NY Serial Killer’s Wife Wants Seized Guns Back

By Tom Knighton Bearing Arms

I can't even imagine being married to a serial killer. It's not that I can't picture my wife taking a gun, a frying pan, or whatever and killing someone, it's just that I can't see her murdering anyone who isn't me.

In fairness, I'd probably be asking for it with my typical smart-aleck responses to almost everything.

As such, I can't even imagine what it's like for the estranged wife of the alleged Gilgo Beach killer.

But she's experiencing all of it, and now she's asking for all the guns the police seized from her husband.

The estranged wife of alleged Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann has launched a legal battle to reclaim his cache of hundreds of firearms, which her lawyers say are worth “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Asa Ellerup, 59, is arguing she has the legal right to retain her spouse's expansive gun collection, which includes nearly 300 firearms that her attorney says were legally purchased.

Ellerup is also attempting to retain jewelry, clothing, and cash that were taken during the raid on the family's Long Island residence following her husband's arrest in the Gilgo Beach serial murders case. Ellerup claims she's entitled to the marital assets as her and husband's divorce case proceeds through the courts.

“The county has no lawful right to any of it that's not considered legal contraband,” said Ellerup's attorney, Robert Macedonio, according to Newsday.

Macedonio said he expects to file a notice of claim on the property but only after Nassau County police take custody of the collection for the purposes of reviewing possible gun charges.

Over 280 firearms were seized by police, but only 92 had permits.

However, a number are antique firearms old enough to not require permits.

Heuermann's cache of firearms includes a number of historic long guns, which aren't bound by permitting in New York, as well as several hunting rifles, revolvers, and semi-automatic weapons, including an Uzi and Tommy Guns, according to Newsday. Some of the weapons' manufacturing dates trace back to the mid-19th century. Others were reportedly used in world wars. The guns were manufactured in Switzerland, England, Sweden, Russia, Israel, France, and Italy.

Here's the important thing in this, though. None of these are believed to have been used in any of the killings, meaning they're not evidence.

Collecting guns isn't a crime, and so long as all the firearms were obtained legally and aren't part of any other criminal charges, Ellerup should get the firearms back. The state has no reason to keep them and, frankly, considering the loss of income that resulted in her architect husband being arrested on allegations of being a monstrous serial killer.

This collection, should she liquidate it, would likely help offset any expenses that result from her trying to rebuild her life.

I mean, I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure I could rebuild my life with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Besides, if the guns are actually marital property–and I'm unsure of what the laws are in New York on this–then she has every right to do so.

We'll have to see if the courts agree.

Find the original article in its entirety on Bearing Arms.