The family of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann broke their silence Friday, releasing the first public statement since the man they knew as a husband and father was arrested and their lives were turned upside down.
In a press release, a lawyer for Heuermann’s wife, Asa Ellerup, said she and their children “are enduring a profound and indescribable catastrophe,” according to PEOPLE magazine.
“As you can imagine, our client and her family are going through a devastating time in their lives. The sensitive nature of her husband’s arrest is taking an emotional toll on the immediate and extended family, especially their elderly family members,” the statement reads, according to News 12 Long Island.
The release also included a statement directly from Ellerup pleading for privacy.
“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. They deserve to live peacefully; they should be able to walk their dogs and go to the grocery stores without cameras shoved in their faces. I am pleading with you all to give us space so that we may regain some normalcy in our neighborhood.”
Heuermann was arrested July 14 on a Manhattan sidewalk near his architectural office. About an hour later, police descended on his family’ home in Massapequa Park on Long Island, where Ellerup and the couple’s two adult children were inside.
“They were home and the cops came in, and they were completely blindsided, and they told them what was going on,” Ellerup’s lawyer, Bob Macedonio, told Fox News.
Ellerup filed for divorce the following week in Suffolk County Supreme Court. She and the children returned to the house earlier this week and told reporters not to speak with them.
In an interview with CNN, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said he does not believe the family “knew about this double life that Mr. Heuermann was living.”
Heuermann faces charges of first- and second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Amber Costello, Melissa Barthelemy and Megan Waterman. He is also the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes and authorities across the country are examining whether he might be involved in other unsolved cases.
The bodies of the four women were found in burlap sacks buried on Gilgo Beach in December 2010. Within months, authorities had uncovered the remains of six additional bodies at the beach, but police have not linked Heuermann to those bodies.
Investigators believe at least some of the victims may have been murdered inside the residence, according to News 12, citing multiple unnamed sources.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Feature Photo: Rex Heuermann/Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office via AP]
