LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK: Asa Ellerup, 59 the wife of Rex Heuermann, the alleged Gilgo Beach killer, is facing a serious health crisis. She has been diagnosed with skin and breast cancer that has spread to other parts of her body.
Even though she has fought the disease for several years, she needs more treatment, but her insurance is about to expire in two months.
Is Asa Ellerup OK?
"It will only continue as long as his Manhattan architecture business can cover the premiums," the Lawyer Robert Macedonio said on Friday.
Her insurance was provided by her husband’s architecture business in Manhattan, which is now in jeopardy after his arrest on July 13, New York Post reported.
As per her lawyer, she still needs 12 to 18 months of treatment. Ellerup had been married to Heuermann for 27 years.
At present, after filing for divorce and Heuermann's arrest, she lives with their two adult children, Christopher Sheridan, 33, and Victoria Heuermann, 26, in Massapequa Park on Long Island. The children reportedly have special needs.
Ellerup and her children are suffering from emotional and financial stress
Their home was searched and damaged by investigators from July 14 to July 25. The family lawyer, Robert Macedonio earlier told Fox News said that Ellerup and her children are suffering from emotional and financial stress.
He said that they are “constantly… having to reevaluate what is happening to them, almost in real-time” and that they are “trying to regain some basic sense of normalcy, which is completely impossible at this point”. He said, "They’re living in a surreal, waking horror show.”
They 'cry themselves to sleep at night'
Ellerup’s previously told The New York Post that they “cry themselves to sleep at night”.
The family has received some support from Melissa Moore, the daughter of the 'Happy Face Killer', who set up a GoFundMe campaign for them.
Moore said she empathizes with the trauma and horror that Heuermann’s family is going through and that she got their consent before starting the fundraising campaign.
'Mother and her family were also victims of a serial killer'
Moore said that her mother and her family were also victims of a serial killer and that they did not know about his double life.
“My mother and my family were and are victims. We did not know about his double life. I have waited to create this GoFundMe, as I didn’t want to offer support if she would not want it. I needed Asa’s consent,” Moore said on the GoFundMe page.
The fundraiser has since raised $43,534 from 1.1K donations.
