Prosecutors exonerate suspect’s wife in Gilgo Beach serial killings, confirming she was out of town at the time of the murders.
A DNA sample from the estranged wife of the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer matches her genetic material found on the victims’ remains, according to law enforcement sources informed by ABC News.
Asa Ellerup’s cheek swab was taken by investigators on the night of her husband Rex Heuermann’s arrest for the murders of three women whose remains were discovered wrapped in burlap at Gilgo Beach on Long Island.
Authorities previously found Ellerup’s hairs on the burlap, and now they have confirmed that the DNA extracted from the hairs matches the cheek swab samples.
Prosecutors have exonerated Ellerup of any involvement in the murders, citing evidence that she was out of town at the time.
Meanwhile, Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to first and second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, and Megan Waterman. He is also the prime suspect in the killing of a fourth Gilgo Beach victim, Maureen Brainard Barnes.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office has stated that DNA from Heuermann’s cheek swab matches the genetic material found on a pizza box recovered from the trash near his Manhattan office.
