In a new development surrounding the Gilgo Beach serial killer case, the son of one of the victims has initiated legal action against the accused, Rex Heuermann, and his family. The lawsuit, filed just days before Heuermann is expected to enter a plea for the murders of seven women, centers on the harrowing death of the boy’s mother.
Attorney John Ray submitted the wrongful death lawsuit on Monday on behalf of Benjamin Torres, the sole offspring of Valerie Mack. The legal documents, accessed by Fox News, outline the devastating impact of Mack’s loss on her son.
The lawsuit contends that Mack’s murder robbed Torres of his mother’s essential support and care, including guidance, protection, nurturing, companionship, and financial assistance.
An image from a court appearance shows Rex A. Heuermann, the accused Long Island serial killer, with his lawyer Michael Brown during a hearing in Suffolk County Court, Riverhead, New York, dated July 17, 2025. (Photo by James Carbone/Reuters)
Valerie Mack, originally from Philadelphia, was only 24 when she disappeared in 2000, leaving behind her 6-year-old son. Her partial remains were discovered later that year in Manorville, New York, when hikers encountered a suspicious black bag.
The lawsuit claims that Mack suffered extreme torture before allegedly being murdered and dismembered by Heuermann.
An undated photograph of Valerie Mack, one of 11 victims whose remains were discovered during the search for Shannan Gilbert near Gilgo Beach in New York. She was dismembered, and police recovered more of her body parts in Manorville, about 50 miles away. (Suffolk County Police Department)
As a result, Torres is seeking unspecified “recovery for the wrongful torture and murder of Valerie Mack, for the terror, restraint, pain, mutilation, and dismemberment inflicted upon her before and after death, for the concealment and mutilation of her remains, and for the profound and prolonged harm thereby inflicted,” the lawsuit said.
Alleged serial killer Rex A. Heuermann is escorted into Judge Tim Mazzei’s courtroom at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead for a frye hearing on Thursday, July 17, 2025. (James Carbone/Newsday)
The suit also aims to seek compensation from Heuermann’s ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, and daughter Victoria Heuermann stemming from profits made from the Peacock documentary, “Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets.”
The family received over $1 million from the documentary, according to Newsday.
“Asa Ellerup and Victoria Heuermann at some point in time knew of, concealed, deliberately ignored, or consciously avoided learning of material facts concerning the assault, murder, dismemberment, concealment, and disposal of Valerie Mack,” the lawsuit added.
The lawsuit also addresses New York’s two-year deadline for wrongful death lawsuits to be filed, arguing the limit should be waived for Torres due to his age at the time of his mother’s murder and authorities’ delay in identifying her remains.
He is expected to plead guilty to all seven counts of murder as part of a plea deal offered by Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. He is due back in court on Wednesday.
Heuermann is accused of killing Mack, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor, Sandra Costilla and Amber Lynn Costello.
Tierney, and the attorneys for Heuermann, Ellerup and Torres did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Ellerup’s attorney is expected to address the lawsuit at a 4 p.m. news conference.
