'Macabre Irony' In Son Of Sam Law Update Inspired By $1M Gilgo Doc Payout

MILLER PLACE, NY — Gilgo Beach serial killer victims' attorney says there is "macabre irony" in the $1 million Rex Heuermann documentary payout to the accused's wife, Asa Ellerup, that sparked a lawmaker's proposal to close a loophole in the state's Son of Sam Law.

"The victims were appalled," John Ray of Miller Place told Patch. "The misuse of the dead to gain money, especially when Ellerup is so intimately connected with the reason for their death, is unspeakable."

"There were no words to explain the outrage," he added.

Three of Ellerup's hairs were found on the victims, according to Heuermann's bail package filed with the court after his arraignment.

News of the financial arrangement between Ellerup and the Peacock Network sparked outrage from the victims' families earlier this month and highlighted a loophole in the state's Son of Sam law, which requires notifying victims or their surviving families of potential profits from a crime and allows them to bring a civil case to recover damages.

The law originates from speculation that the Son of Sam killer, David Berkowitz, would sell his story for profit.

Sen. Kevin Thomas, a Democrat from Nassau, is sponsoring legislation to close the loophole, which does not extend the notification to the family members of perpetrators.

The exclusion paves the way for media outlets looking to contract deals surrounding a crime with family members rather than the person accused or convicted of the crime, he says.

The loophole also "deprives" victims and their families of compensation they "are entitled to," making it "clear that the statute does not go far enough," according to Thomas.

Under his proposal, companies contracting to pay profits from a crime to the family or former spouses of a convicted individual exceeding $10,000 would have to notify the Office of Victim Services, which would then reach out to the families.

In a statement, Thomas called it an "alarming reality " that media companies are "exploiting tragedy for profit."

"My hope is that victims are given the opportunity to receive the justice and compensation they deserve," he said. “New York has a long history of blocking people convicted of a crime from benefiting from their illegal activity. My legislation aims to take it a step further to ensure that media deals surrounding a crime are subject to the same transparency and accountability as the perpetrator themselves."

"No one should be profiting off a crime," he said.

Ellerup is involved in a multi-part documentary series, and though she was not specifically paid for her participation, she was paid a licensing fee for the use of her archived materials, as is common with documentaries, but it can't go towards Heuermann or his defense funds, a network spokesman said.

Ellerup has no creative control over the outcome of the series, according to the spokesman.

The network reached out to all victims’ families to appear in the documentary, "all of whom either did not respond or declined," he said.

Heuermann was charged in connection with the slayings of three of the Gilgo Four, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, and Amber-Lynn Costello in July. He is suspected in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

The bodies of the four women, all sex workers, were found buried along Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach in 2010.

Another seven sets of remains were found nearby, including that of a toddler and an Asian male dressed in women's clothing.

As the situation stands now, there is no way for the victims' families to seek compensation, according to Ray.

"There's no such law," he said. "And, so one would think the money's just gone. Even with a law in place, the victims or those representing the victims would have to bring an action to recoup the money, so it's more work and more delay."

The law itself will also be subject to constitutional challenges, which could drag out the process even longer, according to Ray.

Ellerup's attorney, Robert Macedonio, would not comment on the deal that was struck between Ellerup and Peacock.

Should Thomas' legislation pass both houses and be signed into law, Macedonio believes it will not hold up constitutionally.

"I am certainly not looking to minimize the impact on the victim's family," But Asa [Ellerup] and the children are also victims of the alleged actions of Mr. Heuermann."

Ellerup, who is being treated for breast cancer, was being financially supported by Heuermann, and her son was let go from his job, according to Macedonio. Her daughter, a graphic artist, worked for Heuermann and cannot find employment elsewhere and has lost all of her friends, he said.

"How are you going to get a job with a name like that when this is in the paper or the media every single day?" he said. "If it's your daughter that's friends with her are you going to tell her to hang out with her?"

"Nobody wants to put themselves in that scrutiny," he added.

Assemb. Fred Thiele, who is sponsoring the legislation in the assembly, disagreed.

"I don't think it's an action that is that is non-protected," he said. "It is the act of entering into a contract and profiting from the crime. So I just don't think that that argument of constitutionality is going to hold up.

Ray saw the argument for constitutionality, though.

"Well, it's arguable that it is," Ray said. "But it's also equally arguable that it is. One of the arguments that occurs to my mind is freedom of speech. It's a restriction on the profits from freedom of speech."

Macedonio also questioned to what degree the law would affect family members.

He noted that 30 percent of the content on streaming platforms is based on true crime, something he says is a "hot topic."

"Someone is going to pay somebody so when they don't pay the wife or the children, they're going to pay the aunt or the uncle" he said. "There's always going to be a way around it. I understand the son of Sam Law because the defendant should not reap the rewards."

He declined to say if Ellerup, who just returned from Iceland where she was visiting a sick relative, has received any more offers to participate in media.

Ray said it is not a "First Amendment test, dealing with freedom of speech that should prevail," adding that the question might be how does anyone put a limit upon the number of people who are considered to be family and their connection with the crime?"

"Would a third cousin be covered by the law, he questioned, adding, "What's the definition of family here?"

"But of course, we're dealing with close family who have lived with Heumermann and have an intricate, intimate connection with Heuermann, and they're profiting from what he did, and they should not be able to benefit," he said. "So how does that line get drawn? It may be a subject of a great deal of litigation."

The proposed law's explicit design because of Ellerup's "profiteering and because her lawyers have profits" in it shows "macabre irony," Ray said.

"The irony is that Ellerup herself had three of her hairs found on three bodies," he said. "One hair was found on the belt that's involved in this case. And her behavior is not consistent with innocence or subsequent behaviors."

"She should be in the circle of suspects," Ray said. "And with this law, it's enforced on her. The irony is that it will zip her lip. It will stop her from talking, and the best thing that an accuser can want is that the accused keeps talking."

There's an unintentional boomerang effect on Ellerup, Ray said, adding that the law would potentially, just stop "her from revealing herself where she shouldn't be in that circle of suspicion."

Macedonio shrugged off the allegation.

"Johnny has been saying that since the arrest of Rex Heuermann," he said. "Asa is amongst the several individuals that Johnny has accused of being involved in this case, who have been eliminated as suspects by the prosecutors."