The ex-wife of convicted Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann now sleeps in the same Long Island basement where he admitted killing and dismembering his victims, a place she says leaves her haunted by dreams every night.
Asa Ellerup revealed her disturbing new reality in the fourth episode of the Peacock documentary The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets, titled Confession, which was produced in partnership with The Post and, according to The New York Post, focuses on the hidden life of the architect-turned-serial killer and the family he deceived for years. She explained that she moved into the stripped-down basement of their Massapequa Park home after Heuermann privately confessed to her that he had murdered seven of his eight victims there, a revelation that shattered what remained of her understanding of the man she married in the 1990s.
Standing in the now-bare space, Ellerup did not mince words about what had taken place beneath her family home. The brutal truth is that Rex Heuermann said he dismembered the bodies in this room, she said in the interview, filmed in the eerie, concrete-lined basement.
That is the brutal truth. Now theres me. I am in this room. And I am here because I do feel spiritual, she continued, describing her decision to occupy the former kill room as a kind of penance and a way to acknowledge the suffering of the women her ex-husband targeted. Im trying to say spiritually in my own way that I am really sorry for what these victims went through.
Ellerup, who finalized her divorce from Heuermann in March 2025, said she completely gutted the basement, removing any trace of the life he led in secret, yet she cannot escape the psychological wreckage he left behind. Every night when I go to sleep, I am haunted by dreams. Every night, she said, underscoring the lasting trauma inflicted not only on the victims families but on those who unknowingly lived alongside a predator.
It will never go away. It will follow me for the rest of my life. There will never be any justice for anyone and there will never be any way to forget about this, she added, voicing a bleak view of accountability that reflects the limits of the criminal justice system when evil has already done its worst. Her comments echo a broader frustration many Americans feel when high-profile killers are finally brought to court, yet the damage to families, communities, and public trust can never truly be repaired.
In the documentary, Ellerup said she is still grappling with how Heuermann managed to conceal his double life for so long, even as she believed she knew the man she was with between 1993 and 2010. I want to get to know the other side of Rex. I want to know why Rex killed these women, what his triggers were, she said, suggesting that understanding his depravity is now part of her own search for closure.
I am processing the information in a very different way because now I see evil in him, she added, describing a moral and spiritual reckoning that many spouses of violent offenders face once the mask drops. Her words underscore a hard truth: evil can hide in plain sight, even within the walls of a seemingly ordinary American home.
Heuermann, who was long suspected in the notorious Gilgo Beach killings, admitted to murdering eight women despite being charged with only seven counts. Ellerup recalled visiting him in jail last summer, where he delivered a chilling confession that went beyond the official indictment.
I understand that you are confessing to me on these murders can you please tell me how many of these women did you kill? Ellerup recalled asking him during that visit. He responded that he had killed eight women, one more than prosecutors had charged, and said that all except one were murdered in the basement room of the Massapequa Park house where they raised their family.
Prosecutors have long maintained that Ellerup had no knowledge of Heuermanns crimes, a position that aligns with the evidence and highlights how thoroughly he compartmentalized his life. Public fear over a possible Long Island serial killer first surged in 2010, when the initial set of human remains was discovered along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach, with additional remains found between 2010 and 2011.
Heuermann ultimately pleaded guilty to killing Amber Lynn Costello, 27, Megan Waterman, 22, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, the group of victims widely known as the Gilgo Four. He also admitted to murdering Valerie Mack, 24, Jessica Taylor, 20, and Sandra Costilla, 28, in a case that has haunted Long Island and exposed serious failures in public safety and law enforcement coordination over three decades.
In addition, Heuermann confessed to the murder of Karen Vergata, whose case had not previously been linked to him, further expanding the scope of his admitted brutality. He will not face charges in connection with Vergatas death and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17, leaving families and a shaken community to wrestle with the reality that even when the courts have done their work, the moral and spiritual reckoning with such evil is far from over.
Login