Lawyer For Accused Gilgo Killer's Estranged Wife Speaks On New Search

LONG ISLAND, NY — The exhaustive search continued Thursday as a swarm of investigators were back at the Massapequa home of accused Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann for the fourth day — and an attorney for Asa Ellerup, his estranged wife, spoke about the toll the week has taken on his family.

"This family has been though most traumatic year imaginable," said Robert Macedonio, attorney for Ellerup. "I never, ever want to minimize what victims' families are going through — but what you have here is that Asa, Victoria and Christopher are collateral damage to this case. Whether Rex is found innocent or guilty — if Rex get acquitted, their lives are destroyed, because he's still known as a serial killer. If he's found guilty, they're always going to be known as the as wife and children of a serial killer."

Victoria, Heuermann's daughter, 27, was working for her father when he was arrested, Macedonio said. "Who's hiring her now?" he asked.

He added that she was only 10 or 11 at the time of the Gilgo Beach killings.

The family, he said, has had their life in turmoil since last July, when Heuermann was arrested. At the time, investigators conducted an extensive 12-day search of their home. "Everything was just thrown in when the police left, floor to ceiling," Macedonio said. "They literally had a 2-foot path to get to the door."

He added: "If you take everything out of a house, from the attic to the basement, they're not putting it all back neatly back in closets."

The investigation and search were ongoing Thursday, Macedonio said. "We have not been notified that the search has ended," he said. "Once the search has ended, the DA's office will notify us that our clients may return to the residence."

The DA's office confirmed with Patch Thursday that the search is ongoing.

Ellerup and her son are in South Carolina and Victoria, still in New York, went with Macedonio Wednesday to retrieve her car, he said.

The new search has left the family with questions, Macedonio said. "They went through this a year ago, now it's, 'Here we go again,'" he said. "We have no idea why, or what they are looking for — what they missed."

Macedonio said he does not have a copy of the warrant and the application will likely be sealed under protective order, he said.

Again, he emphasized: "Nobody wants to minimize the victims or their families. No one should die that way."

It was not immediately clear what investigators at the house were searching for.

Heuermann is next expected to appear at court for conference in Riverhead on June 18.

"As District Attorney Ray Tierney has previously stated, the work of the Gilgo Beach homicide task force is continuing. We do not comment on investigative steps while ongoing," said a representative for Tierney's office, who confirmed to Patch that the search was continuing at the home again Thursday.

Macedonio first confirmed Monday that New York State Police and Suffolk County Police activity was ongoing at the house.

"I assume it the execution of an additional warrant," Macedonio told Patch. "I can't imagine what they're looking for, since almost a year ago they executed one of the most extensive searches I've ever seen," he said.

And, Macedonio added that he believed, "They are not looking to arrest anyone. I'm sure they would have notified us if they wanted to make an arrest."

Michael Brown, Heuermann's attorney, also did not comment after repeated requests.

Last year, the search of the Heuermann property went on for 12 days and included the home, an excavator on the grounds, and an Amityville storage facility.

In April, after Heuermann's most recent court date, Brown said that he'd requested records recently that he said could shed light on a possible new suspect — and provide insight into former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke, who he said had shown a "lack of cooperation" in the Gilgo investigation.

At that time, the judge in the case said he'd like to see discovery completed by July.

Heuermann, the Massapequa Park man originally charged in three of the Gilgo Beach murders, was also charged with the murder of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, in January. New DNA evidence helped connect Heuermann to all four of the deaths, said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, who is prosecuting the case.

Heuermann was charged with second-degree murder, an A-1 violent felony, in the death of Brainard-Barnes on July 9, 2007.

Heuermann has pleaded not guilty.

Last July, Heuermann was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder charges and three counts of second-degree murder charges in the deaths of sex workers Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway in 2010. Heuermann also pleaded not guilty to those charges.

A total of 11 sets of remains were found in the Gilgo Beach murders, which rocked Long Island. The remains included that of a toddler and an Asian male.

Wearing a gray suit and staring straight ahead, Heuermann appeared before Judge Timothy Mazzei at the Arthur M. Cromarty Court Complex in Riverhead in April. Ellerup, Heurmann's estranged wife, also appeared at court, wearing sunglasses and walking alongside her attorney Macedonio.

At the appearance, the prosecution said they have continued to provide information to Brown, Heuermann's attorney, including 388 complete leads, lab reports and more. Brown asked the prosecution to focus on disclosure and that was provided Wednesday, the prosecution said, with additional leads to be provided going forward.

Mazzei said while he understands the "complexity and volume" of discovery, he'd like to get the discovery portion wrapped up by July so that Heuermann's trial can commence. Mazzei said some of the discovery Brown requested recently was thought to be "irrelevant" by the District Attorney's office.

If subpoenas were needed by Brown, he said he would facilitate that.

In April, Tierney said more discovery had been turned over. "It's voluminous," he said. "Today we provided a tremendous amount of discovery, including all the underlying DNA data from our DNA analysis in this case, our nuclear DNA analysis in this case— that took up an entire hard drive by itself."

Just since the last court date, Tierney said, there had been at least 15 disclosures; the prosecution has provided the defense with victim Maureen Brainard-Barnes' missing person's investigation and thousands of pages of documentation, including 7,000 pages with regard to "other persons of interest," and 12 terabytes on a hard drive with regard to nuclear DNA.

Digital evidence extractions came from about 422 digital devices, recovered from the locations associated with Heuermann, including phones, smart devices, Palm pilots and more.

When asked if the DA's office is investigating the other women murdered, Tierney said the investigation was ongoing. "If the DA's office speaks about that, it will be through an indictment," he said.

Recently, the DA's office said, of an ongoing search in areas of Suffolk County, including Manorville, Calverton and Southampton: "DA Tierney has repeatedly publicly stated that the task force would continue to investigate additional murders beyond Gilgo."

It was not immediately clear if the new search of Heuermann's home was connected in any way to the recent searches of woods in Manorville and other areas.