The two children of accused serial killer Rex Heuermann are “crying to sleep”, their mother said – describing their horror at his alleged actions and their shock to find their home turned upside down by investigators.
Asa Ellerup, 59, filed for divorce from Heuermann on July 19 – less than a week after his arrest.
Heuermann was arrested on July 13 and charged with the murder of three sex workers whose bodies were found on a Long Island beach in 2010.
Ellerup was away from home when the women were allegedly killed.
The couple have two children – daughter Victoria Heuermann, 26, who worked at her father’s architecture firm in Manhattan, and son Christopher Sheridan, 33, who has special needs.
Ellerup said on Monday they had all been traumatized by the events of the past few weeks and stunned by the state of their homes after police spent 12 days searching for evidence.
Asa Ellerup, 59, said on Monday the family had been reeling from the arrest of her ex-husband Rex Heuermann on July 13.
Ellerup is seen with her son Christopher Sheridan. She said the 33-year-old, who has special needs, was ‘so upset and doesn’t understand’
Victoria Heuermann, 26, worked in her father’s architectural firm
Ellerup and the two adult children returned home to Massapequa, Long Island
She said that after her house was turned upside down and taken down, she had no bed to sleep on.
“I woke up in the middle of the night, shivering,” she said. The New York Post.
‘Anxiety.
“My children cry to sleep. I mean, they’re not children. They’re adults, but they’re my kids, and my son has developmental disabilities and he cried himself to sleep.
Victoria Heuermann told those close to her that she felt “not human”.
Ellerup’s attorney Bob Macedonio explained: ‘She meant what they did to them and the family isn’t even human. They were just complete animals. They treated them like animals.
Heuermann, 59, was arrested on July 13 and charged with the murder of three women, found in 2010 on a beach near his home.
Rex Heuermann’s home was first raided by police after his July 13 arrest
Police remained at the scene for 12 days
New York State Police officers carry an extensive array of evidence out of Rex Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park, NY on July 17
Ellerup said she was shocked by the state of her home after the police left.
“I had three cats. Litter boxes were a pile, thrown over everything. My photos have been thrown everywhere,” she said.
“My couch was completely shredded. I don’t even know if there are any pieces on the couch.
“There was a Pelican crate in my house that had clothes in it, and inside a Pelican crate there was moss. I was able to take two pieces of foam and put them together so I could lie down.
‘My garden, I can’t even explain it.
“I had a greenhouse and I like to plant seeds and my greenhouse, they lifted it. They stuck it, it’s high. You know, they threw it on a whole bunch of stuff. C is a $3,000 greenhouse.
She said her son’s guitar was broken and her daughter’s Dungeon and Dragons cards were taken.
The locks were changed, so the family had to get new keys.
They’re compiling a damage list and talking to the district attorney’s office.
The suspect’s home is directly north of Gilgo Beach, across South Oyster Bay
An aerial view of the area near Gilgo Beach and Ocean Parkway on Long Island
The first victim, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, was discovered by Suffolk County police on December 11, 2010. The body of Megan Waterman, 22, was found two days later.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes was 25 when she disappeared (left). Amber Lynn Costello was 27 years old. Their bodies were found near Barthelemy’s the same day
Ellerup, who has been married to Heuermann for more than 20 years, said she had no choice but to live in the house.
“It’s the only thing I have,” she told the newspaper.
“We pulled another chair out from the basement and upstairs for my son and I to sit down and talk. He’s so distraught and doesn’t understand, and as a mother, I don’t have answers for him.
“But I said, ‘We’re together. ‘That’s really what matters right now. That you and I are sitting here together and we’ll get through this.”
Macedonio said Ellerup was “blindsided” by her husband’s arrest.
“She was completely in shock. Completely taken by surprise,” the lawyer said.
Heuermann is due back in court on Tuesday for a brief hearing.
