Tom Wood
Rex Heuermann’s wife is said to have responded to seeing some of the evidence that cops believe proves he is a serial killer by saying: ‘OK, it is what it is.”
Heuermann has been charged with three murders and is suspected of at least one more, and cops arrested him recently in Long Island in connection with killings, which took place around a decade ago.
The bodies of 11 people – mostly women – were found near to Gilgo Beach, but no-one was ever arrested in connection until Heuermann was arrested at his Midtown architectural firm last Thursday.
His house was then searched, with police finding firearms and paraphernalia, as well as a storage location.
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59-year-old Asa Ellerup is Heuermann’s now-estranged wife, and she was at home in Massapequa Park when the cops came into Heuermann’s firm to arrest him.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison told Fox 5 about her reaction to the police.
“When we told the wife, she was shocked, she was embarrassed,” Harrison said.
“But there was a point where we showed her certain pictures and she said, ‘OK, it is what it is'.”
He did not elaborate on what exactly Ellerup was shown.
Harrison had earlier told CNN that the reaction he saw from Ellerup and her two children suggested that they would have known nothing ‘about this double life’ that the alleged killer may have been leading.
He added: “But, time will tell. And once again, there are still a lot more questions that need to be done to the family and friends.”
Heuermann has been held at a correctional facility in Suffolk County since his arraignment on Friday.
He is currently believed to be on suicide watch and has been detained there without bail.
On Wednesday (19 July), Ellerup filed for divorce, only six days after the revelations about her husband’s alleged crimes came to light.
Her attorney Bob Macedonio said that Ellerup and her adult kids have had their entire lives ‘turned upside down’ by the news.
He said: “Obviously this has been a shocking time for them and a pretty difficult time to comprehend,
“As with any family, it’s extremely upsetting and they’re totally shocked and caught off guard.
“The family doesn’t want to make any further comment than that.”
Heuermann has been charged with the murders of 27-year-old Amber Lynn Costello, 24-year-old Melissa Barthelemy, and 22-year-old Megan Waterman.
He pleaded not guilty to those three charges on Friday.
However, he is also the ‘prime suspect’ in the investigation into the death of 25-year-old Maureen Brainard-Barnes.