Attorneys representing the wife and children of Rex Heuermann, suspect in the Gilgo Beach murders, said the family is struggling to meet basic needs after a police search of their Long Island home caused extensive damage.
The attorneys emphasized what law enforcement had previously said: that Asa Ellerup and her children, 33-year-old Christopher Sheridan and 26-year-old Victoria Heuermann, had no knowledge of the killings of four women whose bodies were found on Long Island , New York, Strand in 2010. Authorities claimed that Rex Heuermann lived a double life and that at least three of the murders were only trafficked when his family was out of town.
That also made the family victims, the lawyers said, as they announced on Wednesday press conference On Friday, the family announced they will file a lawsuit, a precursor to a possible lawsuit, to “protect their rights” from law enforcement officials who they say damaged their Massapequa Park home during the 12-day search .
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Robert Macedonio, the attorney representing Ellerup, who filed for divorce from Heuermann, said he wasn’t sure which law enforcement agencies were involved in the search but would announce as soon as he learns more.
Macedonio said he toured the home on Sunday and painted a bleak picture of the state investigators left it in.
“It was floor to ceiling with debris that had just been cleared from the attic, from the closet and from every inch of the house,” he said. “From the front door to the kitchen there was a path that was probably a foot or two wide, and that was the path through the house.”
“The kids and Asa slept on foam mats on the floor next to the dog bed where the dog slept,” Macedonio said.
Macedonio also said some reports of the finds in the house were inaccurate. He said reports of a “soundproof” vault in the basement were false, describing it as an open-ceiling security door used to store Heuermann’s guns.
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Vess Mitev, the attorney representing Heuermann’s adult children, said the conditions at their home were “deplorable” and said the family had been deprived of basic human needs.
“Every moment you spend in this waking surreal nightmare, you have to keep reevaluating where you are,” Mitev said. “Their valuables were smashed, their beds destroyed, the places where they laid their heads at night no longer exist.”
Macedonio added that Ellerup has been treated for cancer for several years and is dependent on her husband’s health insurance. With his arrest and imminent divorce, she will lose that.
“It’s a huge fear and burden for them on top of all the other stuff that’s going on,” Macedonio said.
Heuermann has been charged with the murders of three women and is suspected of killing another woman. The investigation is ongoing and he has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
