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The son of a woman allegedly murdered by the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer has initiated legal action against Rex Heuermann and his family. This lawsuit comes as Heuermann prepares to enter a plea concerning the gruesome killings of seven women.
Benjamin Torres, the sole offspring of Valerie Mack, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, represented by attorney John Ray. Court documents obtained by Fox News reveal the legal steps taken on Monday.
The lawsuit contends that Mack’s untimely death has left Torres without his mother’s care, guidance, protection, nurturing, companionship, and financial support.
In a courtroom in Riverhead, New York, accused serial killer Rex A. Heuermann was seen with his lawyer, Michael Brown, during a hearing on July 17, 2025. (James Carbone/Reuters)
Valerie Mack, a 24-year-old resident of Philadelphia, disappeared in 2000 when her son was only six years old. Later that year, hikers in Manorville, New York, discovered some of her remains inside a suspicious black bag.
According to the lawsuit, Mack was “tortured ferociously” before allegedly being killed and dismembered by Heuermann. Â
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 hearing on 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.”Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.