Trigger Warning: This article mentions abuse, murder, and other violent details related to it. Reader discretion is advised.
America has witnessed and heard a series of brutal, jaw-dropping murder stories by famous serial killers. Each time details of horrifying crimes are released, even though it makes us sick to the stomach, no one can skip reading or watching them. The most recent one is Gilgo Beach murder case, which has a plot filled with suspense!
This is the ongoing trial case of Rex Heuermann, a 61-year-old architect from Long Island who is charged with the murders of seven women whose remains were discovered along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach, New York, between 1993 and 2011. The victims were s-x workers whose bodies were found in burlap sacks in a terrible condition, leading to the case being dubbed the “Gilgo Beach Murders.” Their group was further called “Gilgo Four.”
As per NBC News, Rex was arrested in July 2023 and initially charged with the murders of three women: Melissa Barthelemy (2009), Megan Waterman (2010), and Amber Costello (2010). In January 2024, he was additionally charged with the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes (2007). Subsequent investigations led to charges in the deaths of Jessica Taylor (2003) and Sandra Costilla (1993). In December 2024, he was indicted for the murder of Valerie Mack (2000). While the total number is seven, some news outlets also say it’s 11. He is kept at Riverhead Correctional Facility in Suffolk County, New York.
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Amidst the complex details of the case, which include blueprints of the carefully planned murders with DNA evidence, digital footprints, and burner phone records, his estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, persists in denying her husband’s charges. In an upcoming Peacock docuseries, ‘The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets,’ she expressed her feelings after meeting Rex and said, “It was like falling in love all over again.” She remained headstrong that the authorities had arrested the wrong man. “He’s my hero,” she said.
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However, their daughter, Victoria Heuermann, has a different opinion. At the beginning of the three-part series, she seems to be in two minds, saying, “This is my dad. I love him as my father. But there’s another side of him that I hate.” Yet, by the end of the series, producers disclose that Victoria now believes her father is “most likely the Gilgo Beach killer.”
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Released on June 10, 2025, on the popular American streaming platform Peacock, the series captures the emotional fallout of Rex Heuermann’s sudden arrest in July 2023 and the aftermath of the incident faced by his wife and daughter. As per the outlet, Victoria, working at her father’s Manhattan office then, remembers being blindsided by investigators. “They said my father murdered all these women and that our home was a crime scene. I never imagined hearing something like that in my life.”
Victoria questioned how he covered up the murders so well and said, “He would’ve had to be Superman for us not to notice a thing.” The detailed series also showcases Rex’s wife, Asa Ellerup, accompanied by her children and attorney, visiting the home’s basement, which is said to be a crime scene by prosecutors and one of the prime locations where the murders took place. Dismissing the claims, Asa said, “It’s absurd,” she said. “These are just allegations.”
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Meanwhile, as the case is ongoing, Rex Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all charges. A significant pretrial hearing commenced on March 28, 2025, through whole genome sequencing—a technique not formerly used in New York courts. Prosecutors argue that the method is scientifically valid and widely accepted, while the defence claims it lacks adequate legal precedent.
His team has also requested the court to reassess all the evidence against the victims separately, amidst which authorities have found new evidence regarding the case. David Jimenez, a dear friend of Heuermann and fellow architect, also shows up in the documentary. After visiting Rex in jail, he said Jimenez asked him directly, “Did you do it?” According to Jimenez, Heuermann teared up and began to cry. “That’s when I got the feeling—he did it.
As Rex is seen adjusting to jail life, he casually talks to his family in the recorded phone calls and awaits his next hearing date. While the road to truth in this complex Gilgo Beach case seems blurred, the lives lost cannot be claimed back. All we wish is peace for the families of the victims.
