DNA On Gilgo Beach Victims Matches Suspect's Wife's Cheek Swab: Report

LONG ISLAND, NY — Cheek swab samples taken from Asa Ellerup, the estranged wife of accused Gilgo Beach killer Rex Heuermann, match DNA found on bodies of the victims, a report by Newsday said.

Heuermann, of Massapequa Park,, 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.

A grand jury investigation is ongoing into the death of a fourth victim, Maureen Brainard-Barnes; Heuermann is the primary suspect in her death, officials have said.

A total of 11 sets of remains were found in the Gilgo Beach murders, which rocked Long Island, including that of a toddler and an Asian male. Heuermann has also been potentially linked to Karen Vergata, whose remains were found at Davis Park on Fire Island.

According to a bail report filed at the time of Heuermann's arrest, Ellerup was out of town in Iceland at the time Barthelemy, Waterman and Costello disappeared. She has not been accused of, or charged with, any crime.

DNA samples were taken from Ellerup after Heuermann was arrested.

The report detailed DNA analysis of hairs recovered from the examination of the victims' bodies; the women were wrapped in burlap and leather belts, the report said. During the examination of the three belts that bound Brainard-Barnes, one of which was used to bind her feet, ankles and legs together, a female human hair was recovered from a belt buckle, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Waterman, who was bound by clear of white duct tape, had two female human hairs found on her body; a female human hair was recovered on a piece of tape inside the burlap wrapping of Costello's body, Tierney said.

All of those hairs were sent to an outside forensics laboratory, whic applies DNA techniques and direct genome sequencing in "difficult-to-solve forensic casework and the identification of human remains," Tierney said. In July, 2022, the laboratory was able to determine, through mitrochondrial DNA testing, that each of the hairs recovered on each of the three female belonged to a female that was not any of the victims, Tierney said.

Next, an undercover Suffolk County Police detective recovered 11 bottles from a trash receptacle outside of Heuermann's home, Tierney said. After DNA profiling, it was determined that the DNA profile on the bottle was the same as that of the hair sample on Waterman, indicating that the two belonged "to the same individual or someone closely related," Tierney said. "Based on the investigation and evidence recovered to date, that female is believe to be the wife of Defendant Heuermann," the report read.

The report then said that because Ellerup was out of the country at the time of Waterman's disappearance and murders, "it is likely that the burlap, tape, vehicle (s) or other instrumentalities utilized in furtherance of these murders came from Defendant Heuerman's reisdence, where his wife also resides, or was transferred from his clothing."

Robert Macedonio, the attorney representing Ellerup in her divorce proceedings against Heuermann, confirmed that DNA samples were taken from Ellerup and her children, according to Newsday.

When asked about the DNA on Wednesday, Macedonio told Patch: "I have not seen or heard about any of the reports and I have no comment."

Tierney also did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

At his most recent court conference, Tierney said there was much forensic evidence under review, including cell phone records and pings, DNA, mitochondrial DNA evidence, and more. He said he wanted a trial "based on evidence," and wanted to provide a full body of that evidence to the defense; that evidence so far comprises a full gigabyte.

Of the body of evidence and thousands of photos, Tierney said it was a "sprawling" investigation with search warrants at his home, business and storage facilities.

When asked about Heuermann's wife's appearance in court, he said he had no comment and that she came to the proceedings, "as is her right."

After the court appearance, Ellerup kept her head down and declined to answer questions.

Michael Brown, Heuermann's attorney, when asked about Ellerup — Heuermann did appear to glance back once, upon entering, toward the courtroom – Brown said he didn't know if he actually saw her. "He's appreciative that she's here, they were married for so many years, and they raised a family together. My understanding is she doesn't believe he committed these acts or is capable of committing these acts. So he certainly appreciates that support."

Of Ellerup's visit, Brown said, "I think it's great. You have to remember that Rex is in a section of the jail, that's really isolation. Other than the correction officers and myself, he hasn't really had any interaction with anyone. So the fact that his wife, his family member was able to see him, and they talked, that was important. He indicated that he was happy to see her."

He said another person had visited, possibly a friend.

Heuermann, Brown said, "is looking forward to defending himself. We entered a 'not guilty' plea in this case. He has maintained his innocence from Day 1. He wants to get to the trial of this case. He doesn't want to be tried by the government, he doesn't want to be tried by public opinion, he doesn't want to be tried by the press. He wants to go into a courtroom, get the evidence before 12 fair, impartial people, and we're confident he's going to be acquitted once that happens."

Brown added, "You can look at this case and you can talk about fantasy, and talk about reality."

Brown also said the "fantasy is" that "his DNA is on one of the victims. That's the fantasy. The reality is there is literally one hair that is on tape that was on one victim. That is not his DNA," Brown said. "The lab said that he is potentially is a donor for that hair but they don't tell you that there are thousands of people just in the metropolitan area potentially in that same pool of donors so to jump to, 'It's his DNA on the tape' is completely fantasy. The reality is he is not excluded from being a donor, but there are thousands and thousands of other people."

Brown said, in fact, that under former Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini, another man was a suspect slated for possible arrest. "His name is not Rex Heuermann," he said, declining to name the individual.

In other news, the family of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann will earn $1 million from filming a documentary or docu-series about the case for NBC, according to a NewsNation report.

Ellerup, who filed for divorce within weeks of his July arrest, is currently filming the documentary for Peacock/NBC, the report said. Two unidentified sources confirmed to NewsNation that Ellerup and her two children, Victoria and Christopher, will receive at least $1 million for participating in the film.

“They will be filmed throughout the trial and after the trial’s outcome,” one source told NewsNation. “The family will tell their entire story and everything about their life (with Heuermann) exclusively to the (documentary filmmakers).”

Bob Macedonio, attorney for Ellerup, told Patch: "NBC Universal is working with Texas Crew Productions and G-Unit on a documentary about the Gilgo Beach murders."

Macedonio could not confirm whether or not his client was involved or any potential payment amount. He did say that a film crew was at Heuermann's court date this week, which Ellerup attended.

Ellerup caused a stir when she showed up at the courthouse with buzz about the film crew many said they saw with her. At the time, her attorney's office said that was untrue, and that an associate from the firm was filming, but Macedonio confirmed that a crew, as well as one of his staffers, was filming.