A DNA sample from the estranged wife of the alleged Long Island serial killer matches a hair found on one of the victims, according to Newsday.
Investigators took a cheek swab from Asa Ellerup on the day they arrested her husband, Rex Heuermann, in connection with three murder victims found near Gilgo Beach over a decade ago. A law enforcement source told Newsday that Ellerup’s DNA matches a hair sample found on a victim’s remains.
The new evidence confirms prior mitochondrial DNA tests on the hair samples that suggested they came from Ellerup. She has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello and Megan Waterman. He is the prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes of Norwich, Connecticut, but has not been charged.
