Accused serial killer Rex Heuermann is back in court for a procedural hearing in New York, also with his ex-wife in attendance.
The 60-year-old father of two is accused of murdering four sex workers whose bodies were found buried in a remote area of Gilgo Beach more than 10 years ago.
Heuermann showed up at Suffolk County Supreme Court in Riverhead Wednesday morning, wearing a black suit, white shirt and navy tie.
He listened intently to the hearing, which focused on lots of potential evidence seized from various devices related to the case.
His ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, was also spotted pulling up in a black Mercedes outside the Long Island courthouse.
Heuermann, 60, has spent most of his days since his July 2023 arrest in a small, windowless cell at the Riverhead jail while awaiting trial. (Pictured: Heuermann in court on Wednesday)
His ex-wife, Asa Ellerup (pictured) was also spotted pulling up in a black Mercedes outside the Long Island courthouse.
The 60-year-old father of two is accused of murdering four sex workers whose bodies were found on Gilgo beach more than 10 years ago.
It comes just weeks after she claimed her partner of 27 years was “not capable” of murdering the four women. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Ellerup, who also shares two children with Heuermann, filed for divorce six days after being charged with the first three murders.
But she still visits him in prison because she believes he “deserves the benefit of the doubt” and attends his hearings with a documentary film crew.
Ellerup reportedly signed a controversial seven-figure deal with NBC Universal, Texas Crew Productions and G-Unit to appear in a series about the case.
During Wednesday’s hearing, attorneys discussed a trove of potential evidence stored on hundreds of devices. The judge said he wants the pre-trial investigation phase of the case to be completed by July.
Heuermann last appeared in court in early February to provide an update on developments in his case, during which he remained silent.
He was brought to a quiet Suffolk County courthouse in Riverhead, Long Island, New York, for a procedural hearing that Ellerup did not attend.
It was the first time the architect had appeared in court since January 16, when he pleaded not guilty to the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, in 2007.
Heuermann was previously charged with three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy in 2009, as well as Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello in 2010.
He has spent most of his days since his July 2023 arrest in a small, windowless cell at the Riverhead jail while awaiting trial.
Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann, right, appears in Judge Tim Mazzei’s courtroom Wednesday next to his attorney Michael Brown in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead.
Pictured: Asa Ellerup in court on Wednesday before Heuermann’s final hearing
The alleged victims known as the “Gilgo Four”: Maureen Brainard-Barnes; Amber Lynn Costello, 27; Megan Waterman, 22; and Mélissa Barthélemy, 24 years old
His lawyer earlier revealed to DailyMail.com that the accused murderer was still held in solitary confinement and was “lonely and depressed”.
Officials at New York’s high-security prison said he was isolated because he would otherwise be a “major target” for inmates.
“We have very good information that he would be the target of violence if he was not in a secure location,” Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. previously told Newsday.
“There was an individual who said that if he was able to get in close contact with him, ‘I’m going to do something.’
Alleged victims Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27, disappeared between 2007 and 2010.
They were all sex workers advertising their services on Craigslist and Backstory. The women were found tied up in burlap bags within a few miles of each other.
Long Island architect Heuermann was arrested last year outside his Manhattan office after DNA evidence linked him to their disappearances.
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