RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Two New York lawmakers are looking to expand the state's “Son of Sam” law amid reports that the estranged wife of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has scored a deal for a docuseries that will air on NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming platform.
The law prevents someone convicted of a crime from making money from that crime. Now lawmakers want to extend that ban to family of the convicted.
When Heuermann made his last court appearance, his wife, Asa Ellerup, was there—along with a camera crew.
Ellerup is reportedly being paid seven figures to take part in a docuseries about her time with Heuermann before his July arrest outside his Manhattan architecture firm in connection with the decade-old serial killings.
Under the current law, Ellerup would be allowed to take part in the series since she hasn’t been convicted in the case. Her attorney has previously said she and her two adult children are struggling financially in the wake of Heuermann’s arrest.
But Sen. Kevin Thomas told CBS2 that he’s pushing a bill to change the law to include family members, saying it will close a loophole.
“The amount of money that’s being thrown here, while victims’ families get nothing, is just horrible,” Thomas said.
Assembly Member Fred Thiele Jr. is pushing the same bill in his legislative chamber.
“Why should the family or the former spouse profit from this crime either?” Thiele said. “It's an insult, I think, to the victim.”
John Ray, an attorney who has worked with the victims’ family members, agrees.
“She’s a ghoul,” he said of Ellerup. “And she’s feeding on the dead by using their memory and the circumstances that her husband caused.”
In a statement, Ellerup's attorney Robert Macadonio said, "It's a sad day in America when people are willing to trample on the constitution to get press coverage. The next thing they will attempt is to control media coverage."
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy in 2009 and Megan Waterman and Amber Costello in 2010. He’s also the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, prosecutors said. Collectively, the four women are known as the “Gilgo Four.”