Trial For Accused Gilgo Beach Killer Could Be 'A Year' Away: Attorney

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“A notice of claim preserves our right to do that,” Mitev told Patch Wednesday.

Mitev said his clients “fail to see the need” for their “deeply personal items” to be withheld or categorized as any sort of evidence “given the fact that they have been repeatedly excluded by any and all law enforcement agencies as any sort relevant evidence that has, on their face, nothing to do with any alleged crime.”

Macedonio told Patch that his feeling are twofold about the belongings that were seized by law enforcement. “I can sympathize with Asa and the children — they’ve had their whole lives thrown into chaos through no fault of their own.”

But, he added: “I understand the process that had to take place. There were tens of thousands of pieces of evidence seized, and each one had to be logged and inventoried and forensically examined before it could then be determined if it has any relation, not only to these victims, but also to any of the other victims that haven’t yet been identified. It’s a long, tedious process from the legal perspective.”

From an emotional point of view, however, Macedonio said he was “sympathetic. Victoria was not even born when the first of these alleged crimes took place. In her mind, she’s asking, ‘Why is my iPad being taken?’ From the prosecution’s standpoint, how do they know that Rex didn’t use the iPad in Victoria’s room?”

Macedonio maintained that while he never wants to undermine what the Giglo Beach victims and their families have gone through, Ellerup and her children are “collateral damage, as a result of Rex’s alleged actions. Their lives are destroyed forever.”

What’s been returned so far in terms of possessions, Macedonio said, are items that were seized under the second search warrant — gift cards, a birthday card her grandfather sent Victoria, some scratch-off Lottery tickets. “Once they were analyzed, it was realized that they have nothing to do with the case,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ellerup and the kids have seen their entire personal lives ransacked, Macedonio said. “Everything was taken.”

Despite the fact that Heuermann was arrested in July, 2023, still, he and his client have “no more knowledge now than we had. Everything we know about the case was obtained in the bail application document and what was stated by the DA’s office.”

They have no other information other than what’s been released to the public, he said. “None, zero.”

Despite the length of time since the arrest, Michael Brown, Heuermann’s attorney, “still doesn’t have enough discovery to even think about a trial date,” Macedonio said.

He anticipated that a trial could begin about a year from now, with motions and hearings in between.

“It’s a long time for his family to go through all these emotions, until they finally have closure, one way or another,” Macedonio said.

Asking how Ellerup and the kids were faring, Macedonio said: “There are really no words to describe it. Every day, their lives are put on hold. We don’t know what the outcome will be. Asa doesn’t want to believe Rex is capable of these crimes. Who would?”

Ellerup, Victoria and Christopher are not working, Macedonio said. “Who’s hiring them? Their lives have stopped.”

He added that many speculate that Ellerup is financially stable due to any deal she may have had with Peacock. “Whatever that money is, it doesn’t support you for the rest of your lives,” Macedonio said.

The DA’s office did not immediately return a request for comment about the potential trial date or the returned personal possessions.

The second search of Heuermann’s home ended in May, Macedonio told Patch.

The exhaustive search spanned five days as a swarm of investigators were back at Heuermann’s home — and Macedonio spoke with Patch about the toll the week had taken on his family.

“This family has been though the most traumatic year imaginable,” said Macedonio. “Whether Rex is found innocent or guilty — if Rex get acquitted, their lives are destroyed, because he’s still known as a serial killer. If he’s found guilty, they’re always going to be known as the as wife and children of a serial killer.”

Victoria, Heuermann’s daughter, 27, was working for her father when he was arrested, Macedonio said. “Who’s hiring her now?”

The family, he said, has seen their life in turmoil since July, 2023,when Heuermann was arrested.

At the time, investigators conducted the first extensive 12-day search of their home. “Everything was just thrown in when the police left, floor to ceiling,” Macedonio said. “They literally had a 2-foot path to get to the door.”

He added: “If you take everything out of a house, from the attic to the basement, they’re not putting it all back neatly back in closets.”

Ellerup and her son were in South Carolina when authorities converged upon the home earlier this year, and Victoria, still in New York, went with Macedonio to retrieve her car, he said.

The new search has left the family with questions, Macedonio said. “They went through this a year ago, now it’s, ‘Here we go again,'” he said. “We have no idea why, or what they are looking for — what they missed.”

When asked what the search was for, a representative for Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office responded: “As District Attorney Ray Tierney has previously stated, the work of the Gilgo Beach homicide task force is continuing. We do not comment on investigative steps while ongoing.”

Michael Brown, Heuermann’s attorney, also did not comment after repeated requests.

In 2023, the search of the Heuermann property went on for 12 days and included the home, an excavator on the grounds, and an Amityville storage facility.

Recently, the DA’s office said, of an ongoing search in areas of Suffolk County, including Manorville, Calverton and Southampton: “DA Tierney has repeatedly publicly stated that the task force would continue to investigate additional murders beyond Gilgo.”

This June, Heuermann was slapped with new second-degree murder charges in the deaths of two additional women, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla, according to a superceding bail application released to the press before the proceedings — bringing the total number of his alleged victims to six.

In July 2023, Heuermann was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder charges and three counts of second-degree murder charges in the deaths of sex workers Melissa Barthelemy, Megan
Waterman and Amber Costello, whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway in 2010.

Heuermann pleaded not guilty to those charges.

A total of 11 sets of remains were found in the Gilgo Beach murders, which rocked Long Island. The remains included that of a toddler and an Asian male.

Heuermann was also charged with the murder of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, in January. New DNA evidence helped connect Heuermann to all four of the deaths, said Tierney, who is prosecuting the case.

Heuermann was charged with second-degree murder, an A-1 violent felony, in the death of Brainard-Barnes on July 9, 2007. Heuermann has also pleaded not guilty to that charge.

Heuermann returned to court in July for a routine appearance where “voluminous amounts” of discovery were turned over to the defense, according to Tierney — and at the time, the DA said it was “safe to say” that he might be considered a suspect in the death of a seventh woman.

When asked if Heuermann may be charged in the death of Valerie Mack, whose remains were found in Manorville and near Cedar Beach, Tierney said: “It’s safe to say he would be a suspect, yes.”

New details were released recently about an Asian homicide victim found in the same areas as those associated with the Gilgo Beach killings, Tierney said — and law enforcement is appealing to the public to identify the individual and bring closure to his or her family.

With reporting by Peggy Spellman Hoey.

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