One thousand days. That's how long Rex Heuermann maintained his innocence. On day one, he was in tears telling his attorney he didn't do it. On day one thousand, he stood in a packed Suffolk County courtroom, calm and controlled, and pleaded guilty to strangling eight women across seventeen years. No tears. No visible emotion. Just a man executing a strategy. Every pre-trial motion had been denied. The judge ruled whole genome sequencing evidence was admissible. All seven murder charges would be tried together. Trial was months away, and his legal team had nothing left to work with. But this plea wasn't just about avoiding a trial he was going to lose. During a confidential proffer session, Heuermann brought up Karen Vergata — a woman he was never charged with killing. Her murder was folded into the deal. No separate prosecution. No public presentation of the evidence in her case. The plea bars further prosecution related to all eight named victims and includes a cooperation agreement with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit that reportedly carries no consequences if Heuermann refuses or lies. And for the family of Valerie Mack, the guilty plea was only the beginning. Benjamin Torres — Mack's son, who was six when she vanished — has filed a wrongful death lawsuit targeting not just Heuermann but his ex-wife Asa Ellerup and their daughter Victoria. The complaint alleges they knew about the murders, concealed what was happening inside the home, and profited from the notoriety by collecting over a million dollars from a Peacock documentary. The defense calls the claims reckless. They point out Victoria was approximately three years old when Mack was killed, and that prosecutors have publicly stated the family was out of town during the killings. Neither woman has ever been charged. But the lawsuit raises questions that aren't going away. Hair evidence linked to both Ellerup and Victoria was recovered from victims' remains. Prosecutors say that's ordinary household transference. The plaintiff's attorney says it's evidence of something darker. Ellerup publicly called Heuermann her hero. Victoria later acknowledged she believes her father most likely committed the killings. The complaint frames the family's public statements and documentary participation as efforts to mislead and profit. Can you sue a family for what they should have known? Can you claw back documentary money as unjust enrichment? We break it all down. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #AsaEllerup #VictoriaHeuermann #ValerieMack #GuiltyPlea #WrongfulDeath #SerialKiller #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers