LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK: Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann's wife, Asa Ellerup, was publicly seen for the first time on Wednesday, the same day she filed for divorce, less than a week after New York police detained her husband on a half-dozen counts of cold case murder.
Bob Macedonio, her attorney from Islip, stated that Authorities arrived at the family home in Massapequa Park and notified Heuermann's wife and children of the allegations a little over an hour after the 59-year-old disgraced architect was taken into custody by Suffolk County police near his workplace on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Thursday, according to Macedonio. However, let's talk about Heumermann's wife, and how her behavior was with her neighbors, as they have described her as "reclusive and enigmatic.''
'Reclusive and enigmatic'
Rex Heuermann's neighbors have labeled him and his wife as "reclusive and enigmatic" in the aftermath of his arrest for the killings of three sex workers more than ten years ago. Residents of Massapequa Park, where 59-year-old architect Heuermann resided with his wife, daughter, and stepson, were shocked to learn of his arrest. The defense counsel for Heuermann has referred to his client as a "loving husband and devoted father."
'People don't expect a serial killer to be married'
However, Heuermann's neighbors told The New York Times that they were never exposed to that side of him. Instead, according to Frankie Musto, who spoke to the newspaper, Heuermann and Asa avoided interacting with their neighbors and were reserved with themselves. Musto said, "I guess people don't expect a serial killer to be married, I'm friendly with everybody around here but she didn't talk to anyone." According to Musto, although his daughter grew up playing with Heuermann's daughter, she was never permitted to visit the family's "unkempt house." Musto added, "I didn't want her in that house," and she couldn't remember any of their neighbors ever paying them a visit.
'Maybe they were like his prisoners..'
Mery Salmeri said, "Could he have been a monster who killed those girls and an angel at home?" Salmeri added, "Or maybe his family was just so scared of him that they were like his prisoners who would never tell anyone, even if they had some idea of what he was capable of."
According to forensic examination, female hair strands belonging to Heuermann's wife were discovered at the three crime scenes. However, officials could ascertain from Ellerup's cellphone records that she was out of the country during the killings, as per reports.