Gilgo Beach Killer’s Ex-Wife Says He ‘Got What He Deserved’
The ex-wife of convicted Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has broken her silence, declaring that he “got what he deserved” after a New York judge handed down the maximum sentence for the murders of eight women spanning nearly two decades.
Asa Ellerup, who filed for divorce shortly after Heuermann’s arrest in July 2023, spoke through her attorney Bob Macedonio on Friday, saying she believes the sentence was entirely appropriate for the 62-year-old former Manhattan architect. According to Fox News, Macedonio stated: “She believes the sentence is appropriate for his crimes, and obviously he got what he deserved. You can’t kill eight people. She’d never condone any of that.”
Ellerup deliberately avoided attending the sentencing hearing on June 17, 2026, out of what her attorney described as “respect for those who endured unimaginable loss and suffering.” Her thoughts, Macedonio said, “remain with the victims and their loved ones as they continue their pursuit of justice, healing and closure.”
The Sentence
On June 17, Suffolk County Court Judge Timothy Mazzei sentenced Heuermann to three consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole, followed by four consecutive terms of 25 years to life. The judge, visibly emotional, condemned Heuermann as a “disgusting and despicable small man” and a “coward” before ordering bailiffs to “get him out of here.”
Heuermann had pleaded guilty in April 2026 to murdering seven women and admitted to an eighth killing during a change-of-plea hearing. The New York Post reported that Heuermann was transferred from Suffolk County Jail to Green Haven Correctional Facility in Stormville, New York, on June 18, the day after his sentencing.
A Decades-Long Killing Spree
Between 1993 and 2010, Heuermann murdered eight young women — all petite sex workers whom he strangled, with some victims dismembered. The victims were Sandra Costilla, 28; Karen Vergata, 34; Valerie Mack, 24; Jessica Taylor, 20; Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25; Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Megan Waterman, 22; and Amber Lynn Costello, 27.
Most of the murders took place in the basement of Heuermann’s dilapidated Massapequa Park home while his wife and two children were out of town. The case remained unsolved for over a decade until the investigation was reopened in 2022. Investigators cracked the case using DNA evidence — including DNA from a pizza box Heuermann discarded — and cellphone records linking him to burner phones used to contact victims.
Victim Impact
At the sentencing hearing, 13 relatives of the slain women delivered heart-wrenching victim impact statements. Jasmine Robinson, cousin of Jessica Taylor, told Heuermann: “A million years isn’t enough. Nothing will ever make this right.” JoAnn Mack, mother of Valerie Mack, said: “Justice has been done, but it can’t replace what has been taken. She had dreams, and you took them all away from her.”
Amanda Funderburg, sister of Melissa Barthelemy, who was just 15 when her sister was murdered, described being forced to endure cruel phone calls from Heuermann using her sister’s phone. “I was forced to live with crippling anxiety, depression, PTSD, and destroyed nervous system constantly staring at my phone,” she told the court.
Ellerup’s Unusual Response
In a Peacock docuseries titled “The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets,” Ellerup revealed that she now sleeps in the basement where the murders occurred. “The brutal truth is that Rex Heuermann said he dismembered the bodies in this room,” she said in the episode. “I am trying to say spiritually, in my own way, that I am really sorry for what these victims went through.”
Heuermann’s guilty plea may help shield Ellerup and the couple’s daughter, Victoria Heuermann, from liability in civil lawsuits filed by victims’ families. He has also agreed to cooperate with the FBI on other serial killer cases.
What Remains Unanswered
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has declined to speculate about whether there are additional victims, stating that if investigators obtain more evidence, it would be presented to a grand jury. Heuermann was not charged in the death of Shannan Gilbert, whose 2010 disappearance led to the discovery of the “Gilgo Four” victims, nor in the case of an unidentified victim known as “Asian Doe.”
As Heuermann begins his life sentence, the case — one of the most notorious serial killer investigations in U.S. history — has reached its legal conclusion, bringing a measure of closure to families who waited decades for justice.