Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann told his ex-wife that he killed seven of the victims in their Massapequa Park home, according to a preview of a Peacock documentary released after his guilty plea in the case.
Asa Ellerup said in the preview that Heuermann spoke to her while he was jailed and told her he had killed eight women in all. She said he identified seven of those killings as having happened in the basement of the family home while she was away.
Heuermann pleaded guilty on Apr. 8 in Suffolk County Court to murdering seven women and admitted he also killed an eighth victim, Karen Vergata, in 1996, even though he had not been separately charged in that death. Prosecutors said he was set to receive multiple life sentences without parole, with sentencing expected in June, according to People.
The latest disclosures came from the finale of Peacock's documentary series "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets," which features Ellerup describing the conversation with her former husband. The final episode is set to air on Apr. 23. In the teaser, Ellerup said Heuermann appeared very nervous when he spoke to her and answered "Eight" when she asked how many women he had killed.
Heuermann's guilty plea marked a major turn in a case that had drawn national attention for years. He had previously denied the killings, but in court, he admitted to strangling all eight victims and disposing of some of their remains at locations across Long Island, the BBC reported.
The Gilgo Beach case began after the remains of multiple women were found near Gilgo Beach on Long Island over a span of years, leading investigators to link several unsolved disappearances and murders. Prosecutors had alleged that DNA evidence, cellphone records, and items seized from Heuermann's home connected him to the crimes.
His victims were Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla, Valerie Mack, and Karen Vergata. Heuermann was arrested on Jul. 13, 2023, after investigators tied him to the case through DNA and other evidence, as per CBS News.
