Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Rex Heuermann ‘Controlled Everything’ During Marriage to Wife Asa Ellerup

More details are emerging about Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann and his life at home with his former wife, Asa Ellerup, and their children.

In a new interview with the Daily Mail, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney shed light on the dynamic inside the family’s home, where Heuermann lived with Ellerup, their daughter Victoria and Ellerup’s son Christopher from her first marriage.

According to Tierney, Ellerup had no knowledge of her husband’s horrific crimes during their decades-long relationship.

“Nothing at all,” Tierney said when asked how much Ellerup may have known about her ex-husband’s crimes. “I think she knew that there were other issues with the defendant, but there’s no evidence whatsoever to think that she knew he was murdering people. Absolutely not.”

Tierney added that Ellerup was likely aware her husband had “other interests.” He has since been described as someone who was a “consumer of escorts,” according to the public official.

Tierney also claimed that, based on his interactions with the couple, their dynamic appeared to be atypical, describing Heuermann as “controlling” and “obsessive.”

“Rex liked to control. He controlled the finances. He really controlled everything. I don’t think that their dynamic was typical,” Tierney told the outlet.

Heuermann, a 62-year-old architect, appeared to be “meticulous,” “manipulative,” “smart,” and having “above average intelligence,” according to Tierney.

“He is very good at portraying himself to be who he thinks you want him to be,” he continued.

“That’s why I think not only his family, but also the people who knew him, worked with him and were friendly with him never thought that he would be capable of what he’s been convicted of.”

“I think he liked living in that sort of space where he was not what he seemed to be,” he added.

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 have 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.