The estranged wife of Gilgo Beach serial murder suspect Rex Heuermann is battling cancer, her lawyer revealed on Friday.
In a press conference, Robert Macedonio said that Asa Ellerup has had breast and skin cancer for several years but the insurance she obtained through her husband is set to expire in the next two months. The loss of coverage would be another blow for Ellerup after her husband, a New York architect, was arrested last month in connection to the slaying of at least three women in the marches of Gilgo Beach, Long Island.
“She is presently under a course of treatment that is going to continue for the next 12 to 18 months,” he said. “Emotionally, she’s recovering each day not only dealing with the cancer, but this newfound life that she has to come to terms with protecting herself and children.”
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Heuermann, 59, has pleaded not guilty to the 2009 and 2010 murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, and Amber Costello. He is also the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who went missing in July 2007.
Macedonio, however, insisted Friday that Heuermann was leading a “double life” and that Ellerup and her children knew nothing of his alleged criminal activity.
Ellerup has since filed for divorce from her husband of 27 years. The family, through their lawyers, have also slammed authorities for the way they left their Long Island home in shambles. On Friday, an attorney representing Heuermann’s two adult children even said they may file a lawsuit related to the damage caused by the 12-day search.
Howeverm, John Ray, an attorney representing two of the Gilgo victims’ families, questioned why the suspected serial killer’s family is getting more attention than his alleged murder victims.
“It’s disturbing to me to see how this family has remained in the spotlight since the arrest,” Ray said, according to NBC News. “You’d think after so many years of waiting for justice for these victims, so many years of waiting for answers, that they—the victims who were killed—would finally have their day of being in the spotlight of justice.”
