Rex Heuermann returns to court over Gilgo Beach murders as estranged wife Asa turns up again to 'hear the evidence'

Accused serial killer Rex Heuermann has returned to court for a procedural hearing in New York also attended by his estranged wife. 

The 60-year-old father-of-two is charged with murdering four female sex workers whose bodies were found buried on a remote stretch of Gilgo Beach more than 10 years ago. 

Heuermann turned up to Suffolk County Supreme Court in Riverhead Wednesday morning wearing a black suit, white shirt and navy blue tie. 

He listened intently to the hearing, which centered around troves of potential evidence seized from various devices related to the case. 

His ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, was also spotted pulling up in a black Mercedes outside the Long Island courthouse. 

Heuermann, 60, has spent most of his days since his July 2023 arrest in a small windowless cell at the Riverhead Jail as he awaits trial. (Pictured: Heuermann in court Wednesday)

His ex-wife, Asa Ellerup (pictured) was also spotted pulling up in a black Mercedes outside the Long Island courthouse

The 60-year-old father-of-two is charged with murdering four female sex workers whose bodies were found on Gilgo Beach more than 10 years ago

It comes just weeks after she claimed her partner of 27 years is 'not capable' of murdering the four women. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

Ellerup, who also shares two children with Heuermann, filed for divorce six days after he was charged with the first three murders. 

But she still visits him in jail because she believes he 'deserves the benefit of the doubt' and attends his hearings with a documentary camera crew. 

Ellerup reportedly signed a controversial seven-figure deal with NBC Universal, Texas Crew Productions and G-Unit to feature in a series about the case. 

During Wednesday's hearing, attorneys discussed troves of potential evidence held on hundreds of devices. The judge said he wanted the discovery phase of the case to by completed by July.  

Heuermann last appeared in court early February for an update on the progress of his case, during which he stayed silent. 

He was brought into a silent Suffolk County Courthouse in Riverhead, Long Island, New York, for a procedural hearing not attended by Ellerup. 

It marked the first time the architect had appeared in court since January 16, when he pleaded not guilty to killing Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, in 2007.

Heuermann was earlier charged with three counts of first-degree murder over the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy in 2009, and Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello in 2010. 

He has spent most of his days since his July 2023 arrest in a small windowless cell at the Riverhead Jail as he awaits trial. 

Alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann, right, appears in Judge Tim Mazzei's courtroom next to his attorney Michael Brown at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead on Wednesday

Pictured: Asa Ellerup in court on Wednesday ahead of Heuermann's latest hearing 

The alleged victims known as the 'Gilgo four' - Maureen Brainard-Barnes; Amber Lynn Costello, 27; Megan Waterman, 22; and Melissa Barthelemy, 24

His attorney earlier revealed to DailyMail.com that the accused murderer was still being held in solitary confinement and was 'lonely and depressed'. 

Officials at the high-security New York prison said he has been isolated because he would otherwise be a 'major target' for inmates.

'We have very good information that he would be a target of violence if he was not in a secure location,' Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. told Newsday previously. 

'There was an individual that did say if he was able to get into close contact with him, 'I'm going to do something.' 

Alleged victims Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Lynn Costello, 27 went missing between 2007 and 2010.

They were all sex workers who advertised their services on Craigslist and Backstory The women were found tied up in burlap sacks within a few miles of each other.  

Long Island architect Heuermann was arrested outside his Manhattan office last year after DNA evidence linked him to their disappearances.