Questions continue to loom about suspected Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann’s wife, whose hair was reportedly found on numerous Gilgo Beach murder victims.
While allegedly preying on younger women, Heuremann lived with his wife, 59-year-old Asa Ellerup, and their children in Massapequa Park, in what neighbors have called a tight-knit community.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Heuermann was arrested earlier this month in Manhattan and charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello, prosecutors said.
Among the evidence discovered by prosecutors was Ellerups’ hair “on or near three of the victims,” prosecutors said, according to NBC News. Investigators found one hair on murder victim Maureen Brainard-Barnes, recovered from a belt used to bind her.
Investigators also found the wife’s hair on victims Waterman and Costello, prosecutors said.
In July 2022, the hairs were sent to a lab for analysis, where it was determined that the hair did not belong to any of the murder victims. Then, on July 21, 2022, an undercover detective with the Suffolk County Police Department found 11 bottles in a trash bin outside Heuermann’s home.
The bottles were sent for analysis, where it was discovered that DNA from the bottles matched the “mitochondrial haplogroup” of the hairs found on the three victims. Investigators determined that the suspect’s wife had been out of town when three of the victims were killed.
Investigators said that Ellerup was out of state and out of the country during the times the victims were allegedly killed by her husband. She hasn’t been arrested or charged in connection with the case.
Meanwhile, supermarket cashiers at a nearby Massapequa Park store knew the wife and the children over the years as a quiet family that shopped frequently, The New York Times reports. In over 25 years, however, Heuermann never joined Ellerup or the children on the shopping trips.
“He never came with them,” store manager Mery Salmeri said. “I’m not sure what that says about them.”
Salmeri added that Ellerup appeared depressed and usually shopped for groceries with food stamps. Salmeri said she remembered that since food stamps are rarely used at her store.
Neighbor Etienne DeVilliers told the New York Post that Ellerup was “quiet.”
The family was also known for their reclusive and enigmatic nature, according to neighbors. They rarely socialized, and their unkempt house was a reflection of their reserved lifestyle, they added, which rarely had visitors.
Not much is yet known about the couple’s son, but their daughter, Victoria, 26, reportedly worked with Heuermann.
On Friday, Ellerup arrived at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead before his arraignment, where he pleaded not guilty to a plethora of charges.
When approached by Newsday, she said, “Please leave me alone. I will not be saying anything.”
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[Featured image: Ava Ellerup/Facebook; Rex Heuermann/RH Consultants and Associates]
