Gilgo Beach Murderer’s Wife Reveals She Sleeps in Basement Where He Killed, Dismembered Women

The wife of Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann is still sleeping in the home where he murdered multiple women, including in the same room where he dismembered their bodies.

Asa Ellerup, who was married to Heuermann for more than two decades revealed in Peacock’s documentary Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets, that she now sleeps in the basement.

“The brutal truth is that Rex Heuermann said he dismembered the bodies in this room. That is the brutal truth,” Asa said while standing in the basement, according to the Daily Mail.

The series shows Ellerup deciding to move her bedroom into the basement just one month before Heuermann changed his plea from not guilty to guilty in the murders of seven women, as well as an additional eighth murder he admitted to during an April 8 court hearing.

“Now, there’s me. I am in this room,” Ellerup explained. “And I am here because I do feel spiritual. I’m trying to say spiritually in my own way that I am really sorry for what these victims went through.”

Ellerup said she is “processing” her husband’s crimes “in a very different way because I now see evil in him.”

She also shared her interest in getting “to know the other side of Rex,” including what his triggers were. According to the outlet, Ellerup gut-renovated the basement, replacing the floors, doors and moldings.

Still, the estranged wife — who filed for divorce from Heuermann just days after his 2023 arrest — said she is plagued by nightmares.

“Every night when I go to sleep I am haunted by dreams. Every night,” she explained.

“It will never go away. It will follow me for the rest of my life. There will never be any justice for anyone and there will never be any way to forget about this.”

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told the Daily Mail in a recent  interview that authorities believe Ellerup had no knowledge of his crimes during their marriage. He also described the couple as “not typical,” adding that Heuermann “controlled everything” in the household, including finances. 

As In Touch previously reported, Heuermann confessed on April 8 to the murders of eight women between 1993 to 2010. His victims were identified as Sandra Costilla, 28, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, Amber Costello, 27, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Jessica Taylor, 20, Valerie Mack, 24, and Karen Vergata, 34. Authorities said the victims were sex workers who had gone missing.

Many of the victims’ remains were discovered along Gilgo Beach. A break in the case came after the formation of the Gilgo Beach Task Force, when a tip involving Heuermann’s truck led investigators to key evidence and his arrest in July 2023.

Ellerup filed for divorce days later. However, she said in the series that she has seen her estranged husband — now behind bars — 12 times since he privately confessed to her in August 2025, per the outlet.