RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann seems to be "very comfortable" in his Long Island jail cell and promised jailers he wouldn't be a problem for them, officials said, as his home continued to be searched Thursday and his wife filed for divorce.
Heuermann, 59, has been held at the maximum-security Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverhead since his arrest outside his architecture firm in Midtown Manhattan last Thursday night.
"He's in the cell by himself, he's receiving all the services that any other person who's incarcerated will receive," Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon told 1010 WINS.
Heuermann has been on suicide watch, a move Toulon called "pretty standard for someone that comes in with a case of this type of notoriety."
"Our mental health staff will reevaluate him to see if they actually do feel he has suicidal tendencies," Toulon said.
The alleged serial killer has had no visitors at the jail over the past week but appears to be settling in.
"It seems like he's very comfortable in his cell and his surroundings," Toulon said. "He's indicated to my staff that he would not be any issue to us and would be extremely compliant, so we'll see how that plays out in the days and weeks ahead."
Meanwhile outside the jail, Heuermann's wife, Asa Ellerup, filed for divorce in Suffolk County Supreme Court. While they're Nassau County residents, couples can file for divorce in any county in New York State.
Ellerup, 59, has been married to Heuermann for 27 years. The docket indicated the divorce will be "uncontested," meaning the spouse doesn't argue with any aspect of the divorce.
Ellerup and her adult daughter and son were seen outside a Best Buy on Wednesday, according to photos obtained by Fox News. Her lawyer, Bob Macedonio, told the outlet that the family is in a "whirlwind" after the arrest.
"Her and her children's lives have been completely turned upside-down," Macedonio said. "They were home and the cops came in, and they were completely blindsided."
While Ellerup's hair was found at the crime scenes, investigators do not believe she had any knowledge of the killings and was out of town, including in Iceland, when each of them occurred more than a decade ago, according to Suffolk County D.A. Raymond Tierney.
Law enforcement continued to search the family's home on First Avenue in East Massapequa on Thursday. They've been retrieving evidence from the red, one-story house since last Friday.
The family is not allowed to reenter the home as investigators continue to comb for clues. It's unclear when the search may conclude.
The Gilgo Beach murders case started in 2010 with the disappearance of Shannan Gilbert. Police searching the barrier island would eventually discover 10 sets of human remains in addition to Gilbert. The dead included eight women, one man and a young girl, though police have said it's unlikely they're all the victims of a single killer.
Heuermann is accused of murdering three of the women—Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello and Megan Waterman. He's also the "prime" suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. All four women were sex workers and were found along the same-quarter mile of Ocean Parkway.
Gilbert's remains were found in 2011 and her cause of death was determined to be accidental drowning, a finding her family disputed.
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