Rex Heuermann’s estranged wife has received some relief as officials have begun returning seized items taken during the raids on their Long Island home.
Asa Ellerup, 59, who has remained by the accused serial killer’s side amid the ongoing Gilgo Beach murder case, has suffered multiple raids on their home and storage units in recent months.
Heuerman, 61, was arrested in 2023 and charged with the murders of six women — at least four of whom were sex workers before their deaths.
Although he denies any involvement in their deaths and has pleaded not guilty, investigators have raided his family’s home in Massapequa Park and rented storage units to seize items.
“The family is grateful and relieved that they are beginning to get back some of their personal belongings,” Ellerup’s attorney Bob Macedonio said. Newsday, adding that the returned items will not be used as evidence in the accused murderer’s case.
“We have been in constant contact with the district attorney’s office and last month we began receiving the return of personal items that prosecutors determined had no evidentiary value in the prosecution of Rex Heuermann.”
Asa Ellerup, 59, who filed for divorce from Heuermann, has remained by his side during the ongoing Gilgo Beach murder investigation
Heuerrman (photo in court), 61, was arrested in 2023 and charged with the murders of six women – at least four of whom were sex workers before their deaths
Macedonio told the newspaper that the family had received “more than 50 manila envelopes” and “personal electronic devices.”
“We were told by the Public Prosecution Service that we would continue to receive personal property from Asa [Ellerup]Victoria [Heuermann] and Christopher [Sheridan] continuously as it is processed,” he said.
Victoria is Heuermann and Ellerup’s daughter, while Christopher is Ellrup’s son from a previous relationship.
Ellerup filed for divorce six days after Heuermann was charged with the first three murders.
Other items Macedonio said were returned include greeting cards from a family member, multiple gift cards sent to the family after Heuermann’s arrest, and personal documents.
The lawyer revealed that the gift cards totaled about $1,000, along with a personal check from someone in Iceland. The amount of the check is unclear.
Vess Mitev, the lawyer representing Victoria and Christopher, said that while some of his client’s personal items were returned last month, many more remain in police custody.
Bob Macedonio, Ellerup’s attorney, said the returned items will not be used as evidence in the accused killer’s case
Mitev told the newspaper that authorities had taken art supplies, antiques, books, clothing, writing utensils and even personal documentation, including social security cards, passports and their birth certificates.
“Surprised annoyance is the best way to describe my clients and my opinion that these items are still in the possession of law enforcement,” Mitev said.
In May, Mitev told DailyMail.com that Heuermann’s children and ex-wife were just getting their lives back on track when police launched a second raid within a week.
The attorney said that just before officials moved in to look for clues to lock Huerrman away, Ellerup and their children were putting the “finishing touches” on their new living room in an effort to make their home more comfortable.
Mitev could not reveal whether Ellerup and the children were aware of the search in advance.
He said they are “understandably in some level of turmoil because that’s just the byproduct of what’s going on.”
“My clients have a very deep, visceral sadness at any police presence in their home, in their home, and especially where we are almost a year later,” he said.
The piles of boxes stacked outside grew higher as more evidence was seized in May
“Their lives are turned upside down again, even though this time it’s a much more controlled chaos in every sense, but chaos nonetheless.”
A medical examiner also arrived at the home during the search, which retired NYPD Sergeant Joseph Giacalone said could mean investigators are looking into deaths beyond the Gilgo Beach killings.
“Since they did this 10 months ago, they had to be able to prove to the judge that they had a good reason to go in there,” he said.
“The medical examiner showing up is really interesting.
“If we see the forensic anthropologist emerge, that would be even more interesting and a bit of an eye-opener, because they are the physicians who go out and determine what is a human bone or what is an animal bone.”
The new search of Heuermann’s home came after police searched a shocking new location in the case in April in woods near Manorville, about 40 miles away.
Days later, Gilgo Beach homicide investigators used K-9 units to search an area in North Sea, Long Island, where a woman’s body was found in 1993.
Their search took place in the area where Sandra Costilla’s body was found thirty years ago in a murder case that remains unsolved.
Heuermann has since been charged with the murders of Costilla, Jessica Taylor, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes and Valerie Mack.
Prosecutors say they linked Heuermann to the killings through cellphone data and DNA.
They also say that an alleged manifesto detailing how he carried out the murders was discovered on a hard drive in his basement.
Last month, police released new information about the Gilgo Beach murders and one of the unidentified bodies known as “Asian Doe.”
Heuermann pleaded not guilty to all charges and is currently in jail awaiting trial
Map shows where bodies were found in Gilgo Beach
Gilgo Beach became a dumping ground for a killer (or killers) in the 1990s and early 2000s. A total of eleven bodies were found in the region.
New renderings provide a glimpse of what this victim looked like before his death.
Police say he was likely from southern China, aged between 17 and 23 and that his death occurred at least five years before his body was found in April 2011.
The biological male was wearing women’s clothing when he was discovered: a bra, a blue ribbed crew neck and a “Rafaella” branded shirt. Researchers assumed he may have been living as a woman.
“We believe that Asian Doe may have worked as a sex worker. We believe they spent some time in New York before their deaths,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
Tierney said: “The task force does not forget the victims and we will not stop in our pursuit of justice.”
“This person remains nameless – to us… Someone knows who this person is.”
A $2,500 reward has been offered for information leading to the identification of the victim.
Heuermann is expected in court on October 16.