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Three cases the audience has been living inside. The questions they've been asking for months. One conversation where Robin Dreeke, retired FBI behavioral analyst, answers every one of them.Nancy Guthrie has been missing for five months. A listener flagged a neighbor with a walk-in gem vault and a Google Maps pin that reportedly overlaps with Nancy's property. The wrong-house theory hasn't been publicly addressed by law enforcement. The masked suspect was inside the house for forty-five minutes with the camera disabled and the back doors propped open. Robin examines what that timeline and that preparation tell us about whether the target was Nancy — or someone else entirely.Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty to eight murders. His ex-wife gutted the room where he confessed to killing seven women, redecorated it, and sleeps there. She told cameras it's spiritual. She's visited Rex twelve times since his confession. The Ellerup family reportedly collected seven figures from a documentary. Robin addresses the behavioral meaning of that kind of proximity and the legal gap that made the payout possible.Mackenzie Shirilla and her mother built a coded language to beat prison call monitoring. Prosecutors cracked it. Steve lost his teaching job. Natalie called the Russos evil. Mackenzie worried about her stuff. Robin addresses who is actually running this family's defense and whether Mackenzie can ever reach accountability with these parents in the picture.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#NancyGuthrie #RexHeuermann #MackenzieShirilla #AsaEllerup #NatalieShirilla #RobinDreeke #FBI #TrueCrimeToday #TrueCrime #ListenerQA
Asa Ellerup and her daughter Victoria reportedly received over a million dollars for their participation in the Peacock documentary The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets. They gave the cameras access to the Massapequa Park house. They walked through the basement. They talked about their memories and their doubts and their grief on a platform watched by millions of people — while Valerie Mack's son was preparing a lawsuit that would name them as defendants.Benjamin Torres was six when his mother was killed. His lawsuit alleges Asa and Victoria knew or deliberately avoided knowing what was happening inside that house. Asa's attorney has denied any involvement. Prosecutors have said the murders happened when the family was away.Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins Tony Brueski to address the question that has followed the Ellerup family since the documentary aired — why a family in the worst crisis imaginable would invite cameras into their home. Whether that decision was about money, narrative control, processing, or some combination nobody on the outside can untangle. And what the clinical difference is between someone who genuinely did not know and someone whose mind chose not to look.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #AsaEllerup #HiddenKillers #VictoriaHeuermann #GilgoBeach #GilgoBeachKiller #PeacockDocumentary #ShavaunScott #TrueCrime #ValerieMack
Why didn't she just leave? The question gets asked in every domestic violence case, every coercive control prosecution, every murder where the warning signs were visible to everyone except the person inside the relationship. The answer the public settles on almost always blames the victim.Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott has a different answer — one grounded in neuroscience, clinical experience, and three decades of working with survivors. In this full three-part interview with Tony Brueski, Scott uses the cases of Mica Miller, Asa Ellerup, Eric Richins, and Maggie Murdaugh to dismantle the assumption that awareness is protection and explain what is actually happening inside the brain when a person stays.Scott recently explored these dynamics on her Substack, Spotlight on Psychology. This conversation brings that research into the true crime cases the audience already knows and turns it toward the women listening who have never heard their own experience described out loud.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#MicaMiller #MaggieMurdaugh #AsaEllerup #RexHeuermann #EricRichins #KouriRichins #TraumaBonding #DomesticViolence #ShavaunScott #HiddenKillers
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
The good days are the trap. You disappear one compromise at a time. And the most dangerous moment is when you decide to go. That is the arc of this conversation — the full three-part interview with psychotherapist Shavaun Scott about the psychology the public refuses to accept.Four cases anchor the discussion: Mica Miller, who could name the trap and still went back. Asa Ellerup, who defended Rex Heuermann for three years before he confessed to eight murders. Eric Richins, who saw everything and couldn't move. Maggie Murdaugh, who was already leaving when she was killed.Scott, whose recent work on Spotlight on Psychology lays out the neuroscience behind these dynamics, walks Tony Brueski through why awareness does not protect you, how agency erodes invisibly, and what the women in this audience need to know if something in this conversation feels personal. Every question was designed to open a door.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#MicaMiller #MaggieMurdaugh #AsaEllerup #RexHeuermann #EricRichins #KouriRichins #TraumaBonding #DomesticViolence #ShavaunScott #HiddenKillers
Three parts. Four cases. Fifteen questions. One psychotherapist who has spent thirty years working with survivors of the dynamics most people think they would never fall for.This is the complete interview with Shavaun Scott. Part one uses the Mica Miller case to explore trauma bonding — why the good days do more damage than the bad ones. Part two uses Asa Ellerup and Eric Richins to examine how a person loses themselves one compromise at a time. Part three uses the Maggie Murdaugh case to confront the most dangerous moment in any abusive relationship — the window between deciding to leave and actually being gone.Scott recently published the research behind this conversation on her Substack, Spotlight on Psychology. This interview was produced for the women in our audience who listen to true crime and see themselves in the details nobody else notices. The last question of each section leaves a door open.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#MicaMiller #MaggieMurdaugh #AsaEllerup #RexHeuermann #EricRichins #KouriRichins #TraumaBonding #DomesticViolence #ShavaunScott #HiddenKillers
For three years after his arrest, Asa Ellerup defended Rex Heuermann on camera. She called him a family man. She said they had the wrong man. Then on April 8, 2026, he pleaded guilty to eight murders — seven inside their home. He told Asa directly. Twenty-seven years inside that house. The same meals. The same routines. The same man — who was living an entirely different life.He told her seven of the eight murders happened inside the home they shared for 27 years. Their daughter broke down in tears in the courtroom. How does a person go from “you have the wrong man” to accepting that the person she called her hero confessed to being a serial killer? Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott says the answer is more complicated than yes or no — and that the mechanism behind it has nothing to do with intelligence. It has to do with how agency erodes so slowly that confronting reality becomes psychologically impossible.Scott recently wrote about this on her Substack, Spotlight on Psychology. In this conversation with Tony Brueski, she pairs the Ellerup case with Eric Richins — a man who saw the danger completely and still could not leave — to examine both sides of the same coin. The psychology underneath extends far beyond serial killers.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#AsaEllerup #RexHeuermann #EricRichins #KouriRichins #GilgoBeach #DomesticViolence #ShavaunScott #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #ErosionOfAgency
Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty in Suffolk County Court to seven counts of murder and admitted to intentionally causing the death of Karen Vergata, an eighth victim incorporated into the plea agreement without separate prosecution. The plea followed the denial of every significant defense motion — including challenges to the admissibility of whole genome sequencing evidence, a motion to sever the charges into separate trials, and a 178-page omnibus motion. Whole genome sequencing was admitted in a New York courtroom for the first time. A deleted planning document was recovered from Heuermann's hard drive. The sentence — life without parole — was reportedly identical regardless of whether the case proceeded to trial or resolved by plea.A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Benjamin Torres — the son of victim Valerie Mack, who was six when his mother disappeared in 2000 — names Heuermann, his ex-wife Asa Ellerup, and their daughter Victoria Heuermann as defendants. The complaint alleges the two women had knowledge of or concealed the crimes, maintained access to a secured vault-like room in the basement of the approximately 1,300-square-foot Massapequa Park residence, and collected over one million dollars from a Peacock documentary production. The plaintiff's attorney, John Ray, has argued publicly that proximity and the physical dimensions of the residence make unawareness implausible. The complaint includes claims of willful blindness, unjust enrichment related to documentary compensation, and civil conspiracy.Defense counsel for Ellerup has characterized the lawsuit as reckless and unsupported. Victoria Heuermann was approximately three years old at the time of Mack's death. Prosecutors who built the criminal case against Heuermann have consistently maintained he acted alone and timed the killings for periods when his family was out of state. Neither Ellerup nor Victoria has been criminally charged. Hair evidence linked to both women was recovered from victims' remains. The prosecution has attributed this to household transference consistent with shared living space.Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott provides analysis on the psychological mechanisms that enable prolonged unawareness within intimate partnerships involving offenders — specifically how identity structures built around a partner can create cognitive barriers to processing contradictory evidence. Criminal defense attorney Bob Motta examines the defense calculation behind the plea, the implications for open cases along the Gilgo corridor, and the practical enforceability of the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit cooperation agreement.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #ValerieMack #AsaEllerup #VictoriaHeuermann #TrueCrimeToday #LISK #GuiltyPlea #WrongfulDeath #BobMotta
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Benjamin Torres lost his mother when he was six years old. Valerie Mack disappeared in 2000. Her dismembered remains were found in Manorville that same year and went unidentified for two decades. Rex Heuermann has now pleaded guilty to her murder. But for Torres, the admission that ended the criminal case opened something else entirely — a wrongful death lawsuit naming Heuermann, his ex-wife Asa Ellerup, and their daughter Victoria as defendants.The complaint alleges the two women knew about or concealed the crimes, lived with access to a secured vault-like room in the basement of the Massapequa Park home, and collected over a million dollars from a Peacock documentary. Plaintiff's attorney John Ray has argued publicly that the family could not have been unaware in a house of roughly 1,300 square feet. Hair evidence linked to both Ellerup and Victoria was recovered from victims' remains. Prosecutors have attributed that to ordinary household transference. Ray frames it as evidence of proximity.The defense response has been aggressive. Ellerup's attorney called the suit reckless and completely unsupported by the facts. Victoria was approximately three when Mack was killed. Prosecutors have maintained consistently that Heuermann acted alone and timed his crimes for when the family was away. Neither woman has been charged.Asa called Heuermann her savior. She maintained she would have known if something was wrong. Victoria sat in the courtroom during the plea and has publicly said she believes her father most likely committed the killings. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott examines the psychology behind that split — how denial functions inside a family where one person's identity is built entirely around the other, and what happens when a guilty plea collapses the framework that held "not knowing" in place.Criminal defense attorney Bob Motta breaks down the legal mechanics of the plea itself. Every pre-trial motion failed — the DNA challenge, the motion to sever the cases, the 178-page omnibus motion. Whole genome sequencing was admitted in a New York courtroom for the first time. A deleted planning document was recovered from Heuermann's hard drive. The sentence — life without parole — was reportedly identical whether he went to trial or pled. So what did the plea actually accomplish? Motta examines what the defense calculated, what the families lost when the plea replaced testimony, and what open cases along the Gilgo corridor still need answers. Heuermann has agreed to cooperate with the FBI.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #ValerieMack #AsaEllerup #VictoriaHeuermann #LISK #WrongfulDeath #ShavaunScott #BobMotta #HiddenKillers
Asa Ellerup called Rex Heuermann her savior. Their daughter Victoria sat in a packed Suffolk County courtroom and watched him plead guilty to killing eight women. Asa has maintained she would have known if something was wrong. Victoria has publicly said she believes her father most likely committed the killings. A mother and daughter inside the same house, the same marriage, the same nightmare — arriving at opposite conclusions. That split is the story.Benjamin Torres — the son of victim Valerie Mack, who was six when his mother vanished in 2000 — has filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming both women alongside Heuermann. The complaint alleges they knew about or concealed the crimes, had access to a secured vault-like room in the basement of the Massapequa Park home, and collected over a million dollars from a Peacock documentary. Plaintiff's attorney John Ray has argued the family could not have been unaware in a house of roughly 1,300 square feet. Hair evidence linked to both Ellerup and Victoria was recovered from victims' remains. The defense has called the suit reckless. Victoria was approximately three when Mack was killed. Prosecutors maintain Heuermann acted alone. Neither woman has been charged.Psychotherapist and author Shavaun Scott breaks down the psychology of "not knowing" — how the mind constructs barriers to protect an identity that's built around another person, why someone whose entire framework depends on the marriage being real may be neurologically incapable of processing contradictory evidence, and what a guilty plea does to the psychological architecture that held denial in place for decades.Criminal defense attorney Bob Motta examines the plea mechanics. Every pre-trial motion had failed. Whole genome sequencing was admitted for the first time in a New York courtroom. A deleted planning document was recovered from Heuermann's devices. The sentence — life without parole — was reportedly the same whether he went to trial or pled. Motta walks through what the defense calculated, what Karen Vergata's uncharged murder being folded into the deal means for accountability, and what the FBI cooperation agreement actually requires. Open cases along the Gilgo corridor remain unresolved. The criminal chapter is closed. The civil and psychological ones are just beginning.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #AsaEllerup #VictoriaHeuermann #ValerieMack #HiddenKillersLive #ShavaunScott #BobMotta #LISK #WrongfulDeath
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Every pre-trial motion denied. Whole genome sequencing ruled admissible. All charges consolidated into a single trial. Rex Heuermann's legal team had nothing left. So on day one thousand after his arrest, the man who spent decades planning how to avoid getting caught planned his exit from the justice system the same way.During a confidential proffer session, Heuermann raised Karen Vergata — a woman he had never been charged with killing. Her death was folded into the plea. No separate prosecution. No public presentation of the evidence. The deal bars further charges related to all eight named victims and includes an FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit cooperation agreement that reportedly carries no consequences if Heuermann refuses to participate or lies. His defense attorney called it a calculated pivot. The families packed the courtroom and wept as Heuermann described how he met, strangled, and disposed of each victim. The Suffolk County DA's office has acknowledged it is reviewing hundreds of cold cases. Heuermann's attorney insists there are no additional victims. Sentencing is set for June.But for Benjamin Torres — the son of victim Valerie Mack, who was six years old when his mother vanished — the guilty plea opened a new front. Torres has filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming not only Heuermann but his ex-wife Asa Ellerup and their daughter Victoria. The complaint alleges they knew about the murders, concealed what was happening in their home, and then profited by collecting over a million dollars from a Peacock documentary.The defense calls the claims reckless. Victoria was approximately three when Mack was killed. Prosecutors have publicly stated the family was out of town during the killings. Neither woman has been charged. But hair evidence linked to both Ellerup and Victoria was recovered from victims' remains. Prosecutors attribute that to ordinary household transference. The plaintiff's attorney frames it as evidence of proximity to the crimes. Ellerup publicly called Heuermann her hero and said he wasn't capable of violence. Victoria later said she believes her father most likely committed the killings. The complaint alleges the family's public positioning and documentary earnings constitute unjust enrichment and an effort to mislead. Whether a wrongful death claim can survive expired statutes of limitation, and whether documentary money can be clawed back — those are the legal questions this case is built to test.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #ValerieMack #AsaEllerup #VictoriaHeuermann #GuiltyPlea #WrongfulDeath #KarenVergata #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers
Rex Heuermann maintained his innocence for one thousand days. On the last one, he stood in a Suffolk County courtroom — calm, controlled, no visible emotion — and pleaded guilty to strangling eight women over seventeen years. His defense attorney called it a calculated pivot. Every pre-trial ruling had gone against the defense. Whole genome sequencing was in. Consolidation of all charges into one trial was in. There was nothing left to fight with.But this plea was engineered for more than damage control. During a confidential proffer session, Heuermann raised Karen Vergata — uncharged — and her killing was folded into the deal. No separate prosecution. No public evidence presentation. The agreement bars further charges on all eight named victims and includes FBI Behavioral Analysis cooperation that reportedly carries no enforcement mechanism. The DA's office is reviewing hundreds of Suffolk County cold cases. Heuermann's attorney says there are no additional victims.The families wept in the courtroom as he described each killing. And for Benjamin Torres — Valerie Mack's son, six years old when his mother disappeared — the guilty plea was the starting line, not the finish. Torres filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming Asa Ellerup and Victoria Heuermann alongside Rex. The complaint alleges knowledge, concealment, and profit — specifically over a million dollars from a Peacock documentary.The defense posture is aggressive. Victoria was approximately three when Mack was killed. Prosecutors have publicly stated the family was away during the murders. Neither woman has been charged. But hair evidence linked to both was recovered from victims' remains. The prosecution calls it household transference. The plaintiff's attorney calls it proximity. Ellerup publicly called Heuermann her hero. Victoria later said she believes her father most likely committed the killings but the complaint alleges she characterized the crimes as part of a lifestyle she declined to condemn. This lawsuit tests the outer boundaries of civil liability — whether you can hold a family accountable for what they should have known, whether documentary earnings can be recovered as unjust enrichment, and whether wrongful death claims can survive decades-old statutes of limitation.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #AsaEllerup #VictoriaHeuermann #ValerieMack #HiddenKillersLive #GuiltyPlea #WrongfulDeath #TrueCrime #CivilLawsuit
One thousand days of maintaining his innocence. Tears on day one. Calm, controlled execution on day one thousand. Rex Heuermann didn't just plead guilty — he managed the terms. Every pre-trial ruling had gone against his defense. Whole genome sequencing was ruled admissible. All charges were consolidated. Trial was months away with no viable path to acquittal. So the man who spent decades planning how to avoid detection planned his exit from the courtroom the same way.During a confidential proffer session, Heuermann raised Karen Vergata himself — a woman he had never been charged with killing. Her death was absorbed into the deal. No separate prosecution. No public evidence hearing. The agreement bars further charges related to all eight victims and includes FBI Behavioral Analysis cooperation that reportedly has no enforcement teeth. His attorney insists there are no additional victims. The DA's office says it's reviewing hundreds of Suffolk County cold cases. Sentencing is set for June.The families packed that courtroom. They wept as Heuermann described strangling each woman. And for Benjamin Torres — Valerie Mack's son, six years old when she disappeared — the plea was a beginning. Torres filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming Heuermann, his ex-wife Asa Ellerup, and their daughter Victoria. The complaint alleges knowledge, concealment, and profit — over a million dollars from a Peacock documentary. Ellerup publicly called Heuermann her hero. Victoria later acknowledged she believes her father most likely committed the killings, but the complaint alleges she characterized the crimes in a way that declined to condemn them.The defense response is pointed. Victoria was approximately three when Mack was killed. Prosecutors have publicly stated the family was out of town during the murders. Neither woman has been charged. But hair linked to both was found on victims' remains. Prosecutors call it household transference. The plaintiff's attorney calls it something else entirely. This lawsuit asks whether a family can be held civilly liable for what they should have known, whether documentary money can be clawed back as unjust enrichment, and whether wrongful death claims survive decades past the statute of limitations. The criminal chapter may be closed. The civil one just opened.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #ValerieMack #AsaEllerup #VictoriaHeuermann #GuiltyPlea #WrongfulDeath #KarenVergata #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers
The prosecution's phone evidence in the Melissa Barthelemy case maps a precise geographic timeline. On July 12, 2009, a prepaid burner phone Barthelemy had communicated with traveled from Massapequa Park to Midtown Manhattan — the documented route between Rex Heuermann's residence and office. Hours later, Barthelemy's personal phone traveled that same corridor in reverse. Over the following five weeks, an individual using Barthelemy's phone placed calls to her 15-year-old sister Amanda, providing details of the killing. Each call originated from high-traffic Manhattan locations. Each lasted under three minutes. Each was directed at the minor sister, not at the victim's mother.Barthelemy, 24, held a cosmetology license from Buffalo and had relocated to New York. Prosecutors allege Heuermann also conducted internet searches for images of the victims' family members — including minors — following the killings.The civil aftermath of Heuermann's guilty plea is now unfolding alongside the criminal case. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the son of victim Valerie Mack names Heuermann's ex-wife Asa Ellerup and their daughter Victoria as defendants. The complaint alleges the family derived financial benefit from a documentary production and demonstrated disregard for the victims. Ellerup's counsel has characterized the claims as reckless. Victoria Heuermann has made public statements indicating she believes her father most likely committed the charged killings — a position that creates its own legal implications in the civil proceeding. The guilty plea significantly alters the civil litigation landscape, as the admission of criminal liability eliminates the need for the plaintiff to independently establish the underlying acts.This week's coverage examines the phone trail evidence and its role in the prosecution's timeline, the wrongful death suit's legal theory and the family's civil exposure, and analysis from Robin Dreeke and Eric Faddis on the behavioral and legal dimensions of the case.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #MelissaBarthelemy #AsaEllerup #WrongfulDeath #LISK #TrueCrime #TrueCrimeToday #CivilLiability #GilgoFour
The wrongful death complaint filed in Suffolk County Supreme Court by Benjamin Torres, acting on behalf of the estate of Valerie Mack, presents claims of wrongful death, assault, battery, false imprisonment, and unjust enrichment against Rex Heuermann, Asa Ellerup, and Victoria Heuermann. The central theory of liability against Ellerup rests on the doctrine of willful blindness — alleging that she knew of, concealed, or consciously avoided learning material facts concerning the murders.Heuermann pleaded guilty on April 8, 2026, to seven counts of murder and admitted to the intentional killing of an eighth victim, Karen Vergata. He agreed to serve consecutive life sentences without possibility of parole. Sentencing is scheduled for June 17, 2026. The guilty plea eliminates the question of liability for Heuermann in any subsequent civil proceeding.The unjust enrichment claim targets proceeds reportedly exceeding one million dollars that Ellerup and Victoria Heuermann received for participation in a Peacock documentary. The plaintiff has sought judicial intervention to prevent the dissipation of those assets. Ellerup's attorney, Robert Macedonio, has characterized the lawsuit as reckless and maintained that both women cooperated fully with law enforcement throughout the investigation. Defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis provides analysis of the willful blindness standard as applied to a spouse who prosecutors confirmed was absent during each alleged offense, the evidentiary weight of pre-plea public statements, and the legal viability of the unjust enrichment theory.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#AsaEllerup #RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #WillfulBlindness #TrueCrimeToday #EricFaddis #CivilLiability #WrongfulDeath #UnjustEnrichment #ValerieMack
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Two active federal-adjacent cases are moving through courtrooms on opposite coasts, and in both, the evidentiary record is reshaping what accountability looks like for the people standing closest to the accused.In the Anna Kepner case, unsealed federal records reveal that the accused — her sixteen-year-old stepbrother — signed a written waiver requesting adult prosecution on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse. His defense counsel co-signed. Ship surveillance reportedly shows no one else entering or exiting the stateroom. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be mechanical asphyxiation. The accused's mother has confirmed in a separate custody proceeding that he missed his insomnia medication for two consecutive nights aboard the Carnival Horizon. Federal prosecutors are seeking to revoke his release.In the Heuermann civil case, the evidentiary landscape shifted the moment Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty to eight murders on April 8. Benjamin Torres, the son of victim Valerie Mack, has filed a wrongful death suit naming Heuermann, his ex-wife Asa Ellerup, and their daughter Victoria. The willful blindness claim against Ellerup rests on decades of proximity inside a roughly 1,300-square-foot home, hair evidence on multiple victims, and public statements she made before the confession that dismissed the prosecution's theory. The unjust enrichment claim targets the reported million-dollar documentary payment.Defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis examines the physical evidence, the defense strategy in both cases, and the legal questions that will determine how each of these stories ends.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#AnnaKepner #AsaEllerup #RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #CarnivalHorizon #EricFaddis #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #FederalIndictment #WrongfulDeath
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
The civil lawsuit filed against Asa Ellerup does not accuse her of murder. It accuses her of something a jury may find just as difficult to forgive: choosing not to know.Benjamin Torres — who was six years old when his mother Valerie Mack was allegedly killed and dismembered by Rex Heuermann in 2000 — has filed a wrongful death complaint naming Heuermann, Ellerup, and their daughter Victoria. The suit alleges that one or both women knew of, concealed, or deliberately avoided learning material facts about the murders. It further alleges unjust enrichment from a Peacock documentary for which the family reportedly received over a million dollars.The evidentiary foundation of the willful blindness claim rests on specific details. Ellerup shared a home of roughly 1,300 square feet with a secured basement room that featured a metal door. Prosecutors have said the killings occurred while she was away. Her hair was found on multiple victims. Before the guilty plea, she publicly dismissed the prosecution's evidence and called Heuermann her savior. After the plea, she told reporters her thoughts and prayers were with the victims.Defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis examines the strength of the willful blindness argument against a spouse who prosecutors themselves say was absent during the crimes, the legal weight of statements she made before the confession, and whether the Peacock documentary money transforms a sympathetic figure into one a jury cannot forgive.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#AsaEllerup #RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #WillfulBlindness #CivilLawsuit #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #ValerieMack #BenjaminTorres #EricFaddis
Defense attorney and former felony prosecutor Eric Faddis joins for a full-episode analysis of two cases where the legal questions are converging on the same core issue — how much the people standing next to an accused knew, chose not to see, or gambled on.In the Anna Kepner federal case, Faddis examines why a sixteen-year-old's defense team would sign off on a waiver volunteering him for adult prosecution on charges carrying a maximum of life in prison. He breaks down the evidentiary record — ship surveillance, alleged concealment of the victim's body, mechanical asphyxiation as cause of death — and whether a medication-based defense theory has any real path against charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse. He also walks through what federal sentencing actually looks like for a minor convicted as an adult in a system rarely built for juvenile defendants.In the Asa Ellerup civil case, Faddis evaluates the willful blindness argument against a woman who prosecutors themselves confirmed was away each time a murder occurred. He assesses the precedent of serial offender spouses, the legal weight of Ellerup's statements before Rex Heuermann's guilty plea, and whether the unjust enrichment claim targeting the reported million-dollar Peacock documentary payment is the piece of this case that proves hardest to defend. Two cases. One legal lens. A conversation that pulls each one apart where it matters most.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#AnnaKepner #AsaEllerup #RexHeuermann #EricFaddis #HiddenKillersLive #TrueCrime #CriminalLaw #DefenseAnalysis #WillfulBlindness #FederalIndictment
When Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty to eight murders in Suffolk County Court, the criminal case reached its conclusion. But for his ex-wife Asa Ellerup, a different legal fight is just beginning.A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the son of victim Valerie Mack alleges that Ellerup and her daughter Victoria either knew about, concealed, or deliberately avoided learning of the murders. The complaint also alleges unjust enrichment from a Peacock documentary that reportedly paid the family over a million dollars. Ellerup's attorney has called the suit reckless and maintained that neither woman had any knowledge of or connection to the crimes.Defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis breaks down the legal architecture of this civil case. He examines whether the willful blindness standard can survive when prosecutors themselves have confirmed Ellerup was away during each killing. He evaluates the precedent of serial offender spouses — cases where wives lived with killers for decades without knowledge — and whether a civil defense can use those cases to reframe Ellerup from an alleged co-conspirator to a victim. Faddis also addresses the documentary money directly: a jury may forgive a woman for not knowing, but the question of whether they will forgive her for profiting is the piece of this case that may prove hardest to defend.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#AsaEllerup #RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #CivilDefense #HiddenKillersLive #TrueCrime #EricFaddis #WrongfulDeath #WillfulBlindness #ValerieMack
Rex Heuermann said it himself. In a packed courtroom, he admitted to strangling eight women over seventeen years. He confirmed the murders. He confirmed the dismemberment. He showed no emotion. And Asa Ellerup was sitting in the back of the room while he did it.For years, she said she did not believe it. She called him her savior. She dismissed the planning document. She described the hair evidence — her own hair, found on multiple victims — as circumstantial. She said she would need to hear it from him directly.She heard it. Now a wrongful death lawsuit is asking whether she should have heard it decades earlier.The son of Valerie Mack — who was six years old when his mother disappeared and was allegedly murdered by Heuermann in 2000 — has filed suit against Heuermann, Ellerup, and their daughter Victoria. The complaint alleges they either knew, concealed the truth, or deliberately looked away. It also goes after the money: a reported million-dollar payment from a Peacock documentary about the case.Ellerup's attorney says she had no knowledge and no involvement. Prosecutors have confirmed she was away each time a murder occurred. But the civil question is different from the criminal one. A jury will not need proof beyond reasonable doubt. They will weigh whether a woman who shared roughly 1,300 square feet with a man who killed eight people — a home with a secured basement room behind a metal door — could have lived there for nearly three decades and genuinely missed everything. Defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis examines which side has the stronger argument and what tips the balance.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#AsaEllerup #RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #CivilLawsuit #ValerieMack #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #GuiltyPlea #SerialKillerSpouse #EricFaddis
Rex Heuermann admitted to killing Valerie Mack in open court. He pleaded guilty to murdering seven women along the Gilgo Beach corridor and confessed to killing an eighth. For the families of the victims, the guilty plea brought a measure of closure that decades of investigation could not. But for Benjamin Torres — Valerie Mack's son, who was six years old when she disappeared — the guilty plea became the foundation for a new legal fight.Torres has filed a civil lawsuit in Suffolk County Supreme Court naming Heuermann, his ex-wife Asa Ellerup, and their daughter Victoria Heuermann. The complaint alleges the two women knew of or deliberately avoided learning about the murders, had access to a secured vault-like room in the basement of the Massapequa Park home, and collected over a million dollars through documentary and media agreements with Peacock. It accuses them of unjust enrichment, civil conspiracy, and concealment — among other causes of action.The defense position is straightforward and aggressive. Ellerup's attorney has called the filing reckless and unsupported by any evidence. He's pointed to the fact that prosecutors themselves have said the family was away during the killings, that Victoria was approximately three years old when Mack was killed, and that law enforcement never charged either woman after an exhaustive investigation. The statute of limitations for wrongful death in New York is generally two years — and Mack was killed over two decades before this suit was filed.I go deep into the specific allegations, the legal defenses available, how the hair evidence is being interpreted by both sides, and where this case is likely headed. Whether this lawsuit survives its first legal challenge could determine whether other victims' families follow with filings of their own.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#LISK #RexHeuermann #AsaEllerup #ValerieMack #GilgoBeach #VictoriaHeuermann #GilgoBeachKiller #LongIslandSerialKiller #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers
Defense attorney Bob Motta and retired FBI Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program Chief Robin Dreeke provide legal and behavioral analysis across three significant criminal and civil proceedings examined in this segment.The Heuermann guilty plea is addressed from both procedural and psychological perspectives. Motta examines the plea mechanics — the denied pre-trial motions, the admissibility of whole genome sequencing, the denied motion for severance, and the resulting defense calculus that led to a plea five months before trial. He addresses the inclusion of Karen Vergata as an admitted but uncharged victim, the implications of the no-further-prosecution provision, and the enforceability of the FBI cooperation requirement. Dreeke analyzes the behavioral implications of a defendant who maintained innocence for nearly three years before reversing course, the significance of the proffer session disclosure, and the profile-consistent patterns of control exhibited throughout the legal proceedings.The Torres v. Heuermann civil action is analyzed for its legal sufficiency and behavioral relevance. Motta addresses the statute of limitations challenge under New York's wrongful death statute, the evidentiary weight of household hair transference evidence in a civil proceeding where the burden of proof is preponderance of the evidence, and the legal pathway for unjust enrichment claims against media compensation. Dreeke examines the behavioral dynamics of family systems where one member engages in extended concealed criminal conduct and the psychological indicators that distinguish genuine ignorance from deliberate avoidance.The federal indictment in the Kepner case is examined as a distinct prosecution presenting unique legal and behavioral challenges. Motta addresses the federal jurisdiction basis, the transfer from juvenile to adult proceedings, the first-degree murder charge requiring proof of intent, and the defense implications of the reported evidence. Dreeke provides behavioral analysis of the alleged conduct, the claimed memory gap, and the significance of the evidence assembled during the sealed investigation.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #AnnaKepner #BobMotta #RobinDreeke #AsaEllerup #GilgoBeachKiller #FederalIndictment #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers
The wrongful death complaint filed by Benjamin Torres against Rex Heuermann, Asa Ellerup, and Victoria Heuermann in Suffolk County Supreme Court raises significant legal questions about civil liability, evidentiary sufficiency, and the boundaries of the statute of limitations in New York. Torres, the adult son of Gilgo Beach victim Valerie Mack, alleges wrongful death, civil conspiracy, concealment, and unjust enrichment stemming from the family's participation in a Peacock documentary that reportedly generated over a million dollars in compensation.Under New York law, a wrongful death action must generally be filed within two years. Valerie Mack was killed in 2000. The complaint argues the statute should be tolled based on Torres's minority at the time of the killing and the fact that his mother's remains were not publicly identified until 2020. Whether the court accepts that tolling argument will likely be the first dispositive issue in the case.The evidentiary allegations present additional challenges. Hair evidence recovered from victims' remains has been statistically linked to both Ellerup and Victoria Heuermann, but prosecutors in the criminal proceeding attributed that evidence to ordinary household transference — not direct involvement in the crimes. The complaint alleges the family knew of, concealed, or deliberately avoided learning about the murders. But the prosecution's own theory in the criminal case placed the family members outside the home during the killings. District Attorney Ray Tierney has repeatedly stated that neither Ellerup nor Victoria Heuermann has been charged and that both were away when the crimes were committed.Attorney Robert Macedonio, representing Ellerup and Victoria, has called the complaint reckless and expressed confidence it will be dismissed. The filing was brought by attorney John Ray, who previously represented Shannan Gilbert's family and who has made prior public accusations against the Heuermann family that did not result in criminal charges. The defense strategy, the viability of the unjust enrichment claim, and the prospects for dismissal are examined in full.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#GilgoBeach #RexHeuermann #AsaEllerup #VictoriaHeuermann #ValerieMack #WrongfulDeath #StatuteOfLimitations #CivilLaw #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
The first civil lawsuit filed by a Gilgo Beach victim's family member doesn't just target Rex Heuermann. It goes after the people who lived with him. Benjamin Torres — the son of Valerie Mack, whose dismembered remains were found in Manorville and along Ocean Parkway — has named Asa Ellerup and Victoria Heuermann as co-defendants in a sweeping wrongful death action filed in Suffolk County Supreme Court.The evidentiary foundation of this complaint rests on several pillars, and each one has cracks. Hair evidence recovered from victims' remains was statistically linked to Victoria Heuermann and Asa Ellerup — but prosecutors attributed that to ordinary household transference, not direct involvement. The complaint alleges the family knew about or deliberately ignored the murders occurring inside their 1,343-square-foot home — but the prosecution's own criminal case theory placed the family out of town during the killings. The suit targets over a million dollars paid to Ellerup and Victoria for their participation in a Peacock documentary — but the legal pathway to clawing back media compensation as unjust enrichment is narrow and largely untested in this context.Then there's the statute of limitations. New York's wrongful death window is two years. Valerie Mack was killed in 2000. The plaintiff argues the timeline should be extended because Torres was a child when his mother was killed and her remains weren't publicly identified until 2020. Whether that argument survives a motion to dismiss will likely determine whether any of the other allegations ever see a courtroom.The complaint was filed by attorney John Ray, who previously represented Shannan Gilbert's family and has made public accusations against the Heuermann family at press conferences — none of which resulted in charges. The defense attorney representing Ellerup and Victoria called the filing reckless and said he is confident it will be dismissed.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#GilgoBeach #RexHeuermann #AsaEllerup #VictoriaHeuermann #ValerieMack #WrongfulDeath #JohnRay #GilgoBeachKiller #CivilLawsuit #HiddenKillers
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Defense attorney Bob Motta and retired FBI Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program Chief Robin Dreeke examine the legal strategy and behavioral dynamics across three cases that converged simultaneously — each one revealing something different about how the justice system processes violent crime, serial offending, and family complicity.The Heuermann guilty plea is examined through both lenses. Motta walks through the defense calculus — the failed motions, the admissible DNA evidence, the denied severance, and the decision to plead before trial. He explains what Heuermann gained by folding an uncharged victim into the deal and what the cooperation provision with the FBI actually means in practice. Dreeke analyzes the behavioral signature of a serial offender who maintained a double life for decades and examines what the proffer session — where Heuermann voluntarily raised Karen Vergata's name — reveals about control, compartmentalization, and the psychology of disclosure.The Ellerup lawsuit is dissected for its legal viability and its behavioral implications. Motta addresses the statute of limitations obstacle, the evidentiary gap between household hair transference and criminal knowledge, and the challenge of suing someone for publicly defending their spouse. Dreeke examines the behavioral dynamics of a family system built around a controlled narrative — and what it means when that narrative collapses publicly through a guilty plea.The Kepner indictment introduces a different category of analysis entirely. Motta examines the federal prosecution of a minor as an adult, the first-degree murder charge that requires intent, and the defense challenges posed by security footage, earwitness testimony, and a claimed memory gap. Dreeke analyzes the behavioral evidence — the alleged FaceTime incident, the medication history, the confined environment of a cruise ship stateroom — and what those elements suggest about what investigators concluded during the months the case was sealed.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #AnnaKepner #AsaEllerup #BobMotta #RobinDreeke #GilgoBeachKiller #CarnivalHorizon #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers
Criminal defense attorney Bob Motta and retired FBI Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program Chief Robin Dreeke join Tony Brueski for a wide-ranging conversation that covers Rex Heuermann's guilty plea, the civil lawsuit against his family, and the federal adult indictment in the Anna Kepner case — bringing both legal strategy and behavioral expertise to bear on each story.Motta opens with the defense perspective on Heuermann's plea. He explains what it means when a defense team loses every pre-trial motion and a client decides to plead before trial — and whether that decision belongs to the attorney or the defendant. He addresses the proffer session where Heuermann voluntarily disclosed Karen Vergata's murder, the cooperation agreement with the FBI that may lack enforcement teeth, and whether the plea is genuine accountability or a controlled exit.Dreeke brings the behavioral lens. He examines the profile of a serial offender who maintained parallel identities for decades — the architect, the family man, the killer — and what the collapse of family support may have triggered in the decision to plead. He analyzes the significance of Heuermann's composure in the courtroom and what it reveals about someone whose entire criminal history was built on emotional suppression and strategic control.The Ellerup lawsuit is examined for what it asks the legal system to do — hold a spouse and a daughter accountable for what was happening under their roof — and whether that standard can survive the prosecution's own determination that they were out of town during the killings. Dreeke explores the psychology of willful blindness in family systems and what behavioral indicators, if any, distinguish not knowing from not wanting to know.The Kepner indictment closes the conversation. Motta addresses the defense challenges in a federal case with camera evidence, an earwitness, and a first-degree murder charge against a sixteen-year-old. Dreeke examines what the behavioral evidence — particularly the claimed memory gap and the alleged FaceTime incident — suggests about the nature of the offense and the challenges facing investigators.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #AnnaKepner #BobMotta #RobinDreeke #AsaEllerup #GilgoBeachKiller #CarnivalHorizon #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers
A defense attorney examines the civil lawsuit filed against Rex Heuermann's ex-wife and daughter — and explains why the complaint may not survive its first legal challenge. Benjamin Torres, the adult son of Gilgo Beach victim Valerie Mack, has sued Asa Ellerup and Victoria Heuermann alongside the now-convicted killer, alleging they knew about the murders, concealed evidence, and collected over a million dollars from a documentary while showing callous disregard for the victims' families.The legal analysis reveals significant vulnerabilities in the complaint. The statute of limitations for wrongful death in New York is two years — and Valerie Mack was killed over two decades before this suit was filed. The plaintiff argues for an extension based on Torres's age at the time and the delayed identification of his mother's remains, but that argument faces serious resistance in motion practice. The hair evidence central to the complaint has been attributed by prosecutors to household transference, not criminal involvement. And the complaint accuses Victoria Heuermann of participating in the concealment of a murder that occurred when she was approximately three years old — a detail the defense has already highlighted publicly.Attorney John Ray, who filed the complaint, has a documented history of making public accusations against the Heuermann family that have not resulted in criminal charges. The defense attorney representing Ellerup and Victoria has called the lawsuit an attempt to remain relevant in a case where Ray's original client had no connection to the Gilgo Beach homicides. The conversation explores how a defense team dismantles inflammatory framing in court, whether documentary profits can legally be characterized as unjust enrichment, and what a motion to dismiss strategy looks like when the prosecution's own case theory contradicts the plaintiff's core allegations.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#GilgoBeach #RexHeuermann #AsaEllerup #VictoriaHeuermann #ValerieMack #WrongfulDeath #DefenseAnalysis #GilgoBeachKiller #CivilLawsuit #HiddenKillers
Rex Heuermann entered guilty pleas to three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of intentional murder in Suffolk County Court. He admitted to killing Karen Vergata — an eighth victim — as part of a plea agreement that includes cooperation with the FBI's behavioral analysis unit. The sentence: life in prison without parole, three consecutive life sentences, followed by four consecutive sentences of 25 years to life.Criminal defense attorney Bob Motta examines the legal architecture that produced this plea. Every pre-trial defense motion was denied — the motion to exclude DNA evidence obtained through whole genome sequencing, the motion to sever the cases, and a 178-page omnibus motion challenging the prosecution's evidentiary framework. The forensic case included DNA linkage through whole genome sequencing admitted for the first time in a New York courtroom, a deleted planning document recovered from unallocated hard drive space across more than 350 seized electronic devices, and a basement vault containing 279 weapons. Motta assesses the defense calculation when every legal avenue is exhausted and the sentencing outcome is identical at trial or by plea. He examines what the plea provides — FBI cooperation, family considerations, narrative control — and what it costs the victims' families: the public record a trial would have produced.Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott provides the psychological dimension. Asa Ellerup called Heuermann her savior and maintained she would have known if something was wrong. After the plea, she appeared outside the courthouse expressing sympathy for victims' families. Her attorney stated she never claimed Heuermann was not guilty — she said she did not believe the man she knew was capable. Their daughter Victoria, present in the courtroom, has publicly stated she believes her father most likely committed the killings.Scott analyzes the psychology of sustained unawareness within intimate relationships. Prosecutors allege Heuermann operated around his family's schedule. Asa's own hair was reportedly found on victims. Scott examines identity anchoring — the clinical mechanism by which a person's sense of self becomes so fused with a partner that evidence of that partner's criminality is psychologically inaccessible — and assesses how a guilty plea disrupts the cognitive framework that sustained decades of reported unawareness. The mother-daughter divergence in the Ellerup family represents the clinical boundary between denial and recognition.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeachKiller #LISK #GuiltyPlea #AsaEllerup #BobMotta #ShavaunScott #SuffolkCounty #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers
Rex Heuermann pled guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of intentional murder in Suffolk County Court. He also admitted to killing Karen Vergata — an eighth victim not formally charged — as part of the plea agreement. Sentenced to life without parole. He has agreed to cooperate with the FBI's behavioral analysis unit.Criminal defense attorney Bob Motta provides the legal analysis. Every pre-trial motion filed by Heuermann's defense was denied. Whole genome sequencing — admitted in a New York courtroom for the first time — linked his DNA to hairs found on and near victims. A deleted planning document recovered from his hard drive allegedly detailed the methodology of the killings. Over 350 electronic devices were seized. A basement vault contained 279 weapons. Motta examines what a defense attorney calculates when every evidentiary challenge has failed and the sentence is identical whether the case goes to trial or resolves through plea. He assesses what the plea provides — cooperation with the FBI, control over the narrative, sparing of family — and what it removes from the victims' families: the public trial, the cross-examination, the full evidentiary record laid out in open court.Psychotherapist and author Shavaun Scott provides the psychological analysis, centering on the Ellerup family's fractured response. Asa Ellerup — Heuermann's ex-wife — called him her savior and maintained she would have known if something was wrong. After the plea, she stood outside the courthouse and expressed sympathy for the victims' families. Their daughter Victoria, seated in the courtroom during the hearing, has publicly stated she believes her father most likely committed the killings.Scott examines the clinical framework behind "not knowing." Prosecutors allege Heuermann operated around his family's schedule, acting when Asa and the children were away. Asa's own hair was reportedly found on victims. Scott analyzes how identity anchoring — the psychological investment of selfhood in another person — can override observable evidence for decades, why the mother-daughter split in this family represents the boundary between denial and breakthrough, and what a guilty plea does to the psychological architecture that sustained Asa's reported unawareness. The mechanisms Scott identifies in the Heuermann household carry direct parallels to the Duggar family dynamics examined earlier in the series — closed systems where proximity to harm does not produce recognition of it.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeachKiller #LISK #AsaEllerup #GuiltyPlea #BobMotta #ShavaunScott #LongIslandSerialKiller #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers
Rex Heuermann's guilty plea resolves the criminal charges. It does not resolve everything else.A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the son of victim Valerie Mack names Heuermann, his ex-wife Asa Ellerup, and their daughter Victoria as defendants. The suit alleges the family profited from a Peacock documentary about the case and showed callous disregard for victims' families. Ellerup's attorney, Robert Macedonio, has called the lawsuit reckless and stated that the individual responsible acted alone. Legal observers note that the guilty plea could help establish liability quickly and accelerate proceedings toward damages.The cooperation agreement between Heuermann and the FBI's behavioral analysis unit introduces a separate investigative track. The terms of that cooperation — what Heuermann has agreed to provide and what the Bureau is pursuing — extend beyond the scope of the charges that have been resolved. Whether additional cases, additional victims, or additional behavioral data emerge from that cooperation remains to be seen.Sentencing is scheduled for June. A pre-sentence report will be prepared, and both sides will have the opportunity to make arguments before the judge. Victims' families will have the opportunity to provide impact statements.On Hidden Killers Live With Tony Brueski & Robin Dreeke, defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis examines the civil litigation track and its intersection with the criminal resolution. Robin Dreeke assesses the behavioral cooperation agreement and its investigative implications.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #WrongfulDeath #FBICooperation #GuiltyPlea #Sentencing #EricFaddis #ValerieMack #TrueCrimeToday #LegalAnalysis
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
When Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty in Suffolk County Court, his ex-wife Asa Ellerup and their daughter Victoria were seated in the last row of a packed courtroom. The victims' families occupied reserved seats closer to the front. Some wept as Heuermann described his crimes.The dynamic inside that room deserves examination. Ellerup, who was married to Heuermann for nearly three decades, has maintained that she had no knowledge of his alleged crimes. Prosecutors say her own hair was recovered from victims' remains — transferred through ordinary household contact, not through direct involvement. Victoria has publicly said she believes her father most likely committed the killings. The mother maintained doubt. The daughter arrived at belief. And both were present in the room when the question was settled by Heuermann's own admission.A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the son of Valerie Mack — one of the seven victims named in the guilty plea — now names Heuermann, Ellerup, and Victoria as defendants. The suit alleges the family profited from a Peacock documentary and showed disregard for the victims' families. Ellerup's attorney called the suit reckless and said the individual responsible acted alone.On Hidden Killers Live With Tony Brueski & Robin Dreeke, the panel discussion continues with Eric Faddis providing legal analysis of the civil litigation and Robin Dreeke examining the behavioral dimensions of the family aftermath — including what the FBI's behavioral analysis cooperation may still expand.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #AsaEllerup #VictoriaHeuermann #WrongfulDeath #GilgoBeachKiller #HiddenKillers #ValerieMack #EricFaddis #SerialKiller
The alleged Long Island Serial killer, Rex Heuermann, has signed the deed to the house he shared with his wife, Asa Ellerup over to her as the two continue to get their affairs in order. Not only that but Asa Ellerup is also making a documentary it would seem. This comes as attorney John Ray continues to lob accusations at Ellerup and Heuermann. Let's dive in and see what's going on!(commercial at 8:55)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann signs over his dilapidated $530K family home to his soon-to-be ex-wife for $0 as she begins filming documentary with major streamer | Daily Mail Online
The alleged Long Island Serial killer, Rex Heuermann, has signed the deed to the house he shared with his wife, Asa Ellerup over to her as the two continue to get their affairs in order. Not only that but Asa Ellerup is also making a documentary it would seem. This comes as attorney John Ray continues to lob accusations at Ellerup and Heuermann. Let's dive in and see what's going on!(commercial at 8:55)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann signs over his dilapidated $530K family home to his soon-to-be ex-wife for $0 as she begins filming documentary with major streamer | Daily Mail OnlineBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.
Big Breakdown - Alleged Gilgo Beach Killer's Wife Calls Her Husband Rex Heuermann, A 'Hero' This explosive episode examines the shocking public statements made by Asa Ellerup, wife of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann, in which she refers to her husband as a "hero" despite the mounting evidence against him. Our expert panel analyzes this unexpected development in one of Long Island's most notorious criminal cases, exploring the psychological and legal ramifications of such public support from a suspect's spouse. We delve into the complex dynamics of Ellerup's relationship with Heuermann, examining how she could maintain such a positive view of her husband while he faces charges for multiple murders. Our forensic psychologists discuss the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance in partners of accused criminals, exploring how spouses can compartmentalize information and maintain denial even in the face of overwhelming evidence. The episode features insights from relationship experts who explain the psychological mechanisms that allow partners to support accused killers. The legal implications of Ellerup's statements are thoroughly examined, including how her public support might impact jury selection, potential testimony, and the overall prosecution strategy. We discuss whether her statements could be used in court and how they might affect public perception of the case. Our legal analysts explore the precedent set by other high-profile cases where family members have publicly supported accused serial killers. Additionally, we investigate the timeline of the Gilgo Beach murders and Heuermann's alleged involvement, providing context for why Ellerup's statements are so significant. The episode includes discussion of the evidence against Heuermann, including DNA matches, cell phone data, and witness testimonies that led to his arrest. We examine how Ellerup's portrayal of her husband contrasts sharply with the prosecution's depiction of him as a calculating predator who terrorized Long Island for over a decade. This comprehensive analysis helps viewers understand the complex family dynamics at play in this disturbing case. #GilgoBeach #RexHeuermann #AsaEllerup #SerialKiller #LongIslandSerialKiller #LISK #TrueCrime #CourtTV #CriminalPsychology #GilgoBeachMurders #JusticeForVictims #SerialKillerCase #BigBreakdown #NewYorkCrime #CriminalJustice Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Big Breakdown - Alleged Gilgo Beach Killer's Wife Calls Her Husband Rex Heuermann, A 'Hero' This explosive episode examines the shocking public statements made by Asa Ellerup, wife of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann, in which she refers to her husband as a "hero" despite the mounting evidence against him. Our expert panel analyzes this unexpected development in one of Long Island's most notorious criminal cases, exploring the psychological and legal ramifications of such public support from a suspect's spouse. We delve into the complex dynamics of Ellerup's relationship with Heuermann, examining how she could maintain such a positive view of her husband while he faces charges for multiple murders. Our forensic psychologists discuss the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance in partners of accused criminals, exploring how spouses can compartmentalize information and maintain denial even in the face of overwhelming evidence. The episode features insights from relationship experts who explain the psychological mechanisms that allow partners to support accused killers. The legal implications of Ellerup's statements are thoroughly examined, including how her public support might impact jury selection, potential testimony, and the overall prosecution strategy. We discuss whether her statements could be used in court and how they might affect public perception of the case. Our legal analysts explore the precedent set by other high-profile cases where family members have publicly supported accused serial killers. Additionally, we investigate the timeline of the Gilgo Beach murders and Heuermann's alleged involvement, providing context for why Ellerup's statements are so significant. The episode includes discussion of the evidence against Heuermann, including DNA matches, cell phone data, and witness testimonies that led to his arrest. We examine how Ellerup's portrayal of her husband contrasts sharply with the prosecution's depiction of him as a calculating predator who terrorized Long Island for over a decade. This comprehensive analysis helps viewers understand the complex family dynamics at play in this disturbing case. #GilgoBeach #RexHeuermann #AsaEllerup #SerialKiller #LongIslandSerialKiller #LISK #TrueCrime #CourtTV #CriminalPsychology #GilgoBeachMurders #JusticeForVictims #SerialKillerCase #BigBreakdown #NewYorkCrime #CriminalJustice Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
Big Breakdown - Alleged Gilgo Beach Killer's Wife Calls Her Husband Rex Heuermann, A 'Hero' This explosive episode examines the shocking public statements made by Asa Ellerup, wife of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann, in which she refers to her husband as a "hero" despite the mounting evidence against him. Our expert panel analyzes this unexpected development in one of Long Island's most notorious criminal cases, exploring the psychological and legal ramifications of such public support from a suspect's spouse. We delve into the complex dynamics of Ellerup's relationship with Heuermann, examining how she could maintain such a positive view of her husband while he faces charges for multiple murders. Our forensic psychologists discuss the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance in partners of accused criminals, exploring how spouses can compartmentalize information and maintain denial even in the face of overwhelming evidence. The episode features insights from relationship experts who explain the psychological mechanisms that allow partners to support accused killers. The legal implications of Ellerup's statements are thoroughly examined, including how her public support might impact jury selection, potential testimony, and the overall prosecution strategy. We discuss whether her statements could be used in court and how they might affect public perception of the case. Our legal analysts explore the precedent set by other high-profile cases where family members have publicly supported accused serial killers. Additionally, we investigate the timeline of the Gilgo Beach murders and Heuermann's alleged involvement, providing context for why Ellerup's statements are so significant. The episode includes discussion of the evidence against Heuermann, including DNA matches, cell phone data, and witness testimonies that led to his arrest. We examine how Ellerup's portrayal of her husband contrasts sharply with the prosecution's depiction of him as a calculating predator who terrorized Long Island for over a decade. This comprehensive analysis helps viewers understand the complex family dynamics at play in this disturbing case. #GilgoBeach #RexHeuermann #AsaEllerup #SerialKiller #LongIslandSerialKiller #LISK #TrueCrime #CourtTV #CriminalPsychology #GilgoBeachMurders #JusticeForVictims #SerialKillerCase #BigBreakdown #NewYorkCrime #CriminalJustice Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
Rex Heuermann's Wife Calls Serial Killer Husband Her 'Hero' - 5 Most Disturbing Quotes From New Documentary The Gilgo Beach serial killer case has taken a shocking turn with the release of Peacock's documentary "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets," featuring the first-ever interviews with Rex Heuermann's family. In this deep dive analysis, we examine the most disturbing revelations from Asa Ellerup, the estranged wife of the accused Long Island serial killer who stands charged with seven murders spanning nearly two decades. Rex Heuermann, the 61-year-old Manhattan architect arrested in July 2023, faces overwhelming evidence including DNA samples, hair fibers from family members found on victims, cellphone data placing him near crime scenes, and a chilling planning document detailing alleged murders. Despite this mountain of forensic evidence, his wife Asa Ellerup maintains unwavering support, calling him her "hero" and "savior" throughout the documentary. The legal implications of this documentary are staggering. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has warned that Ellerup's participation will affect her credibility, especially given reports that the Heuermann family received approximately $1 million for their cooperation. This has prompted New York legislators to propose expanding Son of Sam laws to prevent family members from profiting off criminal notoriety. We analyze the psychological aspects of Ellerup's denial, her description of prison visits feeling like "first dates," and her insistence on returning to live in the Massapequa Park home where murders allegedly occurred. The documentary reveals the devastating aftermath of police searches, including over 200 firearms found in a basement vault and structural damage throughout the property. The Heuermann children, Victoria and Christopher, share their perspectives on living with an accused serial killer, while legal experts warn that statements made in the documentary could potentially be used as evidence in Rex's upcoming trial. This case intersection of true crime entertainment, legal strategy, and family trauma raises serious questions about justice, exploitation, and the ethics of profiting from alleged serial murder. Join us as we break down every shocking detail from this controversial documentary and examine what it means for one of America's most notorious serial killer cases. #GilgoBeachKiller #RexHeuermann #SerialKiller #TrueCrime #LongIslandSerialKiller #AsaEllerup #GilgoBeachMurders #Peacock #Documentary #CriminalJustice Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Rex Heuermann's Wife Calls Serial Killer Husband Her 'Hero' - 5 Most Disturbing Quotes From New Documentary The Gilgo Beach serial killer case has taken a shocking turn with the release of Peacock's documentary "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets," featuring the first-ever interviews with Rex Heuermann's family. In this deep dive analysis, we examine the most disturbing revelations from Asa Ellerup, the estranged wife of the accused Long Island serial killer who stands charged with seven murders spanning nearly two decades. Rex Heuermann, the 61-year-old Manhattan architect arrested in July 2023, faces overwhelming evidence including DNA samples, hair fibers from family members found on victims, cellphone data placing him near crime scenes, and a chilling planning document detailing alleged murders. Despite this mountain of forensic evidence, his wife Asa Ellerup maintains unwavering support, calling him her "hero" and "savior" throughout the documentary. The legal implications of this documentary are staggering. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has warned that Ellerup's participation will affect her credibility, especially given reports that the Heuermann family received approximately $1 million for their cooperation. This has prompted New York legislators to propose expanding Son of Sam laws to prevent family members from profiting off criminal notoriety. We analyze the psychological aspects of Ellerup's denial, her description of prison visits feeling like "first dates," and her insistence on returning to live in the Massapequa Park home where murders allegedly occurred. The documentary reveals the devastating aftermath of police searches, including over 200 firearms found in a basement vault and structural damage throughout the property. The Heuermann children, Victoria and Christopher, share their perspectives on living with an accused serial killer, while legal experts warn that statements made in the documentary could potentially be used as evidence in Rex's upcoming trial. This case intersection of true crime entertainment, legal strategy, and family trauma raises serious questions about justice, exploitation, and the ethics of profiting from alleged serial murder. Join us as we break down every shocking detail from this controversial documentary and examine what it means for one of America's most notorious serial killer cases. #GilgoBeachKiller #RexHeuermann #SerialKiller #TrueCrime #LongIslandSerialKiller #AsaEllerup #GilgoBeachMurders #Peacock #Documentary #CriminalJustice Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
Rex Heuermann's Wife Calls Serial Killer Husband Her 'Hero' - 5 Most Disturbing Quotes From New Documentary The Gilgo Beach serial killer case has taken a shocking turn with the release of Peacock's documentary "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets," featuring the first-ever interviews with Rex Heuermann's family. In this deep dive analysis, we examine the most disturbing revelations from Asa Ellerup, the estranged wife of the accused Long Island serial killer who stands charged with seven murders spanning nearly two decades. Rex Heuermann, the 61-year-old Manhattan architect arrested in July 2023, faces overwhelming evidence including DNA samples, hair fibers from family members found on victims, cellphone data placing him near crime scenes, and a chilling planning document detailing alleged murders. Despite this mountain of forensic evidence, his wife Asa Ellerup maintains unwavering support, calling him her "hero" and "savior" throughout the documentary. The legal implications of this documentary are staggering. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has warned that Ellerup's participation will affect her credibility, especially given reports that the Heuermann family received approximately $1 million for their cooperation. This has prompted New York legislators to propose expanding Son of Sam laws to prevent family members from profiting off criminal notoriety. We analyze the psychological aspects of Ellerup's denial, her description of prison visits feeling like "first dates," and her insistence on returning to live in the Massapequa Park home where murders allegedly occurred. The documentary reveals the devastating aftermath of police searches, including over 200 firearms found in a basement vault and structural damage throughout the property. The Heuermann children, Victoria and Christopher, share their perspectives on living with an accused serial killer, while legal experts warn that statements made in the documentary could potentially be used as evidence in Rex's upcoming trial. This case intersection of true crime entertainment, legal strategy, and family trauma raises serious questions about justice, exploitation, and the ethics of profiting from alleged serial murder. Join us as we break down every shocking detail from this controversial documentary and examine what it means for one of America's most notorious serial killer cases. #GilgoBeachKiller #RexHeuermann #SerialKiller #TrueCrime #LongIslandSerialKiller #AsaEllerup #GilgoBeachMurders #Peacock #Documentary #CriminalJustice Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
Rex Heuermann's Wife Calls Serial Killer Husband Her 'Hero' - 5 Most Disturbing Quotes From New Documentary The Gilgo Beach serial killer case has taken a shocking turn with the release of Peacock's documentary "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets," featuring the first-ever interviews with Rex Heuermann's family. In this deep dive analysis, we examine the most disturbing revelations from Asa Ellerup, the estranged wife of the accused Long Island serial killer who stands charged with seven murders spanning nearly two decades. Rex Heuermann, the 61-year-old Manhattan architect arrested in July 2023, faces overwhelming evidence including DNA samples, hair fibers from family members found on victims, cellphone data placing him near crime scenes, and a chilling planning document detailing alleged murders. Despite this mountain of forensic evidence, his wife Asa Ellerup maintains unwavering support, calling him her "hero" and "savior" throughout the documentary. The legal implications of this documentary are staggering. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has warned that Ellerup's participation will affect her credibility, especially given reports that the Heuermann family received approximately $1 million for their cooperation. This has prompted New York legislators to propose expanding Son of Sam laws to prevent family members from profiting off criminal notoriety. We analyze the psychological aspects of Ellerup's denial, her description of prison visits feeling like "first dates," and her insistence on returning to live in the Massapequa Park home where murders allegedly occurred. The documentary reveals the devastating aftermath of police searches, including over 200 firearms found in a basement vault and structural damage throughout the property. The Heuermann children, Victoria and Christopher, share their perspectives on living with an accused serial killer, while legal experts warn that statements made in the documentary could potentially be used as evidence in Rex's upcoming trial. This case intersection of true crime entertainment, legal strategy, and family trauma raises serious questions about justice, exploitation, and the ethics of profiting from alleged serial murder. Join us as we break down every shocking detail from this controversial documentary and examine what it means for one of America's most notorious serial killer cases. #GilgoBeachKiller #RexHeuermann #SerialKiller #TrueCrime #LongIslandSerialKiller #AsaEllerup #GilgoBeachMurders #Peacock #Documentary #CriminalJustice Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
Asa Ellerup, estranged wife of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann, has decided to vacate their longtime Massapequa Park residence. The decision follows extensive police searches that left the home significantly damaged and a loss of emotional attachment to the property. Ellerup and her two adult children plan to relocate to South Carolina, seeking a fresh start away from the intense media scrutiny and the painful associations tied to their former home.During the investigation, authorities seized over 280 firearms from Heuermann's residence, comprising a collection of antique and modern weapons, including items from the Civil War and World Wars I and II. Valued at approximately $300,000, the collection is now the subject of legal proceedings. Ellerup has petitioned for the firearms to be sold, aiming to alleviate financial hardships resulting from her husband's arrest and the subsequent loss of income and health insurance.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.com
Asa Ellerup, estranged wife of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann, has decided to vacate their longtime Massapequa Park residence. The decision follows extensive police searches that left the home significantly damaged and a loss of emotional attachment to the property. Ellerup and her two adult children plan to relocate to South Carolina, seeking a fresh start away from the intense media scrutiny and the painful associations tied to their former home.During the investigation, authorities seized over 280 firearms from Heuermann's residence, comprising a collection of antique and modern weapons, including items from the Civil War and World Wars I and II. Valued at approximately $300,000, the collection is now the subject of legal proceedings. Ellerup has petitioned for the firearms to be sold, aiming to alleviate financial hardships resulting from her husband's arrest and the subsequent loss of income and health insurance.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.
Was Rex Heuermann Framed? Asa Ellerup Thinks It's Possible After Watching Gone Girls So the ex-wife of the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer just watched a Netflix docuseries and now she's wondering if her former husband is the fall guy in one of the most disturbing serial killer cases in recent history. Asa Ellerup, who was married to Rex Heuermann for nearly three decades, isn't exactly screaming conspiracy theory from the rooftops—but after finishing Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, she's raising an eyebrow, maybe two. And honestly, when you dig into the history of corruption inside Suffolk County law enforcement, she might not be completely out of line to ask, “Wait… what if?” Let's start with the dirty laundry, because Suffolk County has more than a few skeletons in its own closet. James Burke, the former police chief, is now best remembered not for solving cases, but for going full WWE on a suspect who had the audacity to steal a duffel bag filled with porn and sex toys from his police-issued vehicle. Burke beat the guy, tried to cover it up, and got slapped with a 46-month prison sentence. Meanwhile, then–District Attorney Thomas Spota, instead of investigating Burke, allegedly helped sweep it all under the rug. He was eventually indicted for obstruction, corruption, and witness tampering. All of this—the beatdown, the porn bag, the cover-up—would be hilarious if it weren't so grotesquely real. Ellerup's legal team is now asking a very real question: if this is how Suffolk County handled its own mess, how can we trust anything in the case against Heuermann? Ellerup, who divorced Heuermann not long after his arrest, is reportedly keeping a close eye on his court proceedings, including the ongoing Frye hearing, which could determine whether the DNA evidence against him even makes it to trial. At the heart of the debate is a forensic method called “whole genome sequencing,” which sounds like something out of CSI: Space Edition. The defense calls it “magic,” prosecutors call it science. Dr. Kelley Harris, a highly respected geneticist from the University of Washington, spent an entire day testifying about how the process works and why it's legit. In layman's terms, it's a super-detailed way of matching DNA, and in this case, hairs found on the victims reportedly tie back to Heuermann or people close to him—like Ellerup and her children. Prosecutors claim these hairs were recovered from the remains or crime scenes of six of the seven victims. That's not small stuff. It could be the linchpin of the entire case. But again, the defense is arguing that this method has never been tested in a New York courtroom and shouldn't be trusted until it's vetted through the proper legal channels. Now, a brief rewind on the horror show that is the Gilgo Beach murders. From 1993 to 2011, a string of women—most of them sex workers—vanished after meeting clients. Their bodies were eventually found dumped in remote spots along Ocean Parkway. Some were bound. Some were dismembered. Many were discovered in pieces, scattered between different sites. It was like Long Island's own version of a true crime nightmare. Heuermann, a 61-year-old architect who looked more like a guy you'd call to fix your kitchen backsplash than a suspected serial killer, was arrested in July 2023. He's been charged with the murders of seven women so far: Amber Costello, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor, and Valerie Mack. He's pleaded not guilty to every single one. And in a move that feels more like legal strategy than desperation, his defense is now asking the court to split the case into five separate trials. The Suffolk County DA's office insists there's no evidence the Heuermann family was involved. They were reportedly out of town during the alleged murders. But proximity and DNA are still in the spotlight. And then there's Netflix, adding fuel to the fire with Gone Girls. Directed by Liz Garbus, who also made Lost Girls based on the 2013 book by Robert Kolker, the series shifts focus from the killer to the victims—their families, their stories, and how the system repeatedly failed them. It doesn't exactly paint Suffolk County in a golden glow. Quite the opposite. And for Ellerup, it was enough to make her question whether her ex-husband was being thrown under the bus by a system with a very shaky track record. She's not denying the tragedy of the crimes. Her attorneys made it clear she extends her sympathies to the victims' families. But she also wants justice to be rooted in truth—not corruption, not cover-ups, and not convenience. For someone who shared a home, children, and a life with the accused, it's personal. Whether Heuermann is a monster hiding behind a suburban life or just a man caught in a very dark chapter of county corruption remains to be seen. But the courtroom drama is far from over. The judge still has to decide on the DNA evidence. And if you ask Asa Ellerup, that decision might just decide everything. #GilgoBeach #RexHeuermann #TrueCrimeNetflix #AsaEllerup Want to listen to ALL our podcasts AD-FREE? Subscribe through APPLE PODCASTS, and try it for three days free: https://tinyurl.com/ycw626tj Follow Our Other Cases: https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com The latest on The Downfall of Diddy, The Trial of Karen Read, The Murder Of Maddie Soto, Catching the Long Island Serial Killer, Awaiting Admission: BTK's Unconfessed Crimes, Delphi Murders: Inside the Crime, Chad & Lori Daybell, The Murder of Ana Walshe, Alex Murdaugh, Bryan Kohberger, Lucy Letby, Kouri Richins, Malevolent Mormon Mommys, The Menendez Brothers: Quest For Justice, The Murder of Stephen Smith, The Murder of Madeline Kingsbury, The Murder Of Sandra Birchmore, and much more! Listen at https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Was Rex Heuermann Framed? Asa Ellerup Thinks It's Possible After Watching Gone Girls So the ex-wife of the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer just watched a Netflix docuseries and now she's wondering if her former husband is the fall guy in one of the most disturbing serial killer cases in recent history. Asa Ellerup, who was married to Rex Heuermann for nearly three decades, isn't exactly screaming conspiracy theory from the rooftops—but after finishing Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, she's raising an eyebrow, maybe two. And honestly, when you dig into the history of corruption inside Suffolk County law enforcement, she might not be completely out of line to ask, “Wait… what if?” Let's start with the dirty laundry, because Suffolk County has more than a few skeletons in its own closet. James Burke, the former police chief, is now best remembered not for solving cases, but for going full WWE on a suspect who had the audacity to steal a duffel bag filled with porn and sex toys from his police-issued vehicle. Burke beat the guy, tried to cover it up, and got slapped with a 46-month prison sentence. Meanwhile, then–District Attorney Thomas Spota, instead of investigating Burke, allegedly helped sweep it all under the rug. He was eventually indicted for obstruction, corruption, and witness tampering. All of this—the beatdown, the porn bag, the cover-up—would be hilarious if it weren't so grotesquely real. Ellerup's legal team is now asking a very real question: if this is how Suffolk County handled its own mess, how can we trust anything in the case against Heuermann? Ellerup, who divorced Heuermann not long after his arrest, is reportedly keeping a close eye on his court proceedings, including the ongoing Frye hearing, which could determine whether the DNA evidence against him even makes it to trial. At the heart of the debate is a forensic method called “whole genome sequencing,” which sounds like something out of CSI: Space Edition. The defense calls it “magic,” prosecutors call it science. Dr. Kelley Harris, a highly respected geneticist from the University of Washington, spent an entire day testifying about how the process works and why it's legit. In layman's terms, it's a super-detailed way of matching DNA, and in this case, hairs found on the victims reportedly tie back to Heuermann or people close to him—like Ellerup and her children. Prosecutors claim these hairs were recovered from the remains or crime scenes of six of the seven victims. That's not small stuff. It could be the linchpin of the entire case. But again, the defense is arguing that this method has never been tested in a New York courtroom and shouldn't be trusted until it's vetted through the proper legal channels. Now, a brief rewind on the horror show that is the Gilgo Beach murders. From 1993 to 2011, a string of women—most of them sex workers—vanished after meeting clients. Their bodies were eventually found dumped in remote spots along Ocean Parkway. Some were bound. Some were dismembered. Many were discovered in pieces, scattered between different sites. It was like Long Island's own version of a true crime nightmare. Heuermann, a 61-year-old architect who looked more like a guy you'd call to fix your kitchen backsplash than a suspected serial killer, was arrested in July 2023. He's been charged with the murders of seven women so far: Amber Costello, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor, and Valerie Mack. He's pleaded not guilty to every single one. And in a move that feels more like legal strategy than desperation, his defense is now asking the court to split the case into five separate trials. The Suffolk County DA's office insists there's no evidence the Heuermann family was involved. They were reportedly out of town during the alleged murders. But proximity and DNA are still in the spotlight. And then there's Netflix, adding fuel to the fire with Gone Girls. Directed by Liz Garbus, who also made Lost Girls based on the 2013 book by Robert Kolker, the series shifts focus from the killer to the victims—their families, their stories, and how the system repeatedly failed them. It doesn't exactly paint Suffolk County in a golden glow. Quite the opposite. And for Ellerup, it was enough to make her question whether her ex-husband was being thrown under the bus by a system with a very shaky track record. She's not denying the tragedy of the crimes. Her attorneys made it clear she extends her sympathies to the victims' families. But she also wants justice to be rooted in truth—not corruption, not cover-ups, and not convenience. For someone who shared a home, children, and a life with the accused, it's personal. Whether Heuermann is a monster hiding behind a suburban life or just a man caught in a very dark chapter of county corruption remains to be seen. But the courtroom drama is far from over. The judge still has to decide on the DNA evidence. And if you ask Asa Ellerup, that decision might just decide everything. #GilgoBeach #RexHeuermann #TrueCrimeNetflix #AsaEllerup Want to listen to ALL our podcasts AD-FREE? Subscribe through APPLE PODCASTS, and try it for three days free: https://tinyurl.com/ycw626tj Follow Our Other Cases: https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com The latest on The Downfall of Diddy, The Trial of Karen Read, The Murder Of Maddie Soto, Catching the Long Island Serial Killer, Awaiting Admission: BTK's Unconfessed Crimes, Delphi Murders: Inside the Crime, Chad & Lori Daybell, The Murder of Ana Walshe, Alex Murdaugh, Bryan Kohberger, Lucy Letby, Kouri Richins, Malevolent Mormon Mommys, The Menendez Brothers: Quest For Justice, The Murder of Stephen Smith, The Murder of Madeline Kingsbury, The Murder Of Sandra Birchmore, and much more! Listen at https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com
Was Rex Heuermann Framed? Asa Ellerup Thinks It's Possible After Watching Gone Girls So the ex-wife of the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer just watched a Netflix docuseries and now she's wondering if her former husband is the fall guy in one of the most disturbing serial killer cases in recent history. Asa Ellerup, who was married to Rex Heuermann for nearly three decades, isn't exactly screaming conspiracy theory from the rooftops—but after finishing Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, she's raising an eyebrow, maybe two. And honestly, when you dig into the history of corruption inside Suffolk County law enforcement, she might not be completely out of line to ask, “Wait… what if?” Let's start with the dirty laundry, because Suffolk County has more than a few skeletons in its own closet. James Burke, the former police chief, is now best remembered not for solving cases, but for going full WWE on a suspect who had the audacity to steal a duffel bag filled with porn and sex toys from his police-issued vehicle. Burke beat the guy, tried to cover it up, and got slapped with a 46-month prison sentence. Meanwhile, then–District Attorney Thomas Spota, instead of investigating Burke, allegedly helped sweep it all under the rug. He was eventually indicted for obstruction, corruption, and witness tampering. All of this—the beatdown, the porn bag, the cover-up—would be hilarious if it weren't so grotesquely real. Ellerup's legal team is now asking a very real question: if this is how Suffolk County handled its own mess, how can we trust anything in the case against Heuermann? Ellerup, who divorced Heuermann not long after his arrest, is reportedly keeping a close eye on his court proceedings, including the ongoing Frye hearing, which could determine whether the DNA evidence against him even makes it to trial. At the heart of the debate is a forensic method called “whole genome sequencing,” which sounds like something out of CSI: Space Edition. The defense calls it “magic,” prosecutors call it science. Dr. Kelley Harris, a highly respected geneticist from the University of Washington, spent an entire day testifying about how the process works and why it's legit. In layman's terms, it's a super-detailed way of matching DNA, and in this case, hairs found on the victims reportedly tie back to Heuermann or people close to him—like Ellerup and her children. Prosecutors claim these hairs were recovered from the remains or crime scenes of six of the seven victims. That's not small stuff. It could be the linchpin of the entire case. But again, the defense is arguing that this method has never been tested in a New York courtroom and shouldn't be trusted until it's vetted through the proper legal channels. Now, a brief rewind on the horror show that is the Gilgo Beach murders. From 1993 to 2011, a string of women—most of them sex workers—vanished after meeting clients. Their bodies were eventually found dumped in remote spots along Ocean Parkway. Some were bound. Some were dismembered. Many were discovered in pieces, scattered between different sites. It was like Long Island's own version of a true crime nightmare. Heuermann, a 61-year-old architect who looked more like a guy you'd call to fix your kitchen backsplash than a suspected serial killer, was arrested in July 2023. He's been charged with the murders of seven women so far: Amber Costello, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor, and Valerie Mack. He's pleaded not guilty to every single one. And in a move that feels more like legal strategy than desperation, his defense is now asking the court to split the case into five separate trials. The Suffolk County DA's office insists there's no evidence the Heuermann family was involved. They were reportedly out of town during the alleged murders. But proximity and DNA are still in the spotlight. And then there's Netflix, adding fuel to the fire with Gone Girls. Directed by Liz Garbus, who also made Lost Girls based on the 2013 book by Robert Kolker, the series shifts focus from the killer to the victims—their families, their stories, and how the system repeatedly failed them. It doesn't exactly paint Suffolk County in a golden glow. Quite the opposite. And for Ellerup, it was enough to make her question whether her ex-husband was being thrown under the bus by a system with a very shaky track record. She's not denying the tragedy of the crimes. Her attorneys made it clear she extends her sympathies to the victims' families. But she also wants justice to be rooted in truth—not corruption, not cover-ups, and not convenience. For someone who shared a home, children, and a life with the accused, it's personal. Whether Heuermann is a monster hiding behind a suburban life or just a man caught in a very dark chapter of county corruption remains to be seen. But the courtroom drama is far from over. The judge still has to decide on the DNA evidence. And if you ask Asa Ellerup, that decision might just decide everything. #GilgoBeach #RexHeuermann #TrueCrimeNetflix #AsaEllerup Want to listen to ALL our podcasts AD-FREE? Subscribe through APPLE PODCASTS, and try it for three days free: https://tinyurl.com/ycw626tj Follow Our Other Cases: https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com The latest on The Downfall of Diddy, The Trial of Karen Read, The Murder Of Maddie Soto, Catching the Long Island Serial Killer, Awaiting Admission: BTK's Unconfessed Crimes, Delphi Murders: Inside the Crime, Chad & Lori Daybell, The Murder of Ana Walshe, Alex Murdaugh, Bryan Kohberger, Lucy Letby, Kouri Richins, Malevolent Mormon Mommys, The Menendez Brothers: Quest For Justice, The Murder of Stephen Smith, The Murder of Madeline Kingsbury, The Murder Of Sandra Birchmore, and much more! Listen at https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com
Was Rex Heuermann Framed? Asa Ellerup Thinks It's Possible After Watching Gone Girls So the ex-wife of the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer just watched a Netflix docuseries and now she's wondering if her former husband is the fall guy in one of the most disturbing serial killer cases in recent history. Asa Ellerup, who was married to Rex Heuermann for nearly three decades, isn't exactly screaming conspiracy theory from the rooftops—but after finishing Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, she's raising an eyebrow, maybe two. And honestly, when you dig into the history of corruption inside Suffolk County law enforcement, she might not be completely out of line to ask, “Wait… what if?” Let's start with the dirty laundry, because Suffolk County has more than a few skeletons in its own closet. James Burke, the former police chief, is now best remembered not for solving cases, but for going full WWE on a suspect who had the audacity to steal a duffel bag filled with porn and sex toys from his police-issued vehicle. Burke beat the guy, tried to cover it up, and got slapped with a 46-month prison sentence. Meanwhile, then–District Attorney Thomas Spota, instead of investigating Burke, allegedly helped sweep it all under the rug. He was eventually indicted for obstruction, corruption, and witness tampering. All of this—the beatdown, the porn bag, the cover-up—would be hilarious if it weren't so grotesquely real. Ellerup's legal team is now asking a very real question: if this is how Suffolk County handled its own mess, how can we trust anything in the case against Heuermann? Ellerup, who divorced Heuermann not long after his arrest, is reportedly keeping a close eye on his court proceedings, including the ongoing Frye hearing, which could determine whether the DNA evidence against him even makes it to trial. At the heart of the debate is a forensic method called “whole genome sequencing,” which sounds like something out of CSI: Space Edition. The defense calls it “magic,” prosecutors call it science. Dr. Kelley Harris, a highly respected geneticist from the University of Washington, spent an entire day testifying about how the process works and why it's legit. In layman's terms, it's a super-detailed way of matching DNA, and in this case, hairs found on the victims reportedly tie back to Heuermann or people close to him—like Ellerup and her children. Prosecutors claim these hairs were recovered from the remains or crime scenes of six of the seven victims. That's not small stuff. It could be the linchpin of the entire case. But again, the defense is arguing that this method has never been tested in a New York courtroom and shouldn't be trusted until it's vetted through the proper legal channels. Now, a brief rewind on the horror show that is the Gilgo Beach murders. From 1993 to 2011, a string of women—most of them sex workers—vanished after meeting clients. Their bodies were eventually found dumped in remote spots along Ocean Parkway. Some were bound. Some were dismembered. Many were discovered in pieces, scattered between different sites. It was like Long Island's own version of a true crime nightmare. Heuermann, a 61-year-old architect who looked more like a guy you'd call to fix your kitchen backsplash than a suspected serial killer, was arrested in July 2023. He's been charged with the murders of seven women so far: Amber Costello, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor, and Valerie Mack. He's pleaded not guilty to every single one. And in a move that feels more like legal strategy than desperation, his defense is now asking the court to split the case into five separate trials. The Suffolk County DA's office insists there's no evidence the Heuermann family was involved. They were reportedly out of town during the alleged murders. But proximity and DNA are still in the spotlight. And then there's Netflix, adding fuel to the fire with Gone Girls. Directed by Liz Garbus, who also made Lost Girls based on the 2013 book by Robert Kolker, the series shifts focus from the killer to the victims—their families, their stories, and how the system repeatedly failed them. It doesn't exactly paint Suffolk County in a golden glow. Quite the opposite. And for Ellerup, it was enough to make her question whether her ex-husband was being thrown under the bus by a system with a very shaky track record. She's not denying the tragedy of the crimes. Her attorneys made it clear she extends her sympathies to the victims' families. But she also wants justice to be rooted in truth—not corruption, not cover-ups, and not convenience. For someone who shared a home, children, and a life with the accused, it's personal. Whether Heuermann is a monster hiding behind a suburban life or just a man caught in a very dark chapter of county corruption remains to be seen. But the courtroom drama is far from over. The judge still has to decide on the DNA evidence. And if you ask Asa Ellerup, that decision might just decide everything. #GilgoBeach #RexHeuermann #TrueCrimeNetflix #AsaEllerup Want to listen to ALL our podcasts AD-FREE? Subscribe through APPLE PODCASTS, and try it for three days free: https://tinyurl.com/ycw626tj Follow Our Other Cases: https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com The latest on The Downfall of Diddy, The Trial of Karen Read, The Murder Of Maddie Soto, Catching the Long Island Serial Killer, Awaiting Admission: BTK's Unconfessed Crimes, Delphi Murders: Inside the Crime, Chad & Lori Daybell, The Murder of Ana Walshe, Alex Murdaugh, Bryan Kohberger, Lucy Letby, Kouri Richins, Malevolent Mormon Mommys, The Menendez Brothers: Quest For Justice, The Murder of Stephen Smith, The Murder of Madeline Kingsbury, The Murder Of Sandra Birchmore, and much more! Listen at https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com
A divorce agreement has been established between Rex Heuermann, the alleged Long Island Serial Killer, and his estranged spouse Asa Ellerup, despite Ellerup's belief that her former husband is "incapable" of the crimes for which he stands accused. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Massapequa Park home of alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann will soon stand empty as his estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, prepares to relocate. Ellerup, whose 30-year attachment to the house was shattered by its connection to the investigation, has decided to move to South Carolina to begin a new chapter. Her attorney, Robert Macedonio, explained Ellerup's reasoning, stating, “To start the healing process, she wants to move on.” He also shared that Ellerup's adult children, whom she shares with Heuermann, plan to eventually join her in South Carolina. Ellerup filed for divorce shortly after Heuermann's arrest in July 2023. Heuermann, a 60-year-old architect, was charged in connection with the killings of four women whose bodies were discovered in burlap sacks along Ocean Parkway more than a decade ago. These victims—Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello, Melissa Barthelemy, and Megan Waterman—were found during the 2010 search for Shannan Gilbert, whose death in a nearby marsh was later ruled accidental. Earlier this year, prosecutors announced Heuermann's involvement in two additional murders: Jessica Taylor in 2003 and Sandra Costilla in 1993. The home itself has been central to the investigation. In the summer of 2023, federal agents conducted an intensive search of the property, with Macedonio previously noting a focus on the basement. Investigators recovered a cache of weapons, paint chips, and a large rectangular object covered in a blue cloth. Macedonio declined to disclose what evidence was collected but confirmed the family was out of state during the initial search. A subsequent search of the home in May brought renewed attention to the case. Investigators placed additional materials into evidence bags, further linking the property to the long-unsolved killings. Despite the upheaval, Macedonio clarified that the house is not for sale at this time. For Ellerup, the decision to leave represents an opportunity to move beyond the trauma of her husband's alleged crimes. "She has lost her attachment to the house," Macedonio said, emphasizing her determination to rebuild her life. Heuermann remains in custody as legal proceedings continue, and the Massapequa Park home—a quiet, single-story residence in a Long Island neighborhood—now stands as a chilling reminder of the case that has gripped the nation. #GilgoBeachMurders #RexHeuermann #AsaEllerup #TrueCrime #LongIsland #ColdCaseSolved #FreshStart Want to listen to ALL of our podcasts AD-FREE? Subscribe through APPLE PODCASTS, and try it for three days free: https://tinyurl.com/ycw626tj Follow Our Other Cases: https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com The latest on The Downfall of Diddy, The Trial of Karen Read, The Murder Of Maddie Soto, Catching the Long Island Serial Killer, Awaiting Admission: BTK's Unconfessed Crimes, Delphi Murders: Inside the Crime, Chad & Lori Daybell, The Murder of Ana Walshe, Alex Murdaugh, Bryan Kohberger, Lucy Letby, Kouri Richins, Malevolent Mormon Mommys, The Menendez Brothers: Quest For Justice, The Murder of Stephen Smith, The Murder of Madeline Kingsbury, The Murder Of Sandra Birchmore, and much more! Listen at https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
The Massapequa Park home of alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann will soon stand empty as his estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, prepares to relocate. Ellerup, whose 30-year attachment to the house was shattered by its connection to the investigation, has decided to move to South Carolina to begin a new chapter. Her attorney, Robert Macedonio, explained Ellerup's reasoning, stating, “To start the healing process, she wants to move on.” He also shared that Ellerup's adult children, whom she shares with Heuermann, plan to eventually join her in South Carolina. Ellerup filed for divorce shortly after Heuermann's arrest in July 2023. Heuermann, a 60-year-old architect, was charged in connection with the killings of four women whose bodies were discovered in burlap sacks along Ocean Parkway more than a decade ago. These victims—Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello, Melissa Barthelemy, and Megan Waterman—were found during the 2010 search for Shannan Gilbert, whose death in a nearby marsh was later ruled accidental. Earlier this year, prosecutors announced Heuermann's involvement in two additional murders: Jessica Taylor in 2003 and Sandra Costilla in 1993. The home itself has been central to the investigation. In the summer of 2023, federal agents conducted an intensive search of the property, with Macedonio previously noting a focus on the basement. Investigators recovered a cache of weapons, paint chips, and a large rectangular object covered in a blue cloth. Macedonio declined to disclose what evidence was collected but confirmed the family was out of state during the initial search. A subsequent search of the home in May brought renewed attention to the case. Investigators placed additional materials into evidence bags, further linking the property to the long-unsolved killings. Despite the upheaval, Macedonio clarified that the house is not for sale at this time. For Ellerup, the decision to leave represents an opportunity to move beyond the trauma of her husband's alleged crimes. "She has lost her attachment to the house," Macedonio said, emphasizing her determination to rebuild her life. Heuermann remains in custody as legal proceedings continue, and the Massapequa Park home—a quiet, single-story residence in a Long Island neighborhood—now stands as a chilling reminder of the case that has gripped the nation. #GilgoBeachMurders #RexHeuermann #AsaEllerup #TrueCrime #LongIsland #ColdCaseSolved #FreshStart Want to listen to ALL of our podcasts AD-FREE? Subscribe through APPLE PODCASTS, and try it for three days free: https://tinyurl.com/ycw626tj Follow Our Other Cases: https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com The latest on The Downfall of Diddy, The Trial of Karen Read, The Murder Of Maddie Soto, Catching the Long Island Serial Killer, Awaiting Admission: BTK's Unconfessed Crimes, Delphi Murders: Inside the Crime, Chad & Lori Daybell, The Murder of Ana Walshe, Alex Murdaugh, Bryan Kohberger, Lucy Letby, Kouri Richins, Malevolent Mormon Mommys, The Menendez Brothers: Quest For Justice, The Murder of Stephen Smith, The Murder of Madeline Kingsbury, The Murder Of Sandra Birchmore, and much more! Listen at https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com
The Massapequa Park home of alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann will soon stand empty as his estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, prepares to relocate. Ellerup, whose 30-year attachment to the house was shattered by its connection to the investigation, has decided to move to South Carolina to begin a new chapter. Her attorney, Robert Macedonio, explained Ellerup's reasoning, stating, “To start the healing process, she wants to move on.” He also shared that Ellerup's adult children, whom she shares with Heuermann, plan to eventually join her in South Carolina. Ellerup filed for divorce shortly after Heuermann's arrest in July 2023. Heuermann, a 60-year-old architect, was charged in connection with the killings of four women whose bodies were discovered in burlap sacks along Ocean Parkway more than a decade ago. These victims—Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello, Melissa Barthelemy, and Megan Waterman—were found during the 2010 search for Shannan Gilbert, whose death in a nearby marsh was later ruled accidental. Earlier this year, prosecutors announced Heuermann's involvement in two additional murders: Jessica Taylor in 2003 and Sandra Costilla in 1993. The home itself has been central to the investigation. In the summer of 2023, federal agents conducted an intensive search of the property, with Macedonio previously noting a focus on the basement. Investigators recovered a cache of weapons, paint chips, and a large rectangular object covered in a blue cloth. Macedonio declined to disclose what evidence was collected but confirmed the family was out of state during the initial search. A subsequent search of the home in May brought renewed attention to the case. Investigators placed additional materials into evidence bags, further linking the property to the long-unsolved killings. Despite the upheaval, Macedonio clarified that the house is not for sale at this time. For Ellerup, the decision to leave represents an opportunity to move beyond the trauma of her husband's alleged crimes. "She has lost her attachment to the house," Macedonio said, emphasizing her determination to rebuild her life. Heuermann remains in custody as legal proceedings continue, and the Massapequa Park home—a quiet, single-story residence in a Long Island neighborhood—now stands as a chilling reminder of the case that has gripped the nation. #GilgoBeachMurders #RexHeuermann #AsaEllerup #TrueCrime #LongIsland #ColdCaseSolved #FreshStart Want to listen to ALL of our podcasts AD-FREE? Subscribe through APPLE PODCASTS, and try it for three days free: https://tinyurl.com/ycw626tj Follow Our Other Cases: https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com The latest on The Downfall of Diddy, The Trial of Karen Read, The Murder Of Maddie Soto, Catching the Long Island Serial Killer, Awaiting Admission: BTK's Unconfessed Crimes, Delphi Murders: Inside the Crime, Chad & Lori Daybell, The Murder of Ana Walshe, Alex Murdaugh, Bryan Kohberger, Lucy Letby, Kouri Richins, Malevolent Mormon Mommys, The Menendez Brothers: Quest For Justice, The Murder of Stephen Smith, The Murder of Madeline Kingsbury, The Murder Of Sandra Birchmore, and much more! Listen at https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com
The attorney's of Gilgo Beach, who do they represent in this case? #rexheuermann #raytierney #JohnRay #RobertMacedonio #VessMitev #GloriaAllred #michaelbrown An attorney suggested during today's press conference that cannibalism may have been involved in the Gilgo Beach killings. John Ray, who represents the family of Shannan Gilbert, whose disappearance led to the discovery of 10 sets of remains, said the “new and important evidence” regarding Heuermann's family was recently uncovered. Heuermann's estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, filed for divorce in July 2023 after he was charged, but has still shown up at several of his hearings. News of the evidence comes exactly a week after Heuermann, 60, was arraigned on murder charges in the 2003 dismemberment death of Jessica Taylor, 20, and the 1993 death of Sandra Costilla, 28. Ellerup and the couple's two children were out of state at the time of the hearing, according to their attorney, Robert Macedonio, but were expected to be back this week. The Manhattan architect has already been charged with the 2009 and 2010 murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes — known as the “Gilgo Four.” He pleaded not guilty. Last month, Gilgo Beach Task Force investigators completed a second search of Heuermann's home in Massapequa Park and a search of an area of Manorville.