Peacock Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets concluded with the fourth and final episode on Thursday, April 23, which gave us a look inside Rex Heuermannthe family's reaction to his guilty plea in connection with the eight murders.
On April 8, Heuermann pleaded guilty to murdering seven women and admitted to killing an eighth. As part of his plea, he is expected to receive three life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Us Weekly demolishes the biggest bombs featured in the episode, below.
Rex Heuermann Confessed to His Ex-Wife and Daughter Before Pleading Guilty
Heuermann sat down with his ex-wife, Asa Ellerupand their daughter, Victoriathrough separate discussions with the therapist Alison T. Winter to plead guilty to murder.
“I'm scared. There's no doubt about that. I'm scared, but I have questions to ask and I'm going to need him to answer them for me. Number 1 is, 'Did you kill any of these women? Then it's going to be, 'Okay, how many of these women did you kill?' “Ellerup said in the confessional before he met Heuermann. “I need to hear from him whether he did this or not, I can't process things I don't know.”
Ellerup added that the “hardest part” of the whole situation was accepting that she was possibly married to “a serial killer.”
Rex Heuermann's Wife Reacts to His Confession
While Ellerup's meeting with Heuermann was not filmed, he elaborated on his confession to the cameras.
“He looked very scared. Very scared. I said to him, 'So Mr. Heuermann, I understand that you are confessing to me about these murders. Please tell me how many of these women you killed?'” he said. “He said eight.”
According to Ellerup, Heuermann said he was not at home during the murders and killed all but one of his victims in their homes. Sandra Costilla she was killed in her car, and it was the first murder Heuermann committed before marrying Ellerup.
“He said he never deliberately tried to kill these women, he said he just killed them, but he doesn't know how to kill them,” said Ellerup.
However, Winter said that although Heuermann said he did not know he was going to kill his first victim, he “planned to kill” others.
After his interview with Heuermann, Ellerup said he finally believed he was the Gilgo Beach killer.
Inside the timeline of Karen Vergata's death
As part of his plea deal, Heuermann admitted to manslaughter Karen Vergata. His body was found in April 1996, although it is suspected that he was killed months earlier. Meanwhile, Heuermann married Ellerup on April 13, 1996.
Those who knew Rex Heuermann are now opening up about his behavior before his arrest in connection with the Gilgo Beach murders. Netflix's Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, which premiered Monday, March 31, focuses on Heuermann's story during the third and final episode. A family member of Heuermann, a neighbor and a former colleague spoke afterward […]
“I can say that the killing of Karen Vergata before he was married was a key point to make him free from the future murder. I don't think he cared that he was about to marry his wife who was pregnant,” said Winter. “He divides the world. He said they are two different entities. He doesn't control emotions like you and I do.”
He added of the murder, “In his mind, it was time for Asa to be away from planning their wedding so he could be free to do what he wanted and fulfill his dreams. I think that was important in making it easier and easier to move forward. And it was a lot of play in his mind.”
Rex Heuermann's Daughter Reacts to His Confession
“Ever since my father was arrested, it has been a combination of humiliation, confusion, sadness and uncertainty,” Victoria said in the confessional. “No one really thinks about the murderer's daughter … People just make stories about her.”
He then opened up about meeting his father, where he confessed to the murders. “When I entered that room, I saw my father, a man, not really a monster,” he added as he asked how many victims there were.
After confirming that he had killed eight women, he insisted that the first killing was unplanned. “I also asked him about his planning document that was created in 2000 before Valerie Mackkilling 's. My father told me that he started making this document as a way of trying to prevent himself from doing this act himself,” he said.
When asked why he killed, “he said his demons came to him.”
“When he was in a certain position or there was a certain promoter in front of him who started to create these dark desires, it was an illness,” he said of Heuermann's motive.
Therapist Reveals Why He Thinks Rex Heuermann Stopped Killing People
Winter was asked why he thought Heuermann stopped killing, with his first killing in 1993 and his last in 2010.
“Rex told me that on the last two kills, he knew he wasn't getting the same satisfaction. He wasn't getting the adrenaline. And on his last kill, he knew he was going to quit,” he said.
The man suspected of being the infamous Long Island Serial Killer is dealing with undisclosed health issues, Us Weekly can confirm. Rex Heuermann was a no-show Tuesday, March 17, for his ongoing criminal trial on Long Island. The hearing continued as scheduled, and afterward, Heuermann's attorney, Michael Brown, told reporters […]
Winter went on to say that he believed he stopped killing when Shannan Gilbert's death made headlines while his family continued to search for him. “I think he was very worried about getting caught,” she said.
H2: Therapist Explains Why Rex Heuermann Might Be Murderous
Winter also said that Heuermann and other psychopaths do not know why they feel the need to kill.
“They don't have answers at those times. “So if he felt that he was losing his strength, what would he do? He was going to follow up with murder, which was planned because he prepared his house beforehand.”
Winter explained that Heuermann had a four-day plan for his murder. The first day was to prepare the basement where the killing took place, and the second day was to kill the victim and remove the body. The third day was for cleansing and the fourth day was reserved for “emergencies.”
Rex Heuermann's relationship with his parents
Heuermann's relationship with his parents was also discussed in the docuseries. She said her father was very controlling and unapproachable. “His father was very critical of him and I believe it came from why he was a perfectionist, OCD, fixated on certain things, because he was criticized a lot,” Ellerup said.
At the time, Ellerup said his mother was “not at all hard on Rex.” However, Winter said that Heuermann told her that her mother was not available to her and that she “raised herself too much.”
Rex Heuermann's Wife Moves Into Basement After Pleading Guilty
After Heuermann formally pleaded guilty to murdering the women in his family's basement, Ellerup explained that he had entered the basement.
Rex Heuermann's wife, Asa Ellerup, stood by him after he was accused of being the Gilgo Beach killer. Heuermann and Ellerup were married for almost thirty years when he was arrested in 2023 after several cases of disappearances involving many women – including Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes – went away. […]
“This whole basement looks very different. It's been gutted and redone,” she said.
“The sad truth is that Rex Huermann said he dissected the bodies in this room. That is the brutal truth,” he continued. “I'm in this room. And I'm here because I feel spiritual. I'm trying to say in my own spiritual way that I'm very sorry for what these victims have gone through. Every night when I go to bed and sleep, I'm tormented by dreams.”
After noting that the dreams have “followed me my whole life,” he added that “there will never be justice for anyone and there will never be a way to forget this.”
Ellerup also shared that she has seen Heuermann 12 times since she confessed to him. “I want to know the other side of Rex. I want to know why Rex killed these women,” he said. “The things that caused me to process it in a very different way because now I see evil in him.”
