Gilgo Beach murder updates: Suspect Rex Heuermann appears in court as wife asks for privacy

Gilgo Beach suspected serial killer Rex Heuermann is appearing in court on Tuesday afternoon for the first time since he pleaded not guilty in the bombshell case two weeks ago.

Mr Heuermann will face a hearing at Suffolk County Court in Long Island, New York, according to court filings.

It comes days after authorities revealed that a “massive amount” of evidence had been recovered from Mr Heuermann’s home in Massapequa – and after his estranged wife Asa Ellerup pleaded for privacy, saying the couple’s children “cry themselves to sleep” over the shock arrest and that she herself often wakes up “shivering” from the trauma.

The 59-year-old suspect was arrested on 13 July and charged with six counts of murder in the deaths of Amber Castello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy. He is also the main suspect in Maureen Brainard-Barnes’ killing.

The women, all sex workers in their 20s, went missing in 2009 and 2010. Their remains were later found along a stretch of roadway in the Long Island shoreline community of Gilgo Beach.

Mr Heuermann pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance on 14 July, where he cried: “I didn’t do this.”

Key Points

• Rex Heuermann to appear in court on Tuesday morning

• Serial killer suspect’s first words after arrest revealed

• ‘Massive amount’ of evidence recovered from Heuermann home

• ‘My children cry themselves to sleep,’ says estranged wife

• What we know about the Gilgo Beach murders case

Suffolk County District Attorney and Rex Heuermann’s attorney arrive at court

19:32 , Ariana Baio

Rex Heuermann set to appear in court at 2pm

19:00 , Ariana Baio

Rex Heuermann, the man accused of killing three women and leaving their remains on the Long Island shoreline is set to appear in Suffolk County Court at 2pm ET.

How the Gilgo Beach serial killer turned the Long Island shore into a graveyard

18:32 , Ariana Baio

More than a decade after 11 bodies were found dumped in Long Beach, married father of two and Manhattan-based architect Rex Heuermann is under arrest. Does this mean the hunt for the Gilgo Beach serial killer is finally over?

Rachel Sharp reports:

How the Gilgo Beach serial killer turned the Long Island shore into a graveyard

Watch: Gilgo Beach: What we know so far

17:30 , Ariana Baio

Rex Heuermann’s wife says investigators turned their house ‘upside down’

17:00 , Ariana Baio

An attorney for Asa Ellerup, the wife of Rex Heuermann, described a chaotic scene inside the house that she shared with the accused killer.

“Everything in the house was turned upside down,” Bob Macedonio, Ms Ellerup’s attorney told CNN.

“Dresser drawers were emptied out. The bathroom tub – which was a vinyl tub – was actually cut open. The floors were ripped up. The couches and the mattresses have been removed.”

Investigators in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said that law enforcement found “massive amounts” of material when they investigated the suspect’s home.

Timeline of events in Giligo Beach murders

16:30 , Ariana Baio

1 May 2010

Shannan Gilbert, 24, disappears after working a job as an escort in Oak Beach, Long Island.

December 2010

Suffolk County police find four bodies along Ocean Parkway between Gilgo Beach and Cedar Beach while searching for Ms Gilbert.

January 2011

Victims identified as Megan Waterman, 22, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27. All four women were escorts.

Ms Waterman was last seen in the spring of 2010. Ms Brainard-Barnes was last seen on 9 July 2007. Ms Barthelemy was last seen on 12 July 2009. Ms Costello was last seen on 2 September 2010.

April 2011

By April, eight other bodies were found in a several-mile stretch along the Long Island Shore. Among those were a toddler and one man.

13 December 2011

Remains of Ms Gilbert are found.

January 2020

Police release a photo of a black leather belt embossed with the letters “WH” or “HM” and ask for the public’s help in identifying what it could mean or who it could belong to.

February 2022

Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police and the FBI form a task force to investigate the Gilgo Beach killings.

13 July 2023

Rex Heuermann arrested in Midtown Manhattan and charged with three counts of first-degree murder for Ms Waterman, Ms Barthelemy, and Ms Costello. He is also named as the prime suspect in Ms Brainard-Barnes’ death.

Who is Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann?

16:00 , Ariana Baio

Rex Heuermann, 59, is a Manhattan architect and married father-of-two who is being accused of killing three women and leaving their remains along the Long Island shore.

Neighbours described Mr Heuermann as a “family man” living with his wife and two children in a tight-knit community in Suffolk County.

But in July, Mr Heuermann was suddenly arrested in connection to the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello.

While authorities have not brought forth additional charges against Mr Heuermann related to eight other bodies that were found around the area, Mr Heuermann is the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

Before the discovery of Mr Heuermann and his connection to the victims, Mr Heuermann was the president of the architectural firm RH Consultants & Associates based in Midtown Manhattan.

According to the company website, Mr Heuermann’s company has worked with the likes of Catholic Charities, NYC-DEP Sewerage Treatment and American Airlines and other major tenants at the JFK International Airport.

In his professional life, some acquaintances described him as arrogant while others said he was “creepy”

Tuesday’s court appearance is a conference

15:30 , Ariana Baio

Suspected killer Rex Heuermann is expected in Suffolk County Courthouse in Riverhead New York on Tuesday afternoon for a pre-trial conference.

The nature of the conference is unclear as no further detail was provided on court records except the word “conference”.

Reporters from the courthouse confirmed that the conference will take place at 2pm ET.

Police rule out link between Gilgo beach killings suspect and unsolved murders in Atlantic City

15:00 , Ariana Baio

Authorities have determined the man arrested in connection with the Gilgo Beach serial killings in New York is not connected with a series of unsolved murders in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Rex Huermann, 59, was arrested on 13 July and charged with six counts of murder in the deaths of Amber Castello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy — and he is also the main suspect in Maureen Brainard-Barnes’ killing.

Suffolk County police commissioner Rodney Harrison told ABC News earlier this month that authorities were weighing an investigation against Mr Huermanna in connection with the Black Horse Pike Strangler case in Atlantic City.

Similarly to the Gilgo Beach killing, the victims in the Garden State were also working as sex workers. Their bodies were found in a ditch in the Black Horse Pike hotel in 2006.

Andrea Blanco reports.

Police rule out link between Rex Heuermann and 2006 murders in Atlantic City

Rex Heuermann expected in court today

14:31 , Ariana Baio

Rex Heuermann, the man accused of killing a group of three women whose remains were found along the Long Island shore known as the “Gilgo Four”.

Tuesday’s appearance will be the second time he has appeared in court. Mr Heuermann has pleaded not guilty thus far.

It is unclear what time he is expected to appear on Tuesday. Reports say he will be in Suffolk County Court.

Attorney for Rex Heuermann’s wife says she had ‘no idea’ about his alleged actions

14:00 , Ariana Baio

The lawyer for Asa Ellerup, the wife of Rex Heuermann, said his client had “no idea” what was going on with her husband’s alleged action.

“She had no idea this was going on or the allegations or her husband was a suspect. She is not a suspect, she has not been questioned by the police regarding any of this,” Robert Macedonio said in a statement.

Ms Ellerup said she and her two children have been experiencing chaos and overwhelming emotions in the wake of her soon-to-be ex-husband’s arrest.

Mr Macedonio added: “It’s been extremely overwhelming for her and the children trying to piece life together to what it was two and a half weeks ago. I don’t know if they’re ever going to return to normalcy.”

Ms Ellerup filed for divorce from Mr Heuermann, who is due to appear in court on Tuesday morning.

INCYMI | Police dodge questions about crucial piece of evidence

13:45 , Ariana Baio

Investigators in Long Island have dodged questions about a crucial piece of evidence believed to have been found inside the family home of Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann.

Suffolk County district attorney Raymond Tierney was grilled in a press conference about the chilling alleged discovery of a mattress inside a huge vault in the basement of his home in Massapequa Park.

The DA repeatedly refused to confirm or deny the existence of the potentially harrowing piece of evidence but did confirm the existence of the walk-in underground vault beneath the property that he shared with his family.

“The vault is big enough to walk into and it’s in the basement,” he said, adding that “like the rest of the house, [the vault] was cluttered”.

Rachel Sharp has more.

Long Island police dodge questions about evidence in Rex Heuermann home

Wife of suspected killer says her family has been ‘crying themselves to sleep'

13:12 , Ariana Baio

The wife of suspected killer Rex Heuermann described the overwhelming emotions she and her family have experienced since her soon-to-be ex-husband was arrested and accused of murdering three women.

“[My children] have been crying themselves to sleep. And I’ve been crying myself to sleep too. Every time my kids go through something… they open a box. Every single time they cry…” Asa Ellerup told ABC News.

Ms Ellerup has since filed for divorce from Mr Heuermann after 27 years of marriage.

Her attorney told CNN that she had “no idea” of her husband’s alleged actions.

Press gather outside Suffolk County Courthouse

12:40 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s the view from Long Island as members of the media gather to catch Rex Heuermann’s first court appearance since his arraignment on 14 July, at which he pleaded not guilty to the crimes of which he stands accused.

Rex Heuermann to appear in court this morning

12:30 , Megan Sheets

Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann is set to appear at a hearing in Suffolk County Court at 8am Tuesday.

It makes his first court appearance since he was arraigned on murder charges and pleaded not guilty in mid-July.

The 59-year-old suspect was arrested on 13 July and charged with six counts of murder in the deaths of Amber Castello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy. He is also the main suspect in Maureen Brainard-Barnes’ killing.

The women, all women in their 20s who were working as sex workers, went missing in 2009 and 2010 before their remains were found along the stretch of a roadway in the Long Island shoreline community of Gilgo Beach.

Mr Heuermann professed his innocence in his first court appearance as he was ordered held without bail.

The bail issue is likely to come up at Tuesday’s hearing.

Rex Heuermann’s wife pleads for privacy

12:00 , Joe Sommerlad

The estranged wife of Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann has pleaded with the media to respect her family’s privacy.

Asa Ellerup, 59, filed for divorce after Mr Heuermann was charged on 13 July with the murders of three women whose bodies were found on a stretch of Long Island shoreline more than a decade ago.

Police spent 12 days searching the family’s run-down home in Massapequa Park, which has since become a macabre landmark attracting hundreds of true crime enthusiasts and reporters.

The mother of two is yet to comment publicly on Mr Heuermann’s alleged murder spree, but in a statement released through her lawyers Macedonio & Duncan, she asked for space to “regain some normalcy”.

“On behalf of my family and especially my elderly neighbors, who have also had their lives turned upside down by the enormous police presence, in addition to the spectators, and news crews,” Ms Ellerup’s statement read.

Bevan Hurley has more:

Rex Heuermann’s wife pleads to be left alone after his arrest for Gilgo Beach murders

What we know about the Gilgo Beach murders case

11:00 , Joe Sommerlad

For around two decades, the sands and marshes of Long Island’s Gilgo Beach kept a dark secret.

A killer or killers roamed the locality, luring in escorts and sex workers and brutally murdering them.

Body after body was dumped along the shoreline, hidden for months and even years without being discovered.

Then, in 2010, a chilling 911 call made by a woman in fear for her life led police to search the area.

What they discovered was far more horrifying than anyone could have imagined.

Over the next year, the remains of 11 victims – mainly female escorts – were discovered dumped in the area, plunging the Suffolk County community into terror.

But, the case went cold and no arrests were made, no suspects were named and there was no justice for the victims and their families.

That is, until the 13 July arrest of suspect Rex Heuermann.

Read Rachel Sharp’s explanation of the case:

How the Gilgo Beach serial killer turned the Long Island shore into a graveyard

Long Island police crack down on morbid tourists at Heuermann home

10:00 , Megan Sheets

People gawking at the Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect’s home will be fined $150 if reported by Long Island residents.

Residents congregated last week at Massapequa Park Village Hall, where Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder discussed the commotion surrounding suspect Rex Heuermann’s home, according to the Daily Mail.

“The county executive has made it very clear that we are protecting the neighborhood and we are not allowing this to turn into a side-show,” Mr Ryder reportedly said.

“If you don’t live on that street or visiting someone on that street and are there to stop and take pictures and break the law you will be issued a summons… no questions asked.”

Some residents, the publication reported, complained at the meeting that their driveways have been blocked, their lawns have been destroyed, and they have found trash scattered in the area.

The Independent’s Kelly Rissman has more:

Long Island police crack down on morbid tourists gawking at Rex Heuermann’s home

How a pizza crust helped link Heuermann to the slayings

09:00 , Megan Sheets

More than 13 years after a string of bodies were found in Gilgo Beach, authorities finally announced they’d caught the serial killer who lured in sex workers, brutally murdered them and then dumped their bound and wrapped bodies along the shore.

What led investigators to suspected killer Rex Heuermann was laid out in court documents as prosecutors asked a judge to deny him bail.

It consisted of a pimp’s tip about his pickup truck, a stash of burner phones, “sadistic” online searches, phone calls taunting victims’ families, his wife’s hair – and a pizza crust.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has more:

How pizza crust, burner phones and wife’s hairs led police to Gilgo Beach suspect

Serial killer suspect’s first words after arrest revealed

08:00 , Megan Sheets

The Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect had a somewhat blase reaction when a group of plain-clothes police officers swooped on him in the heart of a busy Manhattan street and arrested him in connection to a chilling series of cold case murders, according to authorities.

Rex Heuermann was taken into custody on 13 July as he left the office of his architecture business in midtown Manhattan.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison later revealed the accused serial killer’s first words when officers descended on him.

Mr Harrison told NBC News that the 59-year-old married father-of-two was dismissive of the allegations – but then quickly lawyered up.

“He very much said, ‘What am I here for? I don’t know nothing of what you’re talking about,’” he said.

“He asked for a lawyer – and that was the end of the conversation,” he added.

As the 59-year-old was processed into Suffolk County Jail on a string of murder charges, sources told CNN he did have another chilling question – this time about his newfound notoriety.

“Is it in the news?” he asked.

Read more:

Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect’s first words after arrest revealed

‘Massive amount’ of evidence recovered from Heuermann home

06:00 , Megan Sheets

A days-long search of Rex Heuermann’s Long Island home led to the seizure of a “massive amount” of evidence, authorities said last week.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced the end of the search at a press conference on 25 July.

“There were a number of items of evidence but I’m not going to say especially where,” he said.

The DA also refused to comment on whether or not the search had uncovered any trophies taken from the victims or if there was evidence that items had been burned on the grounds of the home.

“There were a number of disturbances that were found in the ground but we don’t know what it is,” he said.

While he would not go into details about what was found, he did confirm that a “massive amount of evidence” had been recovered from the home which Mr Heuermann grew up in as a child – and which he went on to share with his wife of two decades, their daughter and his stepson until his sudden arrest.

Among the trove of evidence inside the “very cluttered” one-storey property, no human remains were discovered, the DA said.

However, he noted that it will take time for the crime lab to test the trove of items seized for the likes of blood, hairs, fibres or other trace evidence which could indicate whether victims were killed at the property.

‘My children cry themselves to sleep,’ says estranged wife

05:09 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Asa Ellerup, the estranged wife of Gilgo Beach murder suspect Rex Heuermann, said her children “cry themselves to sleep” since their father’s arrest.

Ms Ellerup, 59, filed for divorce after Mr Heuermann was charged on 13 July with the murders of three women whose bodies were found on a stretch of Long Island shoreline more than a decade ago.

“I woke up in the middle of the night, shivering,” she told New York Post, detailing the anxieties she and her family has felt since police searched her Massapequa Park home.

“My children cry themselves to sleep. I mean, they’re not children. They’re grown adults but they’re my children, and my son has developmental disabilities and he cried himself to sleep.”

Who is Rex Heuermann?

04:00 , Megan Sheets

Manhattan architect and married father-of-two Rex Heuermann was taken into custody on the night of 13 July near his Midtown office.

Dramatic video captured him walking along a Manhattan road when he was suddenly surrounded by plainclothes officers and taken into custody.

The accused killer has been married twice and shares a 26-year-old daughter and stepson, with special needs, with his second wife.

Mr Heuermann is president of architecture firm RH Consultants & Associates, a company which he founded in 1994 and which his adult daughter also works for.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has more:

Rex Heuermann: Who is serial killer suspect in Gilgo Beach murders

Long Island police dodge questions about crucial piece of evidence

02:00 , Megan Sheets

Investigators in Long Island have dodged questions about a crucial piece of evidence believed to have been found inside the family home of Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney was grilled in a press conference on Tuesday about the chilling alleged discovery of a mattress inside a huge vault in the basement of his home in Massapequa Park.

The DA repeatedly refused to confirm or deny the existence of the potentially harrowing piece of evidence but did confirm the existence of the walk-in underground vault beneath the property that he shared with his family.

“The vault is big enough to walk into and it’s in the basement,” he said, adding that “like the rest of the house, [the vault] was cluttered”.

When pressed about the mattress and whether anything other than firearms were found inside the vault, he doubled down and said “I’m not going to speak on that”.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has more:

Long Island police dodge questions about evidence in Rex Heuermann home

What we know about the Gilgo Beach murders case

Tuesday 1 August 2023 00:00 , Megan Sheets

For around two decades, the sands and marshes of Long Island’s Gilgo Beach kept a dark secret.

A killer or killers roamed the locality, luring in escorts and sex workers and brutally murdering them.

Body after body was dumped along the shoreline, hidden for months and even years without being discovered.

Then, in 2010, a chilling 911 call made by a woman in fear for her life led police to search the area.

What they discovered was far more horrifying than anyone could have imagined.

Over the next year, the remains of 11 victims – mainly female escorts – were discovered dumped in the area, plunging the Suffolk County community into terror.

But, the case went cold and no arrests were made, no suspects were named and there was no justice for the victims and their families.

That is, until the 13 July arrest of suspect Rex Heuermann.

Read Rachel Sharp’s explanation of the case:

How the Gilgo Beach serial killer turned the Long Island shore into a graveyard

Rex Heuermann ‘ruled out’ as suspect in Atlantic City killings

Monday 31 July 2023 23:00 , Megan Sheets

Authorities have reportedly determined that Rex Heuermann is not connected to a series of unsolved murders in Atlantic City, New Jersey - quashing speculation that arose following his arrest in the Gilgo Beach case.

After Mr Heuermann was taken into custody on 13 July, authorities in Las Vegas, South Carolina, New Jersey and Connecticut have probed possible links between the accused serial killer and local cold cases.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison told ABC News earlier this month that authorities were weighing an investigation against Mr Huermanna in connection with the Black Horse Pike Strangler case in Atlantic City. Similarly to the Gilgo Beach killing, the victims in the Garden State were also working as sex workers. Their bodies were found in a ditch in the Black Horse Pike hotel in 2006.

But Mr Harrison has now told The New York Post that he believes someone else is behind the Atlantic City murders.

The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has more:

Police rule out link between Rex Heuermann and 2006 murders in Atlantic City

Rex Heuermann’s wife pleads for privacy

Monday 31 July 2023 22:00 , Megan Sheets

The estranged wife of Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann has pleaded with the media to respect her family’s privacy.

Asa Ellerup, 59, filed for divorce after Mr Heuermann was charged on 13 July with the murders of three women whose bodies were found on a stretch of Long Island shoreline more than a decade ago.

Police spent 12 days searching the family’s run-down home in Massapequa Park, which has since become a macabre landmark attracting hundreds of true crime enthusiasts and reporters.

The mother of two is yet to comment publicly on Mr Heuermann’s alleged murder spree, but in a statement released through her lawyers Macedonio & Duncan, she asked for space to “regain some normalcy”.

“On behalf of my family and especially my elderly neighbors, who have also had their lives turned upside down by the enormous police presence, in addition to the spectators, and news crews,” Ms Ellerup’s statement read.

The Independent’s Bevan Hurley has more:

Rex Heuermann’s wife pleads to be left alone after his arrest for Gilgo Beach murders

Rex Heuermann to appear in court tomorrow morning

Monday 31 July 2023 21:09 , Megan Sheets

Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann is set to appear at a hearing in Suffolk County Court at 8am Tuesday.

It makes his first court appearance since he was arraigned on murder charges and pleaded not guilty in mid-July.

The 59-year-old suspect was arrested on 13 July and charged with six counts of murder in the deaths of Amber Castello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy. He is also the main suspect in Maureen Brainard-Barnes’ killing.

The women, all women in their 20s who were working as sex workers, went missing in 2009 and 2010 before their remains were found along the stretch of a roadway in the Long Island shoreline community of Gilgo Beach.

Mr Heuermann professed his innocence in his first court appearance as he was ordered held without bail.

The bail issue is likely to come up at Tuesday’s hearing.