Rex Heuermann returns to court over Gilgo Beach murders as estranged wife Asa turns up again to ‘hear the evidence’

Accused serial killer Rex Heuermann has returned to court for a procedural hearing in New York, with his estranged wife also present.

The 60-year-old father of two is accused of murdering four female sex workers whose bodies were found buried on a remote stretch of Gilgo Beach more than a decade ago.

Heuermann appeared at Suffolk County Superior Court in Riverhead on Wednesday morning wearing a black suit, white shirt and navy blue tie.

He listened intently to the hearing, which focused on large amounts of potential evidence seized from various devices related to the case.

His ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, was also seen pulling up in a black Mercedes outside the Long Island courthouse.

Accused serial killer Rex Heuermann is back in court on Wednesday morning – and his estranged wife Asa Ellerup (pictured in the white and black jacket) has also appeared for the hearing

Pictured: Asa Ellerup in court on Wednesday ahead of Heuermann’s final hearing

It comes just weeks after she claimed her partner of 27 years was ‘incapable’ of killing the four women. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Ellerup, who also shares two children with Heuermann, filed for divorce six days after he was charged with the first three murders.

But she still visits him in prison because she believes he “deserves the benefit of the doubt” and attends his hearings with a documentary camera crew.

Ellerup reportedly signed a controversial seven-figure deal with NBC Universal, Texas Crew Productions and G-Unit to appear in a series about the case.

During Wednesday’s hearing, attorneys discussed large amounts of potential evidence contained on hundreds of devices. The judge said he wanted the discovery phase of the case to be completed by July.

Heuermann last appeared in court in early February to provide an update on the progress of his case, remaining silent.

He was taken to a quiet Suffolk County courthouse in Riverhead, Long Island, New York, for a procedural hearing not attended by Ellerup.

It was the architect’s first court appearance since Jan. 16, when he pleaded not guilty to the 2007 murder of 25-year-old Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

Heuermann was previously charged with three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy in 2009, and Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello in 2010.

Since his arrest in July 2023, he has spent most of his days in a small windowless cell at the Riverhead Jail, awaiting trial.

The 60-year-old father of two is accused of murdering four female sex workers whose bodies were found on Gilgo Beach more than a decade ago

Alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann, right, appears in Judge Tim Mazzei’s courtroom next to his attorney Michael Brown in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead on Wednesday

The alleged victims known as the ‘Gilgo four’: Maureen Brainard-Barnes; Amber Lynn Costello, 27; Megan Waterman, 22; and Melissa Barthélemy, 24

His lawyer previously revealed to DailyMail.com that the accused killer was still in solitary confinement and was ‘lonely and depressed’.

Officials at New York’s maximum-security prison said he was isolated because he would otherwise be a “prime target” for inmates.

“We have very good information that he would be the target of violence if he were not in a secure location,” Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. said. from Suffolk County previously told Newsday.

“There was someone who said if he could get in close contact with him, ‘I’m going to do something.’

Alleged victims Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27, went missing between 2007 and 2010.

They were all sex workers who advertised their services on Craigslist and Backstory. The women were found tied up in gunny bags within a few kilometers of each other.

Long Island architect Heuermann was arrested outside his Manhattan office last year after DNA evidence linked him to their disappearances.