Following two extensive searches of accused Gilgo Beach Murderer Rex Heuermann’s Long Island home, his family has reportedly yet to see all of their possessions returned from law enforcement, a lawyer says, who also reported the trial may still be about a year away.
In 2023, the search of the Heuermann property went on for 12 days and included the home, an excavator on the grounds, and an Amityville storage facility.
A second search of the home ended in May, Robert Macedonio, attorney for Heuermann’s estranged wife Asa Ellerup, told Patch. Macedonio says the “exhaustive” search, which went on for five days, took a significant toll on the family, who he alleges are still waiting to have all of their belongings returned.
Vess Mitev, the attorney who represents Heuermann’s daughter and stepson Victoria and Christopher, told Patch that while some personal items have been coming back, including gift cards, electronic tablets, and a greeting card, a considerable portion of what was seized is still in the custody of law enforcement.
“95 percent of the things they had in their house are still not back,” he said. “That’s including antiques, jewelry, personal items, dog-related items, notebooks, journals, Social Security cards, passports. We don’t even know who has them, they’re in the possession of some law enforcement agency. Try applying for a job without a Social Security card — or boarding a plane without a passport.”
He added that his clients “fail to see the need” for their “deeply personal items” to be withheld or categorized as any sort of evidence “given the fact that they have been repeatedly excluded by any and all law enforcement agencies as any sort relevant evidence that has, on its face, nothing to do with any alleged crime.”
While Mitev said that in 2023, he and Macedonio agreed to file a notice of claim, the precursor to a lawsuit, protecting their legal rights for the damage done to their home and belongings, Macedonio told Patch that although he “can sympathize with Asa and the children,” he also can “understand the process that had to take place.”
In July 2023, Heuermann was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder charges and three counts of second-degree murder charges in the deaths of sex workers Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway in 2010. Heuermann was also charged with the murder of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, in January, after new DNA evidence helped connect Heuermann to all four of the deaths, said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, who is prosecuting the case.
This June, Heuermann received additional second-degree murder charges in the deaths of two more women, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla, according to a superceding bail application released to the press before the proceedings, which brought the total number of his alleged victims to six. In July, Tierney said it was “safe to say” that he might be considered a suspect in the death of a seventh woman, Valerie Mack, whose remains were found in Manorville and near Cedar Beach.
Despite the amount of time since the arrest, Michael Brown, Heuermann’s attorney, “still doesn’t have enough discovery to even think about a trial date,” Macedonio said. He anticipated that a trial could start around a year from now, with motions and hearings in between.
