Trigger Warning: This article mentions abuse, suicide, murder, and other violent details related to it. Reader discretion is advised.
When a man commits crimes, not only the accused but also their wife and family are the ones who suffer the most. This is the story of one such woman who still believes her husband is innocent and calls him “my hero.”
In an emotional and controversial interview featured in the upcoming Peacock docuseries, The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets, Asa Ellerup, the estranged wife of accused serial killer Rex Heuermann, an architect who was arrested in July 2023, shares her feelings.
As per The New York Times, Rex has been charged in connection with the cold-case murders of three s-x workers, Barthelemy, Waterman, and Costello, among others, and remains behind bars. The 61-year-old wife, who saw him in prison, said in the Peacock docuseries The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets that it was like “falling in love all over again.” She remains adamant that authorities arrested the wrong man. “He’s my hero,” she said.
“I know what bad men are capable of —I’ve experienced it,” Ellerup says in the series, premiering Tuesday. “Not my husband. They’ve got the wrong person.” Besides murder, Rex Heuermann was later charged with four additional killings spanning nearly three decades. Almost all of them were pr-stitutes whose remains were found along Long Island’s Ocean Parkway.
Despite DNA evidence linking him to the victims, including hair traced to Asa Ellerup and their daughter, Victoria, his wife claims that Heuermann is a “family man” and not the killer the court has described. Meanwhile, Asa and Rex met when she was 18 and working at a 7-Eleven on Long Island.
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Reportedly, Asa, who had a dark and heartbreaking past consisting of abuse, a suicide attempt, and an attempted abduction, had Rex become her shield as a protector. The duo married in Sweden in 1995 and welcomed their daughter the following year.
Despite the series of serious charges, Asa defends her husband strongly. She further denied that Rex ever solicited s-x workers or had involvement with p-rnographic material reportedly found in their home, claiming, “I don’t even know if that stuff is his.”
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Meanwhile, she also said that Rex supported her like a rock even during her difficult times, like when he underwent a double mastectomy (a surgical procedure where both breasts are removed).
Furthermore, in the series, Asa Ellerup dismissed swinger party buzzes and insisted he was always home on weekends. “If he said he went to Lowe’s and was gone for an hour, there’s no way he was off murdering someone,” she said. Even though the mother of one filed for divorce on March 27 after Rex was gone, a move that her daughter says was for financial protection.
While a wife can divorce her husband in jail, the process would be a little more complex since one of the spouses is behind bars and might be unable to comply with all the standard rules. Moreover, in this case, the wife will have more control over the assets and child custody.
Rex ran an architecture firm called RH Consultants & Associates in Manhattan and lived in Massapequa Park, a peaceful village on the South Shore of Long Island. He is now at the Riverhead Correctional Facility in Suffolk County, New York, and is supposed to stay there amidst his ongoing legal procedures.
Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann and his estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, have reached a divorce settlement, according to court records. https://t.co/KzuDorKd77
— ABC News (@ABC) March 28, 2025
Asa Ellerup grieves the distance between her and Rex. She says, “I want to tell him I love him, but I hold back,” she admits. “Not because I doubt him, but because I don’t believe any of this.” I don’t see what everyone else is claiming. I just don’t see it.”
This is a developing story; we will keep you updated on the final verdict of this case. If convicted of the current first-degree and second-degree murder charges against him, Rex will face multiple sentences as per his bail application.
