Rex Heuermann’s wife, Asa Ellerup, has filed for divorce ‘to protect herself’ from future lawsuits and has spoken to him in prison, lawyer confirms

Rex Heuermann’s wife Asa Ellerup, Long Island serial killer suspect, has filed for divorce to “protect herself” from any future lawsuits and has spoken to her husband in jail, her attorney revealed last night.

Ellerup has been largely silent since her husband was taken into custody on July 18, 10 years after the bodies of his alleged victims were found on Gilgo Beach.

She has not been charged and would not have been involved in any way in her husband’s alleged crimes.

Prosecutors say Ellerup, who is Icelandic, was out of town every time her husband killed. After being charged, she was seen filing divorce papers at a Long Island courthouse.

That is what her lawyer Robert Macedonio told CNN it was largely a precautionary measure to ensure she is not liable for any future compensation that the victims’ families may pursue.

Asa Ellerup filed for divorce not long after her husband Rex Heuermann, 59, was arrested. Her lawyer says she did this to “protect herself” from future lawsuits

Attorney Robert Macedonio told CNN that Ellerup and her husband have spoken at least once

“It just means you expect lawsuits to come, there may be financial situations where she arises.

“She needs to focus on herself and her kids moving forward.

“This criminal process can take two to three years. And she sees it as she moves on with her life and the lives of her children.

“And however that turns out, she’ll deal with that at the moment,” he said.

He added that the pair have spoken since he was taken into custody, but he does not know the nature of the conversation.

“I believe there has been contact, but you have to realize that all calls are recorded outside the facility.

“So she’s had very basic phone calls. Everything is recorded. She can’t discuss anything, and his lawyers don’t want him to discuss the allegations,” he said.

Ellerup broke her silence outside the family home last week. She talked about the trauma of what she had ‘seen’ and about trying to move on. Her lawyers say her house was torn apart by forensic teams

For weeks, investigative and forensic teams searched every inch of the small house and yard in Massapequa Park.

Macedonio says it destroyed the family.

“She came home with the complete destruction of her family home where she lived and raised the children. Everything in the house was turned upside down. Chests of drawers were emptied.

“The tub in the bathroom, which was a vinyl tub, was actually cut open. The floors were ripped.

“The couches and the mattresses have been removed, and just piles of rubble left in the house where you barely had walking space to get into the house.

“They haven’t even had a chance to go through all the items as they were left, so they’ve taken the time to do that as we speak.

The chaotic scene outside Heuermann’s Massapequa Park home, where detectives worked for weeks

Ellerup’s lawyer says they searched every inch of the house

“And every day it brings more and more emotion because they find items and don’t find items, and it brings up emotions in them and memories of living in the house and what it was like before all this happened,” he said.

The Heuermann family has received support from Keith Jesperson’s family, the Happy Face Killer.

His daughter, Melissa Moore, has been in contact with Asa.

She is probably one of the few people who has been in situations like Asa, who was arrested by her father as an alleged serial killer and convicted of the murders of at least eight women.

“She started a GoFundMe page on behalf of Asa and her family and has been extremely supportive of Asa and, you know, helped her through this time of need,” he said.

Heuermann is expected to appear in court this afternoon for his second appearance.

He has so far pleaded not guilty to three murders through his lawyer.

He is the prime suspect in a fourth murder – that of Maureen Brainard-Barnes – and detectives continue to investigate whether or not he is linked to the murders of six other victims found on the beach.