Gilgo Beach serial killer’s secret plea deal exposed… as prosecutor who brought down monster reveals chilling new details
Rex Heuermann stood calmly in a dark suit and tie, his hands and ankles shackled, as the families of the women he murdered watched from the sidelines.
His estranged wife Asa Ellerup, 62, and daughter Victoria, 29, were also in the courtroom on April 8 as the 61-year-old architect finally pleaded guilty to a decades-long reign of terror that haunted Long Island.
It was the moment the victims’ families had waited years for.
The married murderer confessed to killing and dismembering eight women, from his first victim Sandra Costilla in 1993 to his last in 2010, after spending decades hiding in plain sight and living a chilling double life.
On the other side of the case was Suffolk County District Attorney (DA) Raymond Tierney, the prosecutor who helped put the Gilgo Beach Serial Killer behind bars.
Now, nearly three years after Heuermann’s arrest in July 2023, Tierney has spoken exclusively to the Daily Mail about coming face to face with the diabolical killer – and how the bombshell plea agreement unfolded.
The negotiations began in the summer of 2025, but were not made public until March.
While Tierney said only Heuermann knows why he changed his mind, he believes the killer would not have confessed and avoided trial if the case against him had not been so strong.
‘If this was a weak case, I don’t think he would have pleaded,’ the DA said. ‘He considered it. We were ready to go to trial.
‘I know his defense team was ready to take the case to trial, but for whatever reason, he made the decision. Perhaps he will give us more insight during the sentencing.’
