2 days ago
6
A dilapidated red house with an unkempt yard in the Long Island village of Massapequa Park gained notoriety after an arrest was made in the Gilgo Beach serial killings.
Rex Heuermann, the man charged in the killings of seven women in a reign of terror dating back to the 1990s, led a double life, according to prosecutors – a family man who commuted to Manhattan by day, and was a serial killer by night.
Prosecutors say Heuermann met escorts, tortured them, killed them, and dumped their bodies along a stretch of isolated oceanfront parkway on Long Island.
Since Heuermann’s arrest in July 2023, a trove of disturbing evidence has come to light that alleges the Long Island native operated out of his own basement, just below where he lived with his wife and two children.
Police believe Heuermann likely tortured his victims after they discovered in the basement an arsenal of over 200 guns and chilling manuals on grisly methods of how to hunt and kill women.
The single-story house with a grim history became a magnet for media crews, true crime enthusiasts, and investigators, transforming the once-quiet suburban neighborhood into a public spectacle.
For weeks, investigators and hazmat teams could be seen hauling materials out of the house as they tore up the floors, knocked down walls and excavated the backyard.
But the inside of the home has remained a mystery – until now.
A gripping new docuseries goes inside the suspect’s home for the first time, “where never-before-heard testimony from his own family unravels a chilling portrait of a man accused of living a double life and hiding dark secrets under their own roof,” according to Variety.
Gilgo Beach Killer: The House Of Secrets, is set to debut on Peacock, NBCUniversal's streaming service, on June 10.
The three-part series is produced by rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, and promises unprecedented access and chilling interviews with those who knew Heuermann best — including his wife — as cameras enter the house for the first time.
The unexpected involvement of 50 Cent in the project has raised eyebrows across social media, with many questioning why the music mogul is stepping into such dark territory.
Known for producing gritty dramas like Power, Jackson has recently expanded his G-Unit Film & Television empire into real-life crime stories.
But while there’s a massive interest in the case across the true crime world, 50 Cent received some backlash after he posted a promo image to his Instagram account earlier this week.
The image of Asa Ellerup, Heuermann’s wife of 27 years, appears to show her preparing for an on-camera interview in the basement, where police allege Heuermann carried out his gruesome crimes.
“This promo image is an interview setup in the home's basement where he tortured and murdered at least some of the women,” one person wrote in the LISK (Long Island Serial Killer) group on Reddit.
“Asa agreed to be interviewed down there? How disgusting of everyone involved.”
Ellerup filed for divorce just days after Heuermann was arrested, but continued to visit him in jail and has attended several of his court hearings, many times flanked by a camera crew as part of the Peacock documentary.
A spokesperson for Peacock previously told PEOPLE Magazine that Ellerup was not being paid for her participation in the doc, but was given a licensing fee for handing over archival footage for the project. NewsNation later reported that Heuermann's family would receive $1 million in the deal.
Ellerup’s attorney, Bob Macedonio, who also represents members of G-Unit, 50 Cent’s rap group, confirmed that the divorce settlement between Ellerup and Heuermann was reached in March and finalized in April.
Ellerup has since moved to South Carolina, but still plans to attend the trial, which will most likely be next year, Macedonio told the New York Times, adding that she “still has the same opinion: She doesn’t believe he’s capable of what he’s been accused of.”
As for the house, Macedonio told local news outlet Patch that the house is “eventually going to be sold” but for now, there is no time frame for a sale.
The new docuseries comes as the case in the midst of a Frye hearing, a pre-trial proceeding to decide whether a scientific method used to gather evidence is accepted as reliable by experts. The hearing will determine the admissibility of nuclear DNA evidence in Heuermann’s upcoming trial.
Prosecutors say DNA evidence links Heuermann to the murders he’s charged with, part of a horrifying saga of the Gilgo Beach serial killings involving 11 sets of remains found along a stretch of Ocean Parkway on Long Island over the past two decades.
To date, Heuermann is charged in seven murders, beginning in July 2023 when he 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, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Costello, 27, whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway in 2010.
He was also named as the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, and was subsequently charged with her murder in January 2024.
In June 2024, he was charged with second-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla.
Then in December of that same year, Heuermann was indicted for the 2000 murder of a seventh woman, Valerie Mack.
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has been held without bail at the Suffolk County jail in Riverhead, Long Island, since his arrest.
The next major legal step comes on June 17, when Frye hearings resume to determine the admissibility of nuclear DNA evidence.
But before that, The House of Secrets will open its doors — and possibly, reveal disturbing truths long hidden behind them.
