Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said last week.
“Someone who has ruined families, someone who is a predator, someone who has ruined lives.
“And not just one, several, and there could be more.”
Prosecutors are trying to establish Heuermann’s involvement in the unexplained deaths of some two dozen people whose bodies have been found on Long Island beaches since 1996.
They are expected to reveal whether a DNA sample taken from Heuermann in custody matches that found on belts and tapes that bound the bodies of the murdered women.
His wife Asa Ellerup, 59, filed for divorce days after his arrest and has yet to visit her husband of 27 years in custody.
Asa Ellerup, the wife of the Gilgo Beach suspect of serial killer Rex Heuermann, has been battling breast and skin cancer for years
So far, Heuermann has been charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Melissa Barthelemy. However, police say they are ‘confident’ that they will soon charge him with the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barners.
His two children Victoria Heuermann, 26, who worked at her father’s architectural firm in Manhattan, and a son Christopher Sheridan, 33, also stayed away.
Ellerup has said she will sue the FBI for damage to the family’s home in Massapequa Park during a 12-day search in which police recovered more than 250 guns and discovered a walk-in safe in the basement.
Her lawyer, Robert Macedonio, said Ellerup is at risk of losing health insurance for her breast and skin cancer since she filed for divorce from her husband.
“The source of her health insurance came from her husband’s employment. So that will no longer be available to her to treat the cancer,” he explained.
“Cancer drugs are expensive, how is she going to pay for the treatment?”
Heuermann is said to have spoken to his wife by phone since his arrest and police confirm that she is not a suspect.
She told DailyMail.com that she no longer wants to “walk the streets” because of the massive scrutiny she and her children have been subjected to since moving back in.
“The neighbors want the house gone,” she added.
“They want it bulldozed.”
Heuermann is currently being held without bail in the Suffolk County Jail on what the judge called the “extreme depravity of the charges.”
A “great dig” took place at Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park. Pictured are state police detectives gathering evidence at the scene
The alleged killer’s attorney, Michael Brown, called the case against his client “extremely circumstantial in nature” and issued the following statement:
Rex Heuermann is 59 years old and has no criminal record. A college graduate, he is a hard-working graduate architect who owns his own NYC firm. For more than 25 years he has been a loving husband to his wife and a committed and devoted father to his daughter and stepson.
“He has pleaded not guilty and has maintained that he did not commit these crimes. Nothing about Mr. Heuermann indicates his involvement in these incidents.
“And while the government has decided to focus on him despite more significant and stronger leads, we look forward to defending him in court before a fair and impartial jury of his peers.”