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John Bittrolff

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John Bittrolff
Suffolk Co. Police Dept. 2014 mugshot
Born (1966-07-01) July 1, 1966 (age 58)
New York, U.S.
StatusIncarcerated
Conviction(s)Second degree murder (2 counts)[1]
Criminal penalty50 years to life in prison
Details
Victims2 confirmed
Span of crimes
1993–1994
CountryUnited States
State(s)New York
Date apprehended
July 21, 2014
Imprisoned atClinton Correctional Facility

John Bittrolff (born July 1, 1966) is an American convicted murderer and former suspect in the Gilgo Beach serial killings case. In July 2014, he was charged with the murders of Rita Tangredi and Colleen McNamee. He was also a suspect in the murder of a third woman, Sandra Costilla, prior to the capture of alleged serial killer Rex Heuermann.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Bittrolff became a suspect in the unsolved murders after his brother, Timothy Bittrolff, was partially matched to DNA found on the bodies in 2013. Timothy Bittrolff submitted the sample after violating an unrelated order of protection, in 2013.[8]

On July 5, 2017, Bittrolff was found guilty of the second degree murders of Tangredi and McNamee.[9] He was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison on September 12, 2017. He is imprisoned at Clinton Correctional Facility. His department identification number is 17A3925.

Victims

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Bittrolff was convicted of killing two women and was a suspect in the death of a third.

Rita Tangredi

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Tangredi was found dead on November 2, 1993, in Suffolk County, New York. Tangredi lived in East Patchogue and was known by police to be a sex worker.[10]

Colleen McNamee

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McNamee's body was found on January 30, 1994, in Shirley, New York, also in Suffolk County. Believed by authorities to be a sex worker, she was beaten, strangled to death and left naked in the woods, near the William Floyd Parkway.[11][12]

Sandra Costilla

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Costilla's body was found on November 20, 1993, in North Sea, New York.[13] On June 6, 2024, Gilgo Beach serial killings suspect Rex Heuermann was charged with Costilla's murder.[14]

Former suspect in Long Island serial killings

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After Bittrolff's sentence, the case's prosecutor announced that Bittrolff was also a suspect in at least one of the 10 murders attributed to the Long Island serial killer in New York's Suffolk and Nassau counties. Suffolk County District Attorney's office prosecutor Robert Biancavilla released a statement noting that Bittrolff was likely responsible for the deaths of other women, and that, "There are remains of the victims at Gilgo that may be attributed to the handiwork of Mr. Bittrolff, and that investigation is continuing".[15][16]

Bittrolff was a carpenter who lived in Manorville, where the torsos of Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack were recovered. The remains were discovered roughly three miles away from Bittrolff's home. He also reportedly once "cut out the heart of a deer he had just shot and ate it raw in the woods."[17][18]

The adult daughter of Bittrolff victim Rita Tangredi was reportedly "best friends" with Melissa Barthelemy, one of the first victims discovered at Gilgo Beach. Barthelemy's mother also reported that Melissa "had a lot of calls to Manorville from her phone" at the time.[19][20]

On July 13, 2023, another man, Rex Heuermann, a long-time resident of Massapequa Park on Long Island, was arrested and subsequently charged with six murders attributed to the Long Island serial killer, including for the murders of Melissa Barthelemy and Sandra Costilla.

On June 6, 2024, the prosecutors revealed in a news conference that the death of Sandra Costilla followed a blueprint found at Heuermann's home, more securely assuring that John Bittrolff was innocent of killing Costilla. They also confirmed that the deaths of the other Long Island victims followed this same blueprint.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Brother's DNA points police to man charged in 1990s Long Island slayings".
  2. ^ "Man charged in Gilgo Beach serial killings kept 'blueprint' of crimes on computer, prosecutors say". AP News. 2024-06-06. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  3. ^ Benjamin Mueller (5 August 2014). "Two Decades After Pair of Killings on Long Island, Authorities Make an Arrest". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  4. ^ Paul Farrell (22 July 2014). "John Bittrolff: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know - Heavy.com". Heavy.com.
  5. ^ "Long Island Murder Suspect May Be Linked to Three Deaths, Say Officials". NBC News. 21 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Wood chips bolster murder charges against LI man: prosecutors". NY Daily News. 31 July 2014.
  7. ^ Nicole Allegrezza. "DNA nails suspect". The Long Island Advance. Archived from the original on 2015-01-21. Retrieved 2015-01-21.
  8. ^ Frank Eltman. "Prosecutor: Convicted killer may be tied to more NY slayings". Newser. Archived from the original on 2017-09-13. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
  9. ^ Eltman, Frank (5 July 2017). "Man Is Convicted of 1990s Murders of 2 Prostitutes". NBC New York. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Rita Tangredi's sister: 'I prayed every day' for 21 years that her killer would be found". Newsday.
  11. ^ "Brother's DNA led to arrest of LI 'family man' in 2 cold case murders". New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV. 22 July 2014.
  12. ^ "Cops: Manorville man charged in two cold case murders". Riverhead News-Review. 22 July 2014.
  13. ^ "Arraignment Thursday for Manorville Man Accused of Murdering Two Prostitutes, Suspected in Third North Sea Case - The Sag Harbor Express". The Sag Harbor Express. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Suspect in Long Island's Gilgo Beach serial killings is charged in the deaths of two more women". WTAE. 2024-06-06. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  15. ^ Frank Eltman. "Prosecutor: Convicted killer may be tied to more NY slayings". Newser.
  16. ^ "Long Island carpenter convicted of killing two prostitutes eyed in at least one of the unsolved Gilgo Beach murders". New York Daily News. 12 September 2017.
  17. ^ Frank Eltman. "Prosecutor: Convicted killer may be tied to more NY slayings". Newser.
  18. ^ "Long Island carpenter convicted of killing two prostitutes eyed in at least one of the unsolved Gilgo Beach murders". New York Daily News. 12 September 2017.
  19. ^ "Prosecutor Suggests John Bittrolff Could be Long Island Serial Killer".
  20. ^ "LI carpenter could be Gilgo Beach serial killer, tied to Craigslist murders: Prosecutor". 12 September 2017. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
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