Serial Killers' Families To Lose Huge Paydays Under New Law

Amid outrage over the documentary money that is allegedly being paid to accused Gilgo Beach murder suspect Rex Heuermann's estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, lawmakers in New York have proposed a new law that could ban suspects' families from profiting off their crimes.

Heuermann, 60, was charged in July over the Long Island deaths of Amber Lynn Costello, 27, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and others whose bodies were found days apart on a stretch of New York's Gilgo Beach in 2010. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Since his arrest, Ellerup, who appeared last month in court at Heuermann's trial, has filed for divorce. More recently, she is said to have agreed to take part in an access-all-areas Peacock docu-series about her husband's trial, in a reported $1-million deal.

News of her work with the docu-series sparked outrage among the families of Heuermann's alleged victims and with lawmakers.

In response, two new bills aiming to amend New York's Son of Sam law to prevent family members of defendants from profiting off crimes have been proposed last week. Currently, the law only bans people convicted of crimes from making money from book and movie deals.

Sen. Kevin Thomas, of Garden City, Albany, who introduced the bill, told CBS News: "The amount of money that's being thrown here while victims' families get nothing is just horrible. They're just exploiting their pain for profit."

Newsweek has reached out to Thomas via email for comment.

The Son of Sam law was passed in New York in 1978 and prevents criminals from making money off their crimes by selling stories to the media after fears that the 1970s serial killer David Berkowitz may sell the rights to his story or otherwise profit from his notoriety.

Variations of the legislation have been passed in more than 40 states and in the federal government.

"Current law does not include the family or former spouse of a person charged with or convicted of a crime under the notification requirement," state Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., who is sponsoring the bill, told CBS News.

"This results in media outlets contracting with family, rather than the person charged with or convicted of a crime, to avoid the notification requirements. This loophole deprives victims and their families of compensation they are entitled to under New York law." Thiele Jr. added.

Newsweek has reached out to Thiele Jr, via email for comment.

The proposed amendment comes a month after reports that family members of victims in the Gilgo Beach case expressed outrage that Ellerup, her two children, and their attorneys will allegedly receive large sums from Peacock.

The families of two women who were found dead near Gilgo Beach have condemned the idea that the suspect's family could profit from the alleged crimes.

Shannan Gilbert and Jessica Taylor's bodies were discovered in the early 2000s.
Taylor's body was discovered by a dog walker on July 26, 2003, on a secluded road in Manorville, New York.

Her death was investigated alongside the Gilgo Beach murders in 2011, but Heuermann has not been charged with her murder.

Taylor's cousin, Jasmine Robinson, slammed the news surrounding Ellerup's reported pay from Peacock's docu-series.

Robinson took to X, formerly Twitter, and said: "I haven't stopped shaking all morning. I'm so f****** disgusted to see that RH's family will become rich off of the suffering of victims and their families."

Attorney John Ray, who is representing the families of the victims whose deaths Heuermann has been charged with, has backed the move to amend legislation, according to CBS News.

"[Ellerup] is a ghoul and she's feeding on the dead by using their memory and the circumstances that her husband caused and she may have a part in," he told CBS News.

There has never been any evidence presented that Ellerup was aware of the crimes allegedly committed by her husband or that she had a hand in them.

Ellerup's lawyer, Robert Macedonio, said earlier this year: "She had no idea this was going on or the allegations or her husband was a suspect. She is not a suspect, she has not been questioned by the police regarding any of this. It's been extremely overwhelming for her and the children trying to piece life together to what it was two and a half weeks ago. I don't know if they're ever going to return to normalcy."

He argued against the bill, saying it is a publicity stunt.

"It's a sad day in America when people are willing to trample on the Constitution to get press coverage," he told CBS News. "The next thing they will attempt is to control media coverage."

Newsweek has reached out to Peacock and Macedonio for comment via email.

Heuermann is due back in court for his next pre-trial hearing in February.