Gilgo Beach suspect’s sister-in-law shares disturbing inner struggle: report

The sister-in-law of a suspected serial killer said she was “stunned” after Rex Heverman’s arrest and “the disbelief is profound and transformative”.

Heuerman, 59, is a married father of two and a Manhattan-based architect who allegedly killed three of the “Gigloo Beach 4” victims. He is the main suspect in the murder of the remaining woman.

Dr. Johanna Ellerp, Heuermann’s sister-in-law, appeared to blame herself after the reality came to grips in an interview with NBC News.

“My ego has a hard time processing the idea that I looked Rex in the eye and was unable to perceive any murderous intent,” Ellerp said.

Rex Haverman’s wife pictured for the first time as she files for divorce from Gulgo Beach serial suspect

“I was torn between wanting my niece and nephew’s life to go back to the way it was, without a father accused of being a serial killer and knowing someone was in custody.”

Less than a week after Heuerman’s July 14 arrest, his wife, Asa Ellerp, filed for divorce.

Gilgo Beach murder: Investigators eye possible Rex Haverman victims in unsolved cases in other states

Law enforcement agencies across the country, including in South Carolina, Las Vegas and Atlantic City, are examining unsolved missing persons cases and cold cases to determine if Heuerman was involved.

As it stands now, Haverman is accused of killing 24-year-old Melissa Barthelme, 22-year-old Megan Waterman and 27-year-old Amber Lynn Costello and is the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard Barnes.

Gilgo Beach murder victims Amber Costello (top left), Maureen Brainard Barnes (top right), Melissa Barthelmy (bottom left) and Megan Waterman (bottom right). (Suffolk County Police Department)

The four women became known as the “Gulgo Beach 4” and their shocking murders were part of this disturbing cold case.

Law enforcement found their bodies intact and wrapped in burlap near Gilgo Beach in December 2010 when they searched for a missing bodyguard named Shannon Gilbert.

The Gilgo Beach Murders: An Investigation in Pictures

Haverman pleaded not guilty to six counts of murder (first- and second-degree murder for each victim). He has not been charged with the murder of Brainard Barnes until July 22.

A skull mask mounted on a cross in the marshes behind Gilgo Beach, south of Long Island, New York, on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. The remains of Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Melissa Barthelemy were found on the beach in 2010. (Mega for Fox News Digital)

Between December 2010 and April 2011, law enforcement found the dismembered remains of at least six other victims in the area.

Some of the victims’ organs were found years ago in other areas of Long Island.

How ‘untraceable’ phone arsonists tipped police off Gulgo Beach serial killer

The “Gulgo 4” were killed between June 2007 and September 2010, but it took more than a decade before an arrest and a change of regime in the Suffolk County, New York, District Attorney’s Office.

When Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney took office in 2022, he created a task force that included law enforcement agencies from local to the FBI and investigators from his office.

Asa Ellerp and Victoria Haverman walk through a parking lot. (Dario Alequin for Fox News Digital)

By March 2022, the task force had identified Heuerman as a suspect, primarily from evidence previously collected, such as his Chevy Avalanche and cell phone data.

He allegedly used the burner phone to taunt Barthelemy’s family, particularly his sister. According to court records, the calls were made in midtown Manhattan, near a train to Long Island and pinged on Long Island.

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Investigators tracked his every move for more than a year, obtained his DNA from discarded pizza crusts and arrested him on July 14.

Haverman is due back in court on August 1 and faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.